Criticism of Schopenhauer’s philosophy of art and beauty

Despite his efforts to develop a coherent philosophy of art and beauty, Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) missed essential elements. His aesthetics theory is incomplete because it defines beauty as harmony and symmetry, that is, he exclusively refers to aspects perceivable by the senses. Why is Schopenhauer’s art theory incomplete? Because it is leaving out major art forms. His arguments about harmony and symmetry are applicable to paintings, sculpture, architecture or decorative arts. I would also agree that harmony and symmetry apply in the area of musical composition and performance. However, there is no way to apply Schopenhauer’s argument to major art forms such as theatre and novels, or their modern derivatives, film, video and television. In his book “The world as will and representation” (1818), Schopenhauer depicted art as a consolation to the human mind because art helps assuage pain and suffering during hard times. However, his arguments about harmony and symmetry fail to explain why some novels and theatre plays can help assuage suffering, but others cannot. Schopenhauer’s art philosophy is incomplete, but we can fill its gaps through the theories of Carl Jung (1875-1961), a Swiss psychiatrist famous for having first used art as a therapeutic method. In doing so, Jung gained important insights about the nature of aesthetics. Jung’s work stands in contrast to Schopenhauer’s scepticism for emotional explanations. Jung explored the unconscious of his patients in search of insights that would enable him to steer them towards recovery and personal growth. In his book “Psychology of the unconscious” (1912), Jung invented the labels “introvert” and “extrovert” to define human personalities. He also pointed out that people build their ideas through symbols and archetypes drawn from their culture. While Schopenhauer had focused his analysis on objective aspects (harmony, symmetry) in artworks, Jung observed that art includes symbols perceivable by the unconscious. Introverted and extroverted people can interpret symbols differently, but one cannot deny that those symbols exist in artworks. In his book “Psychology and alchemy” (1944), Jung takes a highly optimistic view of art as a therapy method. He expected patients to employ artistic symbols to solve their psychological problems. Thus, he encouraged patients to draw and paint. Through his clinical observations, Jung had identified major aspects in art theory, aspects that Schopenhauer had missed. In particular, I’m referring to the ability of artworks to convey ethical guidelines and a sense of purpose. Schopenhauer’s book “Parerga and Paralipomena” (1851) refers on many occasions to artworks, but fails to point out the ability of art to provide ethical guidance. Moral guidance may take place on a symbolic level, but it is present in artworks nevertheless. Successful television shows, films, comic books, theatre, novels and video-games draw vast audiences because they provide not only entertainment but also ethical guidance. Jung was right in sustaining that art enables individuals to grasp and express aspects that had so far remained unconscious or repressed. Schopenhauer had missed the fact that art enables people to grasp their own fear and desires, and gain motivation to improve their lives. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/criticism-of-schopenhauers-philosophy-of-art-and-beauty/