The Sublime in Modern German Philosophy

Abstract

Two conceptions outline contemporary reflections on the sublime: one unfolds by differentiating itself from its modern definition; the other emphasizes continuity between both moments. Against the idea of a radical opposition between these conceptions, we propose reconsidering the relationship between changes and continuities in the theorization of the sublime in modern German philosophy (Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Simmel). We make two claims: 1) since the transition from the modern (natural) sublime to the contemporary (technological-political) sublime is based on the increasing exploitation of nature, this transition is progressive, not abrupt; 2) at the limits of this transition (in Simmel), the opposition between the natural sublime and the anthropological sublime calls into question the ethical and aesthetic issues involved in attaining these feelings as absolutes. This problematization, also present in later philosophy, marks a point of transition between modern and contemporary aesthetics.