 In several essays on tragedy, some of which predate his period of intense philosophical engagement, Schiller continued to refine his thoughts on human dignity in the face of suffering. In “On the Art of Tragedy” [“Über die tragische Kunst”], published in 1792, Schiller begins with a fact about humans, namely that we sometimes derive pleasure from witnessing others’  suffering.[5]  Again Schiller asks: what must be true of us in order for this fact to be possible? In answer, Schiller draws on the Kantian distinction between reason and sensibility. The moral law, he continues, is objectively true and autonomously constructed, whereas our senses produce states we passively suffer. Because we know this, instances in which we respond to conflict by mastering our emotions in deference to the moral law give us pleasure. Struggle against our sensuous natures in order to act autonomously, in other words, allows us to witness what is most impressive about humans, namely our free will. That experience gives us pleasure: “the very assault on our sensuous life”, Schiller says, “is the condition for igniting that power of mind whose activity produces the pleasure” (NA XX, 152/E 5).