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Arthur Schopenhauer
Kant is a German philosopher who believes that people need to maintain emotional and personal detachment from art when they look at it. Kant argues that seeing something as beautiful requires a person to eliminate all the things they find personally interesting and focus on what’s left over, which is the form, shape, or structure of the artwork. Kant also thinks that religious thinking limits the intellectual pursuit (which he believes is more objective). Nietzsche completely disagrees with Kant. Nietzsche thinks Kant, like most philosophers, is too enamored with trying to be detached and objective. In Nietzsche’s view, Kant forgets that even the philosopher’s detached perspective is much more subjective and personal than Kant realizes.
Immanuel Kant Quotes in On the Genealogy of Morals
The On the Genealogy of Morals quotes below are all either spoken by Immanuel Kant or refer to Immanuel Kant . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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What Do Ascetic Ideals Mean? Quotes
What is the meaning of ascetic ideals?
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Nietzsche opens his third and final essay with the question he’s going to answer throughout the remainder of the book. As he indicates in framing his question, he’s focusing on “ascetic ideals”: values that advocate maintaining distance from emotional, bodily, and materialistic urges. Nietzsche’s concern isn’t so much with what ascetic ideals are, but what they mean for a culture. Nietzsche aims to show that the ascetic ideal—the idea that distancing oneself from everyday life is meaningful—is pervasive in European culture and that its impact is disastrous for humanity. He’s going to show—by looking at intellectual figures like Wagner, Kant, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusan
But, as I feared, the contrary was always the case and so, from the very beginning, we get from our philosophers definitions upon which the lack of any refined personal experience squats like a big fat stupid worm, as it does on Kant's famous definition of the beautiful. ‘That is beautiful,’ says Kant, ‘which pleases without interest.’
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Nietzsche has just discussed philosopher Schopenhauer’s views about music. Nietzsche turns now to German philosopher Kant’s views about art, which he summarizes—and rejects—here. Kant believes that in order to see what’s beautiful in art, the observer has to subtract anything personally or emotionally appealing and focus on what’s left over in a distanced way (“without interest”). Kant means that a person should focus on the structure, form, or shape of the art. Kant thinks that the art’s form or composition (and nothing else about it) will trigger a universal sensation of pleasure in every observer’s mind. That’s what Kant means Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. L
Without interest?! Compare this definition with this other one, made by an ‘artist,’ an ‘observer’ truly capable of aesthetic appreciation—by Stendhal, who once called the beautiful une promesse de bonheur.
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Nietzsche has just been critiquing the philosopher Kant’s views about art. Kant thinks that the correct way to look at art is in an emotionally distanced way (“without interest”). Anything that’s personally stimulating in the art, to Kant, is irrelevant. Here, Nietzsche says that the writer Stendhal’s view about art is far superior. Stendhal writes that what’s really beautiful about art is that people can look at something they connect with and be moved by it, which makes them feel happy (une promesse de bonheur meaning “a promise of happiness”). To Nietzsche, Stendhal captures what’s really compelling about art: it Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Volup
Every animal […] strives instinctively after the most favourable conditions: those under which it can exert its full strength, and experience its greatest feeling of power; every animal also instinctively abhors (and with an acute sense ‘surpassing all reason’) any kind of disruption or hindrance which obstructs or could obstruct his path to this optimum (it is not his way to ‘happiness’ of which I speak, but his path to power, to action, the most powerful action, and in point of fact in many cases his way to misery).
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Nietzsche is concluding his discussion about art. He has just dismissed both Kant and Schopenhauer’s views, which respectively emphasize emotionally distant or emotionally calming aspects of the experience. Nietzsche has already disagreed with both of them because he thinks many people are drawn to art’s emotionally engaging and stimulating aspects. Extending from Kant and Schopenhauer to philosophers in general, here Nietzsche argues that philosophers mistakenly think a distanced approach to life is objectively better than a subjective, emotionally engaged approach. Such philosophers assume that they gain an intellectual advantage from being distanced, but to Nietzsche, it’s more like philosophers personally Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliq
We know the three great catch-words of the ascetic ideal: poverty, humility chastity; and if we look closely at the lives of all the great productive, creative intellects, we will find these present again and again, in some measure.
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Nietzsche has just looked at European art and philosophy (especially the intellectual views of Kant and Schopenhauer). He’s about to shift to other aspects of European culture and pauses here to explicitly connect the ascetic ideal with Christian religious views. In general, ascetic ideals are values that endorse stepping back from emotional, bodily, and materialistic urges in life. To Nietzsche, the ascetic approach to life is most evident in Christian doctrine. He thinks the mantra of “poverty, humility, chastity,” encapsulates the ascetic ideal. A person who champions poverty shuns materialistic desires like wealth. A person who believes in humility shuns Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. M
There is only a seeing from a perspective, only a ‘knowing’ from a perspective, and the more emotions we express concerning a thing, the more eyes, different eyes, we train on the same thing, the more complete will be our ‘idea’ of that thing, our ‘objectivity.’
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Nietzsche is discussing intellectual scholarship in Europe. According to Nietzsche, most philosophers assume that stepping back from life and looking at it from a distance will give them a more objective vantage point, which will enable them to say general or universal things. Nietzsche thinks that this is a mistake—he argues that it’s impossible to step out of one’s own perspective. Even in stepping back, philosophers are still seeing things from their point of view. So to Nietzsche, it’s nonsensical to think that stepping back or distancing oneself from life’s messy bits (or trying to eliminate those aspects) somehow makes Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque place
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Immanuel Kant Character Timeline in On the Genealogy of Morals
The timeline below shows where the character Immanuel Kant appears in On the Genealogy of Morals. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Preface
...that his contemporaries value pity so highly, because many philosophers—including Plato, Spinoza, La Rouchefoucald, and Kant—agree that pity is worthless despite disagreeing on many other things.
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Third Essay: What Do Ascetic Ideals Mean?
6. Nietzsche turns to the philosopher Kant’s views about art. Nietzsche thinks Kant makes a big mistake when he decides that an...
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...that Schopenhauer (despite being more in tune with the arts) makes the same mistake as Kant. Schopenhauer thinks that contemplating art silences sexual interest and gives a person a break from...
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...scientists (who have to become emotionally detached to do their serious scientific work), philosophers (like Kant, who thinks he’s liberated humanity from religious dogma), and agnostics, who doubt everything so much...
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