The Term “Art” As a New Aesthetic Discourse in European and Georgian Philosophical Thinking of the Early 19th Century

Abstract

In Georgian reality, the term “art”, can be found in a new, purely aesthetic sense, in terms of “artistic creation” – in the translation (1815) of Jean-Pierre Frédéric Ansillion’s (1767-1837) work “Aesthetic Judgments”, a French philosopher, member of the Prussian Academy, by David Bagrationi (1767-1819). As we know, the term “art” (Greek “techne”) has been historically interpreted in various ways. The term referred to practices established in the society, nature, individual creativity or crafts, as well as religious and mystical rituals. It shows a resemblance to the concepts such as “art – scientio – исскуство – art”. This term is especially noteworthy for the history of Georgian theoretical-literary and aesthetic thinking, however, a kind of substitute existed in our writing. It was “Facial expression”. As for the term “aesthetics” (the etymology of which is related to sensitivity, sensual perception of events), this term was introduced since 1750 by the German scientist Baumgarten in the meaning of the doctrine about “beauty” and the Georgian society got familiar with it with through the translation of Ansillion’s work “Aesthetic Judgments” translated by David Bagrationi. It should also be noted that this work was the first aesthetic work to be translated into Georgian. This fact, in turn, is of the utmost importance. According to Georgian translation of Ansillion’s work “Aesthetic Judgments” proves once again that development of Georgian philosophical-aesthetic thinking in the 18th and 19th century proceeds with a creative approach to the philosophical heritage of the past, on the one hand, and on the other hand, it has its equivalent in European philosophy.