Ästhetischer Konservatismus und Lebensphilosophie : Friedrich Schlegels "neue Mythologie" in der Wiener Zeit

Abstract

For a long time Friedrich Schlegel's conservatism in his Vienna years has been con- sidered a catholic and restorative thought related to Metternich's political line. Thus Schlegel's conservatism, which after the beginning of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804 and the fall of the Sacred Roman Empire in 1806 centres on the ideal of a new Austrian 'Empire', is less reactionary and more innovative than it could seem at first sight. Taking into consideration Schlegel's nearly forgotten Vienna university lectures about 'Modern History' (held in 1810) and about 'Philosophy of Life' (projected around 1810 and held in 1827), this contribution aims to illustrate that the author's reflections on the history and politics of his time are of a genuine philosophical nature. These lectures manifest Schlegel's ambitious attempt to formulate a new form of aesthetic and (at the same moment) political vision, a sort of 'New Mythology' whose implications will influ- ence crucial tendencies of the conservative thought of first half of the twentieth century in the German-speaking countries.