Ep. 318: Friedrich Schiller on the Civilizing Potential of Art (Part Two)

We continue working through letters 1-15 of On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795), helped by Markus Reuter.

We get clearer on what Schiller means by Beauty, and how two contrary drives toward matter and form somehow cancel each other out to combine in a "play drive" that is at the heart of appreciating and creating art.

Sponsors: Get 15% off a newly-cheaper ($10/month) annual membership at MasterClass.com/pel. Check out the Jordan Harbinger Show at jordanharbinger.com/subscribe.

Ep. 318: Friedrich Schiller on the Civilizing Potential of Art (Part One)

Can art make us better people? Musician Markus Reuter joins Mark, Wes, and Seth to discussion the first half of On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795).

Given the failure of the French Revolution, this famous German poet wondered what could make the masses capable of governing themselves? His answer: Beauty! Aesthetic appreciation puts us at a distance from our savage desires, enables the abstract thought necessary for Kantian rationalist morality, and yet keeps us in touch with our feelings so that we don't just become cogs in the industrial machine.

Sponsors: Secure your Internet and get three extra months free at ExpressVPN.com/PEL. Try The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman.

Ep. 311: Understanding the Dao De Jing (Part One)

On the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) by Laozi (ca. 500 BCE), with guest Theodore Brooks.

We talk about the wildly different, interpretive translations of this foundational Daoist (Taoist) text, its political views, and what the Dao might actually be.