Dilettant/Genie. Zur Entstehung einer ästhetischen Unterscheidung

Abstract

The article deals with a remarkable semantic transformation in the period around 1800, when the term ›dilettantism‹ changes from a category of self-definition, used by serious artists, to a category of external ascription; from a category of inclusion to a category of exclusion and from a marker of social distinction to a genuinely aesthetic category. This transformation culminates in a joint work by Goethe and Schiller, the scheme Uber den Dilettantismus. The article proposes the thesis that the evolution of the term needs to be explained as an adaptation of semantics to the epochal transition from a stratified to a functionally differentiated type of social order. Two main implications of this adaptation concerning both production and reception of art are pointed out: On the one hand the use of ›dilettantism‹ as a combat term is an attempt to restore a boundary between artist and non-artist; on the other hand the concept develops certain pedagogical values to educate the audience — and to prepare it for the benefits of advanced literature.