September 19, 2025

Philosophy of Art According to Hegel and Heidegger

Key Points

Hegel's philosophy positions art as the primary manifestation of truth, followed by religion and philosophy.
Heidegger questions the declaration that 'art is dead', positing that art is vital for the preservation and origin of truth.
The article analyzes the dualistic notion of art's death versus its potential rebirth and its implications for the philosophy of art.
Both Hegel and Heidegger provide a framework for understanding the existential relevance of art in contemporary discourse.

Abstract

Art is a way in which truth is both visible and expressed. For Hegel, among the three ways his philosophical God (Absolute Spirit) manifests itself, art is primary, followed by religion that is intermediate. Transitioning beyond both art and religion, the absolute achievement in manifestation is reached at the stage of philosophy. This transition from art to religion and philosophy takes place upon the popular proclamation associated with it: ‘Art is dead’. Heidegger, in the epilogue to “The Origin of the Work of Art”, questions Hegel’s proclamation as follows: “Is art still an essential and necessary way in which that truth happens… or is art no longer of this character?”1 For Heidegger, the works of art along with the artist/ audience belong altogether bringing about a creative preservation of truth, and since the artist-artwork audience nexus receives the happening of truth from art itself, art is by nature an origin of truth or simply proclaimed: “Art lets truth originate”. Death/origin dualism that exists in the popular proclamations stated above is of utmost significance in regards to the philosophy of art. Bringing to light both proclamations, (a) the death of art and (b) art’s gift of originating truth, this article compares and synthesizes them into the following manner: “Either art’s death is permanent or art may come back to life and gift the world with its truth originating gift again.” This either/or question, available under Hegelian and Heideggerian pronouncements, is put forward in order to (a) give the study of the philosophy of art a direction, in the sense of inceptual thinking, and (b) actualize the rebirth of art, if indeed the death of art has already happened. As the event of the rebirth cannot be resolved by means of an article alone, our only hope is to become sensitive to both the pronouncements regarding art along with the synthesization as mentioned above. 1 K. Kerimov. “Heidegger, Aristotle, and the Future of Arts”. Philosophy Documentation Center, (2016).

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