Aesthetic as Science of Expression and General Linguistic

Description

Benedetto Croce (1866 – 1952) was an Italian philosopher adept of idealist thought that was extremely influential before WW2, but soon lost a great deal of his extensive reputation after the start of the war. Croce was mainly inspired by other idealists, such as Schelling and Hegel, and his remarkable intelligence and literary talent allowed him to write relevant works on many topics, including philosophy, politics, history and aesthetics.

Aesthetic as Science of Expression and Generic Linguistic is a good example of the latter and one of Croce’s earliest, as well as most influential works.

The book is essentially an extensive text about aesthetics as a science, and features a solid, as well as comprehensive explanation of Croce’s main ideals, presented in an orderly fashion, point by point. The work exemplifies an earlier version of Croce’s “Philosophy of Spirit” which attempts a resolution of the problems and discrepancies between empiricism and rationalism.

Aesthetic as Science paves the way for Croce’s masterpiece on aesthetics entitled, The Essence of Aesthetics which would be presented 10 years later at the inauguration of Rice University. In Aesthetic as Science, as in his later works, the author points out the importance of art and the concept that everything we know can be reduced to two basic forms of knowledge: imaginative and logical.

According to many scholars, Croce’s book is less a study of aesthetics as the “beauty” of life, as it is a detailed explanation of how one can exist as a real life person in a world of rigid, Cartesian ideals. Even though Descartes’ rational thinking has long been discarded by most modern philosophers, its principles are still a driving force in today’s society.


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