for example, we consider works of fiction, words put together,
as art, so philosophy as words put together can be art, at least
theoretically…
why philosophy hasn’t been art is because philosophers have followed
such bad writers as Kant and Hegel and haven’t followed such
good writers as Nietzsche or Camus… both of whom have written
“philosophical” works of art…
it is both the language used and format used that has prevented philosophy
from being art…both of which comes from not trying to turn philosophy
into art… if we follow Kant or Hegel we can never have philosophy
as art…
Philosophy should sing and dance as Nietzsche thought it should, but that
comes with an understanding that philosophy is not about creating systems
or logic chopping or following Spinoza in creating a book with axioms and
corollaries and this follows this…philosophy can be art if it is about
who we are and what is possible for the human to be or to become…
we can be or we can work on becoming…I believe it is more important
that we strive to becoming and not just to be…and our philosophy should
reflect that and thus becomes art…“Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance”
is art as is the book, “Sophie’s world”
Philosophy can be and ought to be Art… as we know art… it just
takes some effort and imagination for it to do so…
Edit: another philosophical book is “The Razor’s Edge”
Philosophers are bad artists, artists are bad philosophers. Is that what you mean actually?
Kant and Hegel were good philosophers, if not the best philosophers of all times, whereas Nietzsche and Camus were bad philosophers, especially Camus, but good philosophic artists.
K: have you actually read Kant or Hegel, they are both terrible artists AND
terrible philosophers… whereas I believe both Nietzsche and Camus were
better artist AND better philosophers… both Kant and Hegel wrote crap
disguised as philosophy and no one could tell because of the language
they both used which hid their crap under unending deluge of meaningless
words like spirit…
I have read Kant and Hegel more intensively than you, because I have read them in their original language German. Yes, it is sometimes difficult to read them, especially Hegel, but that just does not make them “terrible philosophers”. That is just what a philosopher does not need to be: an artist. And an artist does not need to be a philosopher. That is just what I am saying.
Isn’t it basically the same discussion about a pseudo dualistic problem here on ILP: “Logic versus Ethics”, “Rationality versus Irrationality”, “Kant or Hegel versus Schopenhauer or Nietzsche” … and so on and so forth? To me, these dualisms are pseudo dualisms, not like real dualisms, for instance: “Ideality versus Reality”, “Subjectivity versus Objectivity”.
Are you speaking exclusively of painted canvases and sculptures when you use the term artists?
Would you also include writers and poets within Art? Theirs is also Art.
Philosophers might make bad artists insofar as an artist’s canvas or sculpture goes since it does take a lot of talent to do what a good or great artist does …some might not even be able to color within the lines…
BUT I might suggest that the artist himself; namely, the one who is also the writer or poet, along with the painter of canvases, might also be a good philosopher.
Would you agree that an artist is one who does or tries to show the reality of life in both the concrete and the abstract?
The one who reaches below the surface of things to reveal what nature is and does and defines truth and meaning.
The one who shows us, gives us another interpretation or perception insofar as how we can look at something?
Isn’t this ALSO what the philosopher does, Arminius?
But perhaps some are just not capable of seeing how both can flow through and harmonize with each other.
Not at all. Philosophy means “love of wisdom” so things has to make sense, and serve a potential/purpose. Art doesn’t have to be useful or sever any purpose, that is an unwise conclusion.
Philosophy must be very spiritual, since it has almost only to do with thinking, which means: logic.
Art is different from that.
So both are not the same, but have similarities.