Abstract

This study analyses the way in which Schiller sought to connect history with aesthetics in his Aesthetic Education. Rhetoric is seen as a key concept which allows for the combination of formal and sociological interpretation of Schiller's text. A close analysis of Schiller's argument stresses both the positive nature of his ideal, and the problematic results of his imperfect attempt to integrate this ideal with reality. The structural breaks in Schiller's argument are then related to the social context in which the theory was formulated.