What is Sublime (philosophy)?
[[File:Mythen (ganz).JPG|thumb|right|250px|Grosser Mythen, [[Swiss Alps]]. British writers, taking the [[Grand Tour]] in the 17th and 18th centuries, first used the sublime to describe objects of nature.]] In [[philosophy]], the term '''sublime''' refers to something that is ''great''. This greatness can be physical, [[moral]], [[intellectual]], [[metaphysics|metaphysical]], [[Aesthetics|aesthetic]], [[spirituality|spiritual]] or [[art]]istic. Very often, the term refers to something that is so great that it cannot be calculated, measured or imitated. Special skills are often needed to fully [[perception|perceive]] or understand the sublime. As a [[category]] in aesthetics, the main property is that its beauty is bigger than something that is merely beautiful. Sometimes, the sublime may be [[sacred]] and causes [[wikt:awe|awe]]. It is only [[western philosophy]] that makes a distinction between the beautiful and the sublime; there is no such distinction in [[eastern philosophy]].The first known work in philosophy treating the sublime is called ''[[On the Sublime]]'', and was written by an otherwise unknown writer who lived in the first or third century. This writer is often called [[Longinus]]. Longinus was a teacher of [[rhetoric]], and used the sublime to describe great language in this context. According to Longinus, the sublime inspires awe and veneration, with greater persuasive powers. [[Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux]] translated this work into French, in the 16th century; in the 18th century the text was translated into English as well. Philosophers who wrote about the sublime include [[Edmund Burke]], [[Immanuel Kant]], [[Arthur Schopenhauer]], [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]], [[Theodor W. Adorno]], and [[Jean-François Lyotard]]. Writers include [[Friedrich Schiller]] and [[Victor Hugo]]. [[Category:Philosophy]] {{stub}}