Æsthetic as science of expression and general linguisticCroce, Benedetto
Philosophy
Æsthetic as science of expression and general linguistic
Croce, Benedetto
Aesthetics; Language and languages -- Philosophy; Philosophy
In ordinary life, constant appeal is made to intuitive knowledge. It is
said that we cannot give definitions of certain truths; that they are
not demonstrable by syllogisms; that they must be learnt intuitively.
The politician finds fault with the abstract reasoner, who possesses no
lively intuition of actual conditions; the educational theorist insists
upon the necessity of developing the intuitive faculty in the pupil
before everything else; the critic in judging a work of art makes it
a point of honour to set aside theory and abstractions, and to judge
it by direct intuition; the practical man professes to live rather by
intuition than by reason.
But this ample acknowledgment granted to intuitive knowledge
in ordinary life, does not correspond to an equal and adequate
acknowledgment in the field of theory and of philosophy. There exists a
very ancient science of intellectual knowledge, admitted by all without
discussion, namely, Logic; but a science of intuitive knowledge is
timidly and with difficulty asserted by but a few. Logical knowledge
has appropriated the lion's share; and if she does not slay and devour
her companion outright, yet yields to her but grudgingly the humble
place of maid-servant or doorkeeper.--What can intuitive knowledge be
without the light of intellectual knowledge? It is a servant without
a master; and though a master find a servant useful, the master is a
necessity to the servant, since he enables him to gain his livelihood.
Intuition is blind; intellect lends her eyes.
[Sidenote: _Its independence with respect to intellectual knowledge._]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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