Tragedy as a Symbol of Autonomy in Schiller's Aesthetics.

This article examines Friedrich Schiller’s theory of tragedy, focusing on how tragic experience ethically cultivates human freedom by connecting it to Immanuel Kant’s concept of autonomy. Contrary to standard interpretations that view tragedy as merely depicting autonomous heroes, Schiller argues that the audience’s experience itself involves an exercise of autonomy through a dynamic interplay between emotional engagement and reflective distancing, notably facilitated by the chorus in tragedy. Drawing on Kant’s notion of aesthetic symbols, tragedy is seen as symbolizing transcendental freedom by enabling spectators to experience a cognitive awareness of autonomy without violating Kantian limits on noumenal knowledge. The article highlights Schiller’s effort to reconcile intense emotional responses with disinterested aesthetic appreciation, proposing that tragedy’s unique structure fosters moral self-cultivation by habituating viewers to the exercise of practical reason amid affective experience.