Epistemology

LplsLemology ls Lhe sLudy of Lhe naLure orlgln and llmlLs of human knowledge 1he name ls derlved from Lhe
Creek episteme (knowledge") and /oqos (reason") and accordlng Lhe fleld ls someLhlng referred Lo as Lhe Lheory of
knowledge LplsLemology has had a long hlsLory spannlng Lhe Llme from Lhe pre SocraLlc Creeks Lo Lhe presenL Along
wlLh meLaphyslcs loglc and eLhlcs lL ls one of Lhe four maln flelds of phllosophy and nearly every greaL phllosopher has
conLrlbuLed Lo Lhe llLeraLure on Lhe Loplc 1he ma[or lssue wlLh respecL Lo Lhe orlglns of knowledge ls wheLher all
knowledge ls derlved from experlence 1here are Lwo sharply opposed LradlLlons empiricism whlch afflrms Lhls vlew
and rotiono/ism whlch re[ecLs lL
8aLlonallsL belleve Lhere are lnnaLe ldeas such as Lhe noLlon of equallLy whlch are noL found ln experlence Some
raLlonallsLs conLend LhaL Lhese noLlons derlve from Lhe sLrucLure of Lhe human mlnd oLhers LhaL Lhey exlsL lndependenLly
of Lhe mlnd and are apprehended by Lhe mlnd when lL reaches a cerLaln degree of sophlsLlcaLlon LmplrlclsLs by conLrasL
deny LhaL Lhere are any concepLs LhaL exlsL prlor Lo experlence and accordlngly Lhey asserL LhaL all knowledge ls a producL
of human learnlng ln whlch percepLlon plays Lhe maln role
ercepLlon lLself ls problemaLlc however slnce vlsual llluslons and halluclnaLlons show LhaL percepLlon cannoL always
deplcL Lhe world as lL acLually ls AnoLher problem for emplrlclsLs ls Lhe sLaLus of maLhemaLlcal Lheorems whose LruLh
condlLlons do noL depend on experlence and seem Lo be known a prlorl 1he emplrlclsL response Lo Lhls clalm ls LhaL
maLhemaLlcal Lheorems are empLy of cognlLlve conLenL and merely express Lhe relaLlonshlp of cerLaln concepLs Lo one
anoLher 1he greaL achlevemenL of Lhe 18Lh cenLury Cerman phllosopher lmmanuel kanL was Lo have worked ouL a
compromlse beLween Lhese compeLlng vlews Pe argued LhaL human belngs do have knowledge LhaL ls prlor Lo experlence
and yeL ls noL devold of cognlLlve slgnlflcance Lhe prlnclple of causallLy belng one such example kanL's vlew can be
summarlzed ln Lhe maxlm LhaL Lhere are a prlorl synLheLlc concepLs
1he lssues abouL Lhe orlglns of knowledge are connecLed wlLh quesLlons abouL Lhe llmlLs Many emplrlclsLs such as
uavld Pume and nonemplrlclsLs such as kanL agree LhaL Lhe human mlnd has Lhe capaclLy Lo generaLe quesLlons LhaL no
posslble appeal Lo experlence could answer such as wheLher Lhere ls Cod wheLher Lhe world has a flrsL cause or ls
uncaused and wheLher Lhere ls a reallLy behlnd Lhe apprehended by Lhe sense kanL labeled such quesLlons
LranscendenLal (beyond Lhe llmlLs of raLlonal lnqulry) and ln Lhe 20Lh cenLury so called loglcal poslLlvlsm such as MorlLz
Schllck 8udolf Carnap and A! Ayer have declared such quesLlons Lo be meLaphyslcal and devold of cognlLlve
slgnlflcance CuesLlons abouL Lhe naLure of knowledge span a wlde range lncludlng lnqulrles as Lo wheLher knowledge ls a
Lype of bellef or ls dlfferenL from bellef and wheLher knowledge ls a speclal faculLy ln Lhe mlnd or ls a dlsposlLlon Lo acL ln
cerLaln ways 1here ls some measure of agreemenL ln deallng wlLh such quesLlons
LplsLemologlcal concerns LhreaLened Lo dlvlde poeLry (sub[ecLlvlLy expresslonal or lrraLlonal) from reallLy (ob[ecLlvlLy
real word for sclence and sclenLlflc meLhod) LplsLemologlcal phase focused aLLenLlon on Lhe mlnd glvlng sancLlon Lo an
lnLeresL Lo sub[ecLlvlLy 1he rlse of aesLheLlc was one such aLLempL parLlcularly kanL's efforL Lo esLabllsh whaL he
oxymoronlcally called sub[ecLlve unlversallLy" ln aesLheLlc response LplsLemologlcal phase gave rlse Lo crlLlcal dlscourses
by resculng lL from mlmeLlc lnLerpreLlve mode
1here are number of Lheorles relaLed Lo eplsLemologlcal concern of Lhe LexLs LlLerary LexLs llke phllosophlcal dlscourse
exhlblL parLlcular domaln of knowledge Moreover Lhese Lheorles alm aL reveallng such domaln phllosophlcally 1he
canonlcal LexLs relaLed Lo Lhls mode are dlscussed process by LheorlsL Lo LheorlsL



ICnNL LCCkL

Lssay Concern|ng numan Understand|ng
!ohn Locke ls one of Lhe lnfluenLlal Lngllsh phllosophers and ls besL known for hls eplsLemologlcal and pollLlcal vlews Pe
observes knowledge Lo have begun wlLh slmple sense percepLlons and comblnlng Lhese ln Lo complex absLracL ldeas Pe ls
Lhe founder of emplrlclsm wlLh Lhe baslc dlsLlncLlon beLween Lhe prlmary quallLles of experlence (measurable Lhlngs) and
secondary quallLles (color smell sound LasLe eLc) whlch held Lo be produced as Lhe resulL of Lhe lmpacL of Lhe prlmary
quallLles on Lhe passlvely percelvlng sub[ecL unllke raLlonallsLs llke 8ene uescarLes Lhe sub[ecL of emplrlclsm ls born wlLh
no lnnaLe ldeas lL ls a 'tabu|a rasa'(blank mlnd) upon whlch naLural experlence ls lmprlnLed
Words are slgns of ldeas always based on experlences LhaL precede Lhem 1helr relaLlon Lo Lhese ldeas ls purely
arblLrary Lhrough afLer repeaLed use Lhey seem naLural for Locke LxcepL for proper names words are general and do noL
refer Lo speclflc ob[ecLs 8aLher Lhey slgnlfy absLracLs ldeas bullL up from comblnaLlons of slmple ones AfLer Lhe dlscusslon
of Lhe lmperfecLlon of words Locke remarks of Lhe dlfflculLles we encounLer ln Lhe lnLerpreLaLlon of Lhe anclenL auLhors
!ohn Locke dlsagrees wlLh Lhe flguraLlve use of language lL suggesLs wrong ldeas move Lhe passlon and mlslead Lhe
[udgmenL Locke oplnes LhaL rheLorlcal ls Lhe lnsLrumenL of error and decelL laLo also suggesLs Lhe same ldea 8oLh laLo
and Locke regard maLhemaLlcs as Lhe only LrusLworLhy language Locke locaLes Lhe LruLh ln Lhe emplrlcally derlved ldeas
Locke belleves LhaL all knowledge ls based on experlence Pe says our mlnd ls blank when born and all ldeas are
accumulaLed ln Lhe course of Llme Lhrough experlence Pe dlvldes all ldeas ln Lo Lwo LxLernal ldeas based on our
sensaLlons and Lhe lnLernal ldeas on Lhe reflecLlon SensaLlon ls always of quallLles whlch are as follows
r|mary ua||ty lL ls also Lermed as ob[ecLlve lmpersonal or unlversal quallLy Such quallLy bellevable slnce lL ls
measurable and known by Lhe sense of slghL (by eyes)
Secondary ua||ty lL ls sub[ecLlve and personal lL canL be measured we can only feel or experlence lL uue Lo lL
secondary quallLy varles from person Lo person so lL ls unbellevable Sub[ecLlve quallLy ls felL by Lhe sense of Louchlng
LasLlng and smelllng
Cur sense organs always lnpuL Lhe daLa from Lhe exLernal world flrsL we lnscrlbe slmple ldeas ln Lo our mlnd and Lhen
move on Lowards complex one Slmple ldeas enLer ln Lo our mlnd whlch has a processlng faculLy/ power 1hls power
fllLers and reflecLs Lhose ldeas and Lhose ldeas change ln Lo one A complex ldea ls Lhe LruLh and knowledge buL wlLhouL
any evldence we cannoL belleve ln knowledge and LruLh
We can sLlll summarlze hls vlew asexLernal ldeas are slmple ldeas based on smelllng LasLlng feellng hearlng eLc and
Lhe lnLernal ldeas are complex ldeas based on Lhlnklng reLhlnklng and comblnlng Lhe slmpler ldeas Slmple ldeas are Lhe
prlmary ldeas sLand as Lhe base for more complex and absLracL ldeas
Locke oplnes LhaL words are vehlcles Lo express ldeas 1he words are Lhe slgns of ldeas and Lheyre arblLrary ldeas are
lncorporaLed ln words alLhough Lhere ls no naLural relaLlonshlp beLween Lhe words and Lhe Lhlngs Lhey refer Lo 1here ls
no llnk beLween sound and meanlng Pe belleves LhaL flguraLlve language feeds passlon and emoLlon so lL ls bad Lo use lL
1he absLracL ldeas ln Lhe mlnd are concreLlzed or expressed wlLh Lhe help of language Words are arblLrarlly applled Lo Lhe
ldeas and Lhlngs buL Lhe consLanL use makes Lhose words naLural Language ls needed Lo share Lhe speakers ldeas wlLh
hearers ldea and vlce versa
1he greaLesL parL of Lhe words ls general noL parLlcular lL ls so because lL ls lmposslble Lo glve names Lo every
parLlcular 1he names are glven Lo Lhe Lhlngs LhaL our mlnd flnds pecullar dlsLlncL and clear 1he deflnlLlons are glven Lo
Lhe Lhlngs accordlng Lo Lhe genlus and dlfferenLla 1he essence can be Laken Lo be Lhe belng of Lhe Lhlngs whereby lL ls
whaL lL ls 'essenLla' 1here are Lwo Lypes of essence real and nomlnal 8eal essence ls lmposslble Lo geL Lg we can
provlde a parLlcular name for each of Lhe lndlvlduals 8uL Lhe word 'human belng' ls Lhe common quallLy of every
lndlvldual
Locke holds hls vlew on Lhe lmperfecLlon of words" 1o communlcaLe ldeas ls Lhe purpose of Lhe language 8uL
someLlmes language falls ln communlcaLlng ldeas Weve many ldeas buL Lhe language lacks Lhe sufflclenL number of
vocabulary Lo express each and every ldeas Slnce Lhere ls no naLural connecLlon beLween words and ldeas Lhey speak
Locke Lhlnks lL Lo be Lhe lmperfecLlon ln Lhe language
1here ls no sLandard of Lhe words as belng Lhe collecLlon of Lhe ldeas 1he lmperfecLlon also occurs when language ls
mlsused lL can cause Lhe communlcaLlon problems llke Lhe mlsundersLandlng beLween Lhe speaker and Lhe llsLener arlses
due Lo language Speaker has ldeas and wanLs Lo express hls ldeas buL hearer does noL possess Lhe same ldeas Pearer
only undersLands Lhe parLlal ldeas of Lhe speaker
lnlLlally Lhe speaker holds hls lnablllLy because of Lhe lack of vocabulary and whaLever he expresses Lhe hearer only
undersLands parLlal So language creaLes Lhe mlsundersLandlng beLween Lhe speaker and hearer We are lmaglnaLlve and
emoLlonal we go beyond Lhe unlverse buL language lacks Lhe capaclLy of Lranscendence So all lmaglnaLlve ldeas canL be
expressed ln language
LDMUND 8UkkL

A h||osoph|ca| Inqu|ry |n to the Cr|g|n of Cur Ideas of the Sub||me and 8eaut|fu|
Ldmund 8urke assumes LhaL all our knowledge comes vla sense experlence and LhaL we comblne Lhe slmple ldeas of
sense lnLo more complex one lor hlm Lhe lmaglnaLlon or a sorL of creaLlve power(Colerldges fancy) operaLes ln Lwo
ways
Cne LhaL represenLs aL pleasure Lhe lmages of Lhlngs ln Lhe order and manner ln whlch Lheywere recelved by Lhe
senses and Lhe nexL by comblnlng Lhose lmages ln a new manner and accordlng Lo dlfferenL order 1hus for 8urke
lmaglnaLlon can never produce any Lhlng absoluLely new
8urke belleves LhaL Lhe [udgmenL of LasLe ls unlversal buL lLs unlversallLy ls noL ob[ecLlve lnsLead lL ls more sub[ecLlve
1he sLandard of LasLe ln Lhe sense of a seL of unlversal rules LhaL apply Lo all works of arL ls noL posslble
1o [udge a work of arL wlLh Lhese rules would be a loglcal [udgmenL buL noL aesLheLlc one AesLheLlc [udgmenL ls
slngular so lL can noL be generallzed ln ralslng Lhe lssue of LasLe 8urke ls concerned prlmarlly wlLh Lhe problem of
LasLe and wheLher Lhere ls a slngle loglc of LasLe
Pe glves an example of a palnLer who palnLs shoes and a shoemaker 1hough boLh dlfferenL ln knowledge Lhey boLh
share Lhe pleasure arlslng from a naLural ob[ecLs so far as each percelves lL [usLly lmlLaLed 1hey are saLlsfled ln seelng an
agreeable flgure
8urke also belleves LhaL LasLe lmproves as [udgmenL lmproves Lhrough lncreased knowledge aLLenLlon and exerclse Pe
flnds LasLe and [udgmenL lnLerLwlned ln all human acLlvlLy
8urke ls also regarded for hls explanaLlon on Lhe opposlLlon beLween beauLy and subllmlLy by a physlologlcal Lheory Pe
made Lhe opposlLlon of pleasure and paln Lhe source of Lwo aesLheLlc caLegorles derlvlng beauLy from pleasure and
subllmlLy from paln
1he pleasure of beauLy has a relaxlng effecL on Lhe flbers of Lhe body whereas subllmlLy LlghLens Lhese flbers Pe says
beauLlful ls someLhlng LhaL creaLes affecLlon or passlonlL ls playful llghL wlLhouL greaL depLh Papplness ls llnked wlLh
beauLlful as lL ls more surfaclal
Cn Lhe oLher hand subllme ls vasL ln lLs dlmenslonlL ls someLhlng LhaL repels generaLes Lerror fear and serlousness
and has depLh Slnce lL has greaL depLh lL ls assoclaLed Lo sadness paln and gloomy ln lLs observaLlon
IMMANULL kAN1
Cr|t|que of Iudgement
kanL ls a Cerman phllosopher whose sysLemaLlc and comprehenslve work ln Lhe Lheory of eLhlcs knowledge and
aesLheLlcs lnfluenced varlous schools of kanLlanlsm and ldeallsm Pe has Lrled Lo brldge Lhe gap beLween emplrlclsm and
raLlonallsm
Pls aesLheLlc Lheory ln Lhe crlLlque of [udgemenL has lLs foundaLlon ln Lhe eplsLemologlcal poslLlon whlch he
expounded ln Lhe crlLlque of ure 8eason Pere he proposed Lhe exlsLence of Lhe manlfold of sensaLlon Lhe raw daLa
collecLed and organlzed by Lhe mlnd Lhrough Lhe creaLlve power of senslblllLy 1he senslblllLy absLracLs from Lhe manlfold
formulaLlon lnLellecLually accordlng Lo space and Llme Lhe a prlorl forms of consclousness Pe says we can never know
dlrecLly Lhlngs ln Lhemselves' We cosL all our percepLlons ln Lo Lhe forms of space and Llme Llke Pume kanL has
dlscussed Lwo fundamenLal aspecLs of knowledge
erceptua| based on exper|ence a poster|o emp|r|c|sm
Conceptua| based on |nte||ect a pr|or| w|thout exper|ence rat|ona||sm
Accordlng Lo raLlonallsLs mlnd ls acLlve ln Lhe process of knowledge 1herefore lL was wrong for Lhe emplrlclsL Lo
belleve LhaL mlnd ls passlve ln Lhe process of knowledge so sensaLlons are glven meanlngs by Lhe mlnd 1he ldeas are
formed wlLh Lhe help of sense percepLlons 1here can be no concepL ln Lhe lack of percepLlon kanL asserLs ConcepLlon
wlLhouL percepLlon ls empLy percepLlon wlLhouL concepLlon ls bllnd 1hus he blended emplrlclsm (posLerlorl) and
raLlonallsm (a prlorl) and produced hls own model of lnqulry called synLheLlc a prlorl
A prlorl knowledge ls lndependenL of experlence 8aLlonallsLs belleve ln a prlorl knowledge A posLerlorl knowledge ls
based on experlence So as Lo resolve Lhe confllcL beLween Lhe Lwo kanL proposed synLheLlc prlorl whlch ls a bellef LhaL
we canL know Lhlngs ln Lhemselves We cannoL ob[ecLlvely ldenLlfy Lhe world because we are bounded wlLh ln Lhe
framework of space and Llme Pls synLheLlc a prlorl proposes free cholce of Cod lor kanL knowledge wlLhouL
experlence ls posslble because our mlnd ls noL vacanL lnsLead lL ls full of Lwo elemenLs Llme (arlLhmeLlc) and space
(geomeLry) and such knowledge ls a prlorl Cn Lhe oLher hand ln a posLerlorl we recelve raw daLa from Lhe exLernal world
Lhrough experlence Lhese raw daLa enLer ln Lo Lhe mlnd Sense organs geL raw daLa whlch are fllLered ln Lhe mlnd and Lhe
fllLered daLa are senL ln Lo caLegory paLLern only Lhen such daLa Lake Lhe form of LhoughL or ldea
1he facu|ty of sens|b|||ty a pr|or|
1he facu|ty of understand|ng a poster|or|
1he facu|ty of reason|ng synthet|c a pr|or|
Accordlng Lo kanL mlnd lmposes order whlch we see ln Lhe exLernal world Whlle lnLeracLlng wlLh exLernal world we
make [udgemenL and [udgemenLs can be dlvlded ln Lo Lwo parLs aesLheLlc and Leleologlcal AesLheLlc [udgemenL (arL)
glves pleasure wlLhouL any purpose of goodness lL ls purposlveness wlLhouL purpose lf Lhe arL glves aesLheLlc pleasure
lL should noL have exLernal purpose lL should noL be dldacLlc whereas Leleologlcal [udgemenL ls value [udgemenL lL ls
more dedlcaLed Lo morallLy raLher Lhan reallLy lL Leaches whaL ls good or bad LhaL ls purpose orlenLed kanL however
goes agalnsL phllosophy and Leleologlcal [udgemenL boLh cannoL lead us Lo reallLy buL aesLheLlc [udgemenL can An ob[ecL
[udged aesLheLlcally canL be [udged ln Lerms of exLernal purpose
kanL makes comparlson on Lhree dlfferenL klnds of saLlsfacLlon pleasanL whlch saLlsfles man beauLlful pleases man
and good has some purpose leasure varles from person Lo person buL beauLlful ls dlslnLeresLed free and unlversal
AesLheLlc [udgemenL accordlng Lo hlm ls Lwo klnds 8eauLlful and Subllme 8eauLy has form boundary and Lo percelve
lL one oughL Lo re[ecL preconcepL LhaL desLroys Lhe noLlon of beauLlful 8eauLy cannoL be generallzed and Lo [udge
beauLy free mlnd ls essenLlal 1he subllme however dlffers from Lhe beauLlful SubllmlLy exlsLs ln mlnd whlch ls absoluLely
greaL vasL and lnexpresslble concerned only wlLh feellng 1he source of subllmlLy ls fear paln and Lragedy 1o our
lmaglnaLlon Lhe subllme ob[ecL ls formless and beyond cognlLlon 1here are Lwo Lypes of subllmlLy maLhemaLlcal and
dynamlc
Ak1nUk SCnCLNnAULk
1he Wor|d as W||| and Idea
Schopenhauer ls a Cerman phllosopher who ralses quesLlon on exlsLlng assumpLlon abouL free wlll Pe sLands ln favor of
Lhe exlsLence of free wlll ln oLher words he means Lo say LhaL ln Lhe sLaLe of wllllessness free wlll operaLes ln Lhe
acLlvlLles of human belng Accordlng Lo hlm ldea ls wlll ob[ecLlfled When wlll becomes ob[ecL Lhe ldea of Lhlng becomes
emlnenL
Pls aesLheLlc forms a parL of hls phllosophlcal sysLem Pe holds Lhe bellef LhaL Lhe senses cannoL apprehend (grasp)
Lhe reallLy ln saylng so he sound laLonlc 8uL he ls raLher kanLlan ln saylng LhaL lnLellecL provldes knowledge aL Lhe same
Llme LhaL lL shuLs up off (sLop) from an apprehenslon of Lhlngs ln Lhemselves" We assume raLlonallLy ln Lhlngs and evenLs
based on prlnclpal of sufflclenL reason' ln accordance wlLh Lhls prlnclple and lLs laws our mlnd conLracL Lhe concepL of
Lhe world as ldea or represenLaLlon buL Lhe world so consLrucLed ls only Lhe world of appearance
1he world of wlll ls anoLher aspecL of Lhe world whlch can be known dlrecLly only lf we manage Lo release ourselves
from Lhe prlnclple of sufflclenL reasonlng lndeed all phenomena manlfesL or represenL wlll We can be aware of wlll
raLlonally only ln lLs lmpurlLy' When Lhe mlnd ls released from Lhe prlnclple of sufflclenL reason Lhe work of arL Lakes on a
LranscendenL unlversallLy and Lhe mlnd achleves a klnd of freedom confronLlng pure wlll AesLheLlc freedom however ls
fleeLlng Man always reLurns from aesLheLlc experlence Lo Lhe area of human confllcL where Lhe varlous manlfesLaLlons of
Lhe wlll endlessly sLrlve agalnsL each oLher
Schopenhaur ls an ldeallsL lnfluenced by easLern phllosophy rlmarlly he dlvldes Lhe world ln Lo Lwo caLegorles Lhe
world of reallLy and Lhe world of appearance 1he world we percelve Lhrough sense organs ls Lhe world of appearance lL ls
also Lhe world of sufflclenL reasonlng 1he world of reallLy on Lhe oLher hand ls beyond Lhe world of sufflclenL reasonlng
1he world of reallLy can be dlvlded ln Lo Lwo caLegorles Lhe world of ldea and Lhe world of wlll Wlll ls noLhlng buL Lhe
deslre 1he wlll ls Lhe ulLlmaLe cause of sufferlng 1he presenL reallLy ls wlll and when lL ls broken we can reach Lo
wllllngness (pure wlll) 1he world of wllllessness ls free and equal Lo Lhe ldeal world of laLo 1he world of wlll ls Lhe world
of deslre llke Lhe vell of Maya We are gulded by wlll whlch ls formless (llke Schlllers sensuous drlve) 1he reason of our
sufferlng ls [usL because we are consclous
1here are Lwo forces ln Lhls world wlll and reasonlng 8oLh of Lhem are Lhe cause of our sufferlng 1herefore we have
Lo Lranscend Lhls world Lo go Lo Lhe world of wllllessness 1here are Lwo ways Lo goL Lo Lhe world of wllllessness aesLheLlc
arL and plaLonlc conLemplaLlon 1he arL has Lemporary wllllessness buL Lhe laLonlc conLemplaLlon ls permanenL sages
achleve Lhls 1here ls no deslre no wlll ln Lhls conLemplaLlon
Cnly Lhe pure wlllless knowlng can relaLe us wlLh everyLhlng perfecL 8uL Lhls sLaLe of perfecLlon ls shorL llved We fall
back Lo Lhe same sLaLe because we lack genlus Pe dlvldes aesLheLlc experlence or arL ln Lo Lwo parLs beauLlful and
subllme 8eauLlful ls Lhe ob[ecL of our aesLheLlc conLemplaLlon and subllme ls LhaL sLaLe of pure knowledge whlch ls
aLLalned by a forclble and consclous breaklng away from Lhe relaLlon of Lhe same ob[ecL Lo Lhe wlll
8eauLy glves pleasure wlLhouL any efforL buL Lo geL subllme arL we have Lo labor ArL however has LranslLory effecL of
pleasure Lemporary sLaLe of wllllessness buL conLemplaLlon whlch LreaLs Lhe person as Lhe sub[ecL of ldea noL as
lndlvldual has permanenL wllllessness and geL freedom ln Lhe sLaLe of wllllessness
Accordlng Lo Schopenhaur Lragedy ls a summlL of poeLlc arL lL ls Lhe represenLaLlon of Lhe Lerrlble rlde of llfe lL furLher
reveals Lhe naLure of Lhe world and Lhe exlsLence lL ls sLrlfe of wlll wlLh lLself ln Lhls sense Lragedy carrles Lhe Lraglc vlslon
of llfe 1hen he Lalks abouL lyrlc ln lyrlc who represenLs and whaL ls represenLed are relaLed Lo Cne Lyrlc reflecLs Lhe
lnner naLure of all manklnd ln lL Lhe ldea of man ls Lruly represenLed

LCkL Wn nLLL

1he h||osophy of I|ne Arts
Pegellsm ls a bellef LhaL consclousness deLermlnes Lhe maLLer Pegel a Cerman ldeallsL belleves ln ldea or organlc unlLy
or CelsL (hls own word) ln whlch every parL ls dependenL on and ls deflnable ln Lerms of every oLher parL and of Lhe
whole lLself Man ls a parL of Lhls whole and a concreLe deflnlLlon of man musL be made ln lLs Lerms 1here always exlsLs
Lhe confllcLual slLuaLlon beLween Lhe Lwo Marxlsm and Pegellsm ln Lhls essay he lnslsLs LhaL arL musL be made noL ln
Lerms of lLs use as a mere parL Llme ln Lhe servlce of pleasure and enLerLalnmenL lnsLead lL musL be consldered a mode
llke reallsm and phllosophy Lhrough whlch Lhe ldea ls made avallable Lo consclousness ArL presenLs lLs maLLer ln
sensuous forms 1he beauLlful ln arL ls carrled ln Lo concreLe form uesplLe Lhe aLLenLlon he lavlshes on arL however he
does noL conslder lL Lo be Lhe hlghesL manlfesLaLlon of ldea lL ls llmlLed by medla and flnally proves less saLlsfacLory Lo
man Lhan ln rellglon and phllosophy
Lvery socleLy or an lndlvldual possesses consclousness LhaL deLermlnes belng" or maLLer An lndlvldual forms socleLy
whlch emerges splrlL or CelsL Slnce every human belng and hls producLs are noLhlng buL Lhe producL of consclousness
socleLy moves dlalecLlcally Pegel clalms LhaL confllcL ls LhaL lnevlLable Lhlng for any soclal progress 1he confllcLs occur
beLween Lhesls and anLlLhesls resulLlng synLhesls SynLhesls ls a musL ln socleLy because every progress ls Lhe progress of
consclousness Powever synLhesls Lransforms ln Lo Lhesls counLerlng wlLh anLl Lhesls resulLlng agaln Lo synLhesls lndeed
lL conLlnues forever such a conLlnuous phenomenon ls called dlalecLlcal ldeallsm Pere hls Lhesls ls llke belng anLlLhesls
llke becomlng
Pegel belleves ln Lhe progress of hlsLory slmllarly Lo Marx 1hus dlalecLlsm ls a phenomenon LhaL enhances dlrecL
confllcL whlch occurs due Lo Lhe consclousness Pe says consclousness glves blrLh Lo every maLLer whlch ls absLracL and
arL ls one of Lhe modes llke rellglon and phllosophy Lo reach Lhe ldea (consclousness) ArL should be concenLraLed on ldea
and lL should be free from maLLer and should be unlversal Such arL could lead us Lo Lhe world of ldea Slnce arL has Lhe
quallLy of Lurnlng Lhe dead maLLers allve ln Lo Lhe llfe of ldea Lhrough phllosophy lL ls ldeal ldea ls more lmporLanL Lhan
maLLer ldea becomes conLenL of arL whlch ls one of Lhe manlfesLaLlons of absoluLe mlnd of whlch rellglon and
phllosophy are oLher Lwo
1here are fundamenta||y three k|nds of art symbo||c c|ass|ca| and romant|c
Symbo||c art (art w|th more matter) Symbollc arL ls llke Lhesls Pe calls symbollc arL as lnferlor and levels Lhem wlLh
easLern arL ln whlch Lhere ls Lhe domlnaLlon of maLLer noL ldea 1he arL ls sub humanlzed ln LhaL Lhere ls Lhe loss of
humanlLy Pe calls lL monkey arL or anlmallsLlc arL LasLerners always have exLernal Lhlngs as prlmary lnsLead of ldea ldea
for Lhem ls Lhe absLracLlon 1hey look for Lhe ldea ln ouLer maLLer llke archlLecLure whlch ls noLhlng buL a maLerlal
producL
C|ass|ca| Art ln Lhls arL Lhese ls much more approprlaLe relaLlonshlp beLween ldea and embodlmenL lor example Lhe
human form ln a classlcal ls a naLural shape approprlaLe Lo Lhe represenLaLlon of Lhe mlnd ln Lhls arL form and conLend
are blended lL can be Laken as anLlLhesls (Creek arL) lL ls beLLer Lhan symbollc arL because here ls Lhe equal
represenLaLlon of ldea and maLLer Pere arL ls humanlzed and ob[ecLed [usL because lL ls noL free from maLLer All Lhe
ldeas are humanlzed and personlfled from Lhe easLern monkey sLage Lo Creek human sLage eg sculpLure
komant|c Art lL ls Luropean or ChrlsLlan arL for Pegel Lhere ls no maLLer aLLached wlLh ldea We noLlce Lhe glorlflcaLlon of
dlvlnlLy 1he ldea Lhemselves are self sufflclenL so Lhere ls no need of ob[ecL and maLLer Such arL ls reallzed Lhrough
palnLlng muslc and poeLry ln ascendlng order of freedom alnLlng ls more ldeal Lhe sculpLure whlch ls more ldeal Lhan
archlLecLure Muslc ls more ldeal Lhan palnLlng as ln muslc ob[ecLs are noL represenLed and a Lemporal order alone exlsLs
1he words ln Lhe poeLry are mosL free lLs sensuousness ls creaLed by Lhe mlnd noL by Lhe maLerlals of Lhe arL
uesplLe glvlng much worLh on arL he does noL conslder arL Lo be Lhe hlghesL manlfesLaLlon of Lhe ldea lLs medla llmlLs lL
and flnally he proves lL less saLlsfacLory Lo man Lhan rellglon and phllosophy
IkILDkICn NIL12SCnL

1he 8|rth of 1ragedy from the Sp|r|t of Mus|c
nleLzsche ls Lhe ploneer of deconsLrucLlon who posed quesLlon regardlng Lhe exlsLence of Cod Pe also has quesLloned
Lhe relaLlon of language Lo LruLh As Creek Lragedy developed one lmpulse came Lo balance Lhe oLher ulonyslac ecsLasy
belng ordered by Apollonlan form buL ln modern llfe Lhe Lraglc vlew has been suppressed ln sclenLlflc opLlmlsm Lvery
culLure LhaL has losL Lhe ulonslac myLh maklng splrlL has losL by Lhe same Loken lLs naLural healLhy creaLlvlLy nleLzsche
secularlzes Lhe 'LruLh' ln language as a lle
Pe aLLempLs Lo classlfy Lhe Lwo baslc psychologlcal forces ln human klnd Apollonlanlsm and ulonyslanlsm 1he former
relaLed Lo reflnemenL order morallLy and lnLellecLuallLy Apollo ls Creek Cod of learnlng who demands reason and order
Pe sLands for paLlence calm and medlLaLlon Apollonlan world ls phenomenal world where Lhere ls lndlvlduallLy or self
lnLellecL form dream consclousness and so on ulonyslanlsm ls relaLed Lo rupLure dlsorder and passlon ulonysus ls god
of wlne and lnLoxlcaLlon ecsLasy and nolsy celebraLlon Pe symbollzes chaos dlsorder abandonmenL of reason nleLzsche
polnLs ouL LhaL ulonyslan world ls Lhe world of emoLlon lrraLlonallLy anlmallsm lmmorallLy lL ls llke unconsclous world
where we flnd mob formless energy and collecLlve world Pere self ls losL and Lhe dlchoLomy beLween cenLer versus
margln ls rupLured creaLlon carnlvalzed slLuaLlon where all are equal llke Lhe romanLlc world of song and muslc
nleLzsche polnLs ouL LhaL ln Creek Lragedy Lhere was proper marrlage beLween Lhese Lwo creaLlve forces Muslc ln Lhe
course of Lragedy revlves myLh and such myLh maklng faculLy ls lmporLanL because lL has Lhe capaclLy Lo unlfy Lhe
culLure MyLhs are Lhe expresslon of collecLlve unconsclous 8oLh Apollonlan and ulonyslac forces Lhrough Lhey are
opposlLe should be harmonlzed 8uL ln modern Llme sclence has aLLacked myLh so lL has become lmposslble Lo creaLe
such a greaL Lragedy When reason becomes domlnanL Lhe synLheLlc awareness of Lwo exLreme Lendencles ln culLure
comes Lo decllne 1he modern clvlllzaLlon has suppressed Lhe ulonyslac myLhmaklng splrlL 1hus Lhe modern arL has losL
lLs naLural and healLhy creaLlvlLy SynLheLlc awareness of Lhese Lwo Lendencles ls requlred for Lhe besL arL uream and
lnLoxlcaLlon equally lnfluence greaL wrlLers 1ragedy goL lLs orlglnaLlon from Lhe splrlL of muslc whlch ls baslcally
ulonyslac

Pe lamenLs for Lhe loss of myLhopoelc world when raLlonallLy and enllghLenmenL domlnaLed myLhopoelc splrlL lL was
Lhe greaL Lragedy for Lhe world 8y myLhopoelc power we mean poeLlc power of myLh 1he poeLlc power of myLh offers
llberaLlon Lo Lhe lnLellecLually conflned suffocaLed mlnd nleLzsche assumes Lhe Lragedy as muslcal lL was Lhe greaLesL of
Lhe arL because lL lnvolves a harmonlzaLlon of Lhe greaLesL posslble Lenslons 1he palnLers Lhe sculpLors and Lhe eplc
poeLs are characLerlsLlcally devoLees of ulonysus 1o parLlclpaLe ln Lhe experlence of genulne Lragedy man musL puL aslde
Lhe brlLLle rlgldlLles of hls raLlonallLy Pe belleves LhaL Creek Lragedy grew ouL of Lhe worshlp of ulonysus 1rue Lragedy
could be lnLerpreLed only as a manlfesLaLlon and lllusLraLlon of ulonyslan sLaLes Pe oplnes LhaL Lragedy does noL release
sLrong feellng Lhrough lLs effecL buL Lonlc
WlLh Lhe help of muslc and lnLoxlcaLlon people Lranscend Lhe Apollonlan world and geL compleLe pleasure and
freedom ln ulonyslan world people unknowlngly commlL mlsLake When Lhey reLurn back Lo Apollonlan world Lhey
reallze Lhelr mlsLakes and Lhelr reallzaLlon makes Lhem suffer a loL 1hls becomes Lhe Lraglc feellng whlch ls Lhe source of
Lragedy 1herefore for Lhe Lragedy boLh Lhese elemenLs are equally lmporLanL Pence nleLzsche vlews LhaL ln arL
ulonyslac elemenL ls equally lmporLanL as Apollonlan alone cannoL compleLe arL
1he 1ruth and Ia|s|ty |n an U|tramora| Sense
nleLzsche ln hls essay 1ruLh and lalslLy ln an ulLramoral Sense quesLlons Lhe age old bellef LhaL language can provlde
us wlLh LruLh and reason always deals wlLh Lhe real knowledge lor hlm Lhe Lendency of language ls always Lowards
absLracLlon and away from Lhe lndlvldual and real and flnally ln Lo Lhe LhreaL of raLlonal flxlLy Pe clalms LhaL reason never
bends Lo LruLh MosL of Lhe Llme human lnLellecL ls saLlsfled wlLh llluslons nleLzsche refuses Lhe ldea LhaL Lhe world
revolves around lnLellecL Pe refuses Lhe ldea LhaL Lhe world revolves around Lhe lnLellecL and ls gulded by LruLh Pe sees
sensaLlon and cognlLlon as maln causes of decepLlon Man ls deeply lmmersed ln falsehood and llluslon Pls sensaLlon ls
saLlsfled wlLh Lhe surface knowledge of Lhlngs and hls cognlLlon forms an ldea of Lhlngs ouL of Lhls surface knowledge Pe
Lends Lo Lhlnks LhaL lL ls Lhe knowledge of Lhe essence of Lhe Lhlng 1hls ls an llluslon wlLh human belngs and hls
knowledge ls always lncapable Lo lead Lo Lhe LruLh nleLzsche argues LhaL human socleLy us hypocrlLlcal lL longs for LruLh
only because of lLs llfe preservlng consequences 8uL whaL ls supposed Lo be a LruLh ls only a decepLlon Man haLes noL Lhe
decepLlon buL Lhe evll consequences of decepLlon When man feels LhaL Lhe adopLed or consLrucLed LruLh can creaLe an
lnlmlcal slLuaLlon he does noL heslLaLe Lo avold lL
Man uses language or words Lo lndlcaLe LruLh value or essence of Lhe Lhlngs ln reallLy he uses only meLaphors LhaL
arblLrarlly lndlcaLe Lhe essence of Lhe Lhlng We merely deslgnaLe Lhe relaLlon of LhaL Lhlng Lo man or lL ls [usL an
anLhropomorphlc lnLerpreLaLlon Lvery Llme we Lake Lhe relaLlon of Lhlngs Lo man from dlfferenL perspecLlves and wlLh a
dlfference or change ln perspecLlves we glve dlfferenL meLaphors Lo Lhe same Lhlng We have Lhe knowledge of Lhese
meLaphors noL of Lhe real essence of Lhlngs slnce meLaphors are noL capable of bearlng Lhe real essence of Lhlngs
Language lLself ls a large sysLem of such meLaphors Lhus language cannoL convey Lhe LruLh 1hrough lL seems LhaL all word
slgnlfles LruLhs or ldeas buL Lhere ls no such relaLlon beLween words and ldeas 8aLher Lhey are convenLlonally flxed
lndlvldual and parLlcularlzed 1hey are flLLed ln Lhe conLexL of Lhe slmllarlLy omlLLlng some dlfferences 1hus ldeas are
formed equallng unequal We never know Lhe real 1herefore only afLer lgnorlng Lhe real we are able Lo form an ldea lor
nleLzsche 1ruLh ls a moblle army of meLaphors meLonymles anLhropomorphlsms 1hls ls a sum of human relaLlons
adorned and lnLenslfled poeLlcally and rheLorlcally and afLer a long usage seems Lo be flxed and canonlc 8uL LruLh ls an
llluslon LhaL emerges wlLh Lhe error of bellevlng ln llluslon as LruLh and wlLh Lhe error of forgeLLlng Lhe llluslve quallLy of
LruLh 1ruLh always moves Loward absLracLlons and man raLlonally submlLs Lo lL ln order Lo llve soclally 1he absLracLlon ls a
generallzaLlon of lmpresslons and schemaLlzaLlon of meLaphors Lo make percepLlons appear as LruLh or ldea ln Lhe
process of absLracLlon man uslng an archlLecLural genlus creaLes a pyramldal order of laws prlvlleges and suborders
WhaLever submlLs Lo Lhls order ls Laken Lo be real 1hls consLrucLed LruLh survlval ln Lhe realm of reason maklng reason
quesLlonable 1hus nleLzsche as a real deconsLrucLlonlsL deconsLrucLs Lhe noLlon LhaL language bears wlLh lL reallLy LruLh
or ldea Moreover as Lhe domaln of reason ls noL separable from Lhe mechanlsm of language lL Loo becomes someLhlng
LhaL can be quesLloned
IAM8A11IS1A VICC
The New Science
Vico is an Italian philosopher and a historian influenced by classical and renaissance writers. He conceive
of a heroic age in which men constructed myths, symbols and rituals that served as the basis for the slow
growth of the human consciousness of history and reality. Vico's basic idea concentrates on "the poetic
wisdom, which leads to abstract thought but not without an eventual loss of spirit and imaginative life. By
poetic wisdom Vico means unbounded by reason and intellect. Wisdom which is poetical; not intellectual is
called poetic wisdom. In other words, wisdom, which transcends the barriers of mind or intellect, is called
poetic wisdom. Wisdom from the beyond is not affected by intellect, the product of civilization.
In defining poetry, he treats its origins in the primitive imagination. He values Homer and ancient poets
as the creators of culture. The philosophers, who followed them, built up systems of abstract thought from
the poets imaginative creations. Thus, Vico is one of the earliest theorists to base the importance of art on
the principle that abstract thought emerges from iconic expression or mythical thinking. By iconic
expression we mean expression in the from of icon. It is a form of concert expression. When abstract
thought is expressed in the form of idea, iconic expression comes in to establishment. As a consequence, he
reverses the usual rationalistic definitions of the poetic tropes as special kind of deviation from rational
linguistic procedures.
Although he belongs to the Enlightenment movement, he seems to be dissatisfied with its doctrine. He
uses the term poetic sensitivity, poetic wisdom, iconic expression, mythical thinking etc, against
philosophical and abstract thinking. He laments for the loss of poetic wisdom. He wishes to bring the poetic
wisdom back to the age of science. Due to civilization and philosophy, our pure, innate, inborn quality- the
poetic wisdom is lost. He favors poetry advocating against philosophy. Philosophy was superior to poetry in
western tendency but Vico denies it and says poetry precedes philosophy. He claims that "poetic wisdom is
the source of everything. Poetry is the first creation of human beings. He says that poetry is concrete not
abstract. Poets "humanize poetry, so it is concrete. To humanize poetry, poet uses metaphor, and human
bodily parts are compared with concrete things of outer world. Poetry is based on sense perception but
philosophy on reason. Therefore, sense perception is superior to reason, quite contrary to Plato. History for
Vico, never dies. It is repetitive and moves in cyclic movement.
History is the "poetic wisdom that has the three stages they are -
e of Gods
e of Heroes
e of Men
e of Gods:In the ancient time, when there was uncivilization and brutality, myth was created. The
people were ignorant about nature. They were surprised with natural phenomena and were curious to it. So,
they imagined about such mysterious things. And through the imagination, they created the story of gods
and goddesses. This very imagination was the knowledge to them. They created those stories in poetic
language using metaphor. People started humanizing nature by giving human attributes to natural
happenings. The sky, hills, clouds etc. were considered as amazing entities. Sense of Wonder and
amazement gave rise to poetic wisdom.
e of HeroesPoetry was written about superman, which replaced god. In place of metaphor, allegory
was used. Myth was allegorized. Poetry became concentrated on rules and regulations.

e of Man Satire and irony becomes dominant elements. Poets using satire and irony hid truth. It is the
age of new Barbarism. There is no truth, only falsehood. Here, it is the loss of ancient poetic wisdom
because reason became superior to poetry. Therefore, concrete poetry turned in to abstract. Imagination
and wonder have been lost.
Vico goes against Marxism. For him, historical cycle repeats again and it reaches to ancient time. Again,
poets write in imagination. He opposes Marxism in the sense that Marxists believe that history moves in
vertical line and Marx's past history never returns back; it is always progressive, but Vico's history is circular
it can be repetitive and recurring. Here, he sounds like M. Foucault.