The Changing Views of the Other: Bridging the Nietzschean Conception of Art to Oriental Aesthetics in Said’s Orientalism

This thesis examines Orientalism as discussed by Said in his work Orientalism and how it effects the view of aesthetic of the Other. The term aesthetic of the Other refers to the concept of beauty that non-Western cultures embody and hence express in their artworks. Unfortunately, the view of Orientalism is biased towards the East, in which Orientalists glorify the West and degrade the East. Likewise, Western scholars in the analysis of Oriental art are influenced by these biased views from Orientalism and regard Oriental non-Western aesthetics as inferior to Western art, hence a misrecognition of non-Western cultures and their conception of beauty. This thesis demonstrates a way in which we can move beyond the Orientalist perspective on the aesthetic of the Other through Nietzsche’s conception of art, referred to as Nietzschean aesthetics. More specifically, this thesis will discuss Nietzsche’s physiology of art and its potential to recognize the Other’s aesthetics as it...Show moreThis thesis examines Orientalism as discussed by Said in his work Orientalism and how it effects the view of aesthetic of the Other. The term aesthetic of the Other refers to the concept of beauty that non-Western cultures embody and hence express in their artworks. Unfortunately, the view of Orientalism is biased towards the East, in which Orientalists glorify the West and degrade the East. Likewise, Western scholars in the analysis of Oriental art are influenced by these biased views from Orientalism and regard Oriental non-Western aesthetics as inferior to Western art, hence a misrecognition of non-Western cultures and their conception of beauty. This thesis demonstrates a way in which we can move beyond the Orientalist perspective on the aesthetic of the Other through Nietzsche’s conception of art, referred to as Nietzschean aesthetics. More specifically, this thesis will discuss Nietzsche’s physiology of art and its potential to recognize the Other’s aesthetics as it acknowledges the multitude of perspectives individuals have.Show less

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The Changing Views of the Other: Bridging the Nietzschean Conception of Art to Oriental Aesthetics in Said’s Orientalism