Beauty and the Sense of Life

Abstract

The Hegelian notion of the end of art presupposes his totalizing account of world history. Hegel’s historical vision is inadequate because it fails to recognize that cultures have had different specific goals for art, and that they have not all aimed at the transparent realism that Hegel admires. His relegation of art to a less prominent role than hitherto also amounts to a demotion of beauty from its earlier spiritual role, through art, of guiding humanity to greater collective self-awareness. Hegel underemphasizes another spiritual function of beauty, its role in furthering our sense of life and enabling us to take joy in our own vitality. A recognition of this function of beauty is better able to reflect diverse cultural conceptions of beauty and spirituality than does Hegel’s account. It also suggests a partial explanation of the widespread phenomenon of turning to beauty in contexts of loss and mourning.