Abstract
Klemme offers a summary of one of Schiller’s most influential philosophical writings, its origin, philosophical context, and reception in the literature. Special attention is given to Kant’s impact on Schiller. On the one hand, Schiller is critical of Kant’s ethics, which has no room for grace because it constructs the concept of duty out of the opposition between freedom and nature. On the other hand, he refrains from any critical dissociation from Kant’s ethics in the section on dignity, which Schiller conceives of as more of a ‘masculine’ virtue that more closely approximates Kant’s model of human volition characterized by conflict and difference. Apart from that, Schiller’s conception of the sublime does not constitute any continuation of this doctrine in Kant.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
Schiller renders this passage as follows: “Was du hier siehest, edler Geist, bist du selbst” (cf. Matuschek 2002, p. 79).
- 2.
The Cambridge translation of “free” has been changed here to “pure” following the German Form des reinen Willens.
- 3.
“Grace” is the English translation of “Anmut” and “Grazie.”
- 4.
In Greek mythology, the Graces, or “Charites,” were three daughters of Zeus, namely Aglaie, Euphrosyne, and Thaleia (Apollodorus 1997, p. 29).
- 5.
Translation modified.
References
Alt, Peter-André. 2000. Schiller. Leben – Werk – Zeit, vol. 2. Munich: C.H. Beck.
Apollodorus. 1997. The Library of Greek Mythology. Trans. and ed. R. Hard. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Beiser, Frederick. 2005. Schiller as Philosopher: A Re-Examination. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dalberg, Carl von. 1791. Grundsaetze der Aesthetik. Erfurt.
Feger, Hans. 2014. Friedrich von Schiller. In Grundriss der Geschichte der Philosophie. Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation, Schweiz, Nord- und Osteuropa, eds. H. Holzhey and V. Mudroch, 1356–1367. Basel: Schwabe.
Matuschek, Stefan. 2002. ‘Was du hier siehest, edler Geist, bist du selbst.’ Narziß-Mythos und ästhetische Theorie bei Friedrich Schlegel und Herbert Marcuse. In Narcissus: Ein Mythos von der Antike bis zum Cyberspace, ed. A. Renger, 79–97. Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler.
Milton, John. 2005. Paradise Lost. Ed. P. Pullman. New York: Oxford University Press.
Safranski, Rüdiger. 2004. Schiller oder Die Erfindung der Deutschen Idealismus. Munich/Vienna: Carl Hanser Verlag.
Schilling, Diana. 2005. Über Anmut und Würde (1793). In Schiller-Handbuch, Leben – Werk – Wirkung, ed. M Luserke-Jaqui, 388–398. Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Klemme, H.F. (2023). On Grace and Dignity (1793). In: Falduto, A., Mehigan, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook on the Philosophy of Friedrich Schiller. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16798-0_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16798-0_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-16797-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-16798-0
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)