Art of living

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Epicurus, the great artist of life

The term art of living ( Latin ars vivendi ) is a term from philosophy that is used in different contexts in which the individual comes to terms with his or her existence .

definition

The spectrum of ideas about the art of living ranges from the carefree enjoyment of life, the French savoir-vivre , to the relaxed handling of all demands and entanglements that life brings with it, to the claim to design one's own life as a work of art (or to stylize) as intended by Goethe and Thomas Mann , for example . But the art of living always includes the willingness, ability and will to perceive and process one's own living conditions and to shape one's lifestyle personally and purposefully within the framework of the possibilities. The vernacular says that someone forges their own life or that everyone is forging their own happiness . This kind of intellectual 'craft' serves to realize, preserve and experience the self in being - a constant challenge to the personality with an effect on the lifestyle .

As a predominantly internal expression of individual mental attitudes and processes, the art of living means that it rarely appears externally visible and verifiable. As an extreme case, the term art of living leads to the art of survival (with the art of complete improvisation , adaptation and self-control ) in particularly difficult, critical and existential life situations.

Historical overview

The term ars vivendi ('the art of living' or freely translated: 'the art of living') was already in use in antiquity . Since philosophy was an important part of daily life in ancient times, many ethical texts contained practical advice on how to use it. Therefore, the aspects of the practical art of living were of great importance. Central terms here were happiness (eudaimonia), self-care, virtue and asceticism . Often philosophy and the art of living were put on the same level as ancient philosophy as a whole as ars vitae or ars bene vivendi , i.e. as specialist knowledge of the correct way of life. In contrast to this philosophical (theoretical) way of life, which was primarily shaped by the philosophers, there was already the popular (practical) way of life back then, which emphasized the reflection of the factors, the guidance and the practice of a consciously led life.

Pythagoras (approx. 570–510 BC) was the first to deal with the question of the correct way of life, even if this did not represent a model of the art of living in the narrower sense. The Pythagoreans rather developed numerous maxims and aphorisms that contained specific rules of conduct.

Both Socrates and the Sophists came up with the idea that philosophy should be equated with the art of living. Although the Socratic and Sophistic schools differ in many ways, they agreed that the personality of every person must be trained on a sensible basis. In this context, they attached great importance to education offers and rhetoric .

Even Aristotle and Socrates students Plato joined Socrates' view to a large extent. Plato also referred to philosophy as “caring for the soul” - and thus restored the link to the art of living. Aristotle dealt with the priority of the theoretical lifestyle , the way of thinking.

In the Hellenistic schools of philosophy of the Cynics , Cyrenaics , Epicureans and Skeptics and among the Stoics ( Seneca , Epiktet , Marc Aurel and Plutarch ) philosophy and the art of living were not seen and understood as congruent, but the model of the art of living itself was discussed extensively. The Stoic ideal corresponded to a life in which one should explore universal laws and gain wisdom . This should be achieved through a virtuous life, i. H. through the control of feelings and moderate behavior, which should lead to a strengthening of the self. With the Epicureans, on the other hand, when the art of living was thematized, it was about turning away from human fears and suffering. The aim of this philosophy was to avoid displeasure. But the pursuit of pleasure could not be uncontrolled, but had to be guided by reason.

The respective philosophy could be applied in many ways. There were physical exercises that u a. the hardening served, and meditations , which should ensure the situation-related activation and inclusion of philosophical guiding ideas in the life practice.

Apart from a few Neoplatonic approaches (3rd - 6th centuries AD) by philosophers such as Plotinus or Boethius , the Stoics were for a long time the last to deal extensively with ars vivendi . In the Middle Ages there were isolated considerations, but it was not until the 16th century that Michel de Montaigne began to write works on the art of living again. Writers and philosophers such as Friedrich Schlegel and Friedrich Schleiermacher also took up the topic centuries later. However, the art of living - depending on the age and the respective living conditions - was always treated under different aspects.

Today's understanding of the term

In recent times, ideas about the art of living are often closely related to humanism and the Enlightenment . The Berlin philosopher Wilhelm Schmid gave the impetus for a new foundation of the art of living with his two books "In search of a new art of living" (1991) and "Philosophy of the art of living - A foundation" (1998).

On the basis of a differentiated consideration of ancient notions of the art of living, Christoph Horn , for example, comes to the conclusion that, despite the difference in epochs, which distinguish the ancient approach of individual ethical advice and action instructions from the modern, systematically-scientifically oriented model of philosophy, they should be given more attention lately, since they are in principle "connectable" to him.

Gerd B. Achenbach contrasts the concept of the art of living with the concept of “mastery of life” and understands it to be a wise form of living that not only seeks the slight superficiality of the beautiful appearance, but also proves itself in the difficult hours of existence and life as well Gives depth and weight.

A philosophy of the art of living is presented by Ferdinand Fellmann as part of his philosophy of life as an independent discipline alongside normative ethics. Her theme is the reflection on attitudes that enable the modern individual to cope with the external and internal conflicts of his existence. In this sense, the rules of the philosophical art of living are not purely strategic, but rather show emotional ways of self-awareness. Fellmann has recently been combining the art of living with the art of love under the title "The art of love".

By Georg Römpp the art is of life as meaningful and useful concept of the search for happiness opposed. This author criticizes the idea of ​​"happiness" because it is too general, which is why it leads to an obsessive pursuit of something that people let other people dictate to them. It is thus generally determined how people should live, so that they understand their life from the outside and from "high above" from a "bird's eye view". The art of life, on the other hand, can preserve the individuality of human life and striving. In the art of living, the perspective of the individual is retained. Römpp points out here that art is always about the individual and not about the general, that is, the creative takes the place of adopting a scheme. That is why the “art of living” seems to him to be a more useful concept to take the place of striving for “happiness”.

In integrative therapy, Hilarion Petzold and Ilse Orth developed the idea of ​​the “art of living” with reference to Socrates , Democritus, Epictetus , Seneca , Nietzsche , Pierre Hadot and Michel Foucault for psychotherapy and art therapy theoretically and treatment method as a task and opportunity the aestheticization of one's own existence, in which the “self becomes both an artist and a work of art”. Self-awareness should lead to active self-creation.

Wilhelm Schmid combines the terms art of living and life work in a lecture on work-life balance as follows: Work is everything I do in relation to myself and my life in order to be able to lead a beautiful and affirmative life. <...> However, it seems desirable to be able to experience "abundance" and "fulfillment" in every work, due to the diverse networking with others, not to have to be alone, but to be able to "be among people"; due to the multitude of experiences that greatly expand the scope of the self; due to challenges that are sought and accepted, in which the self can grow and strive for excellence.

See also

literature

Lexicons, introductions, foundations
Ancient philosophy
  • Géza Alföldy et al. (Ed.): Roman art of living . Interdisciplinary colloquium on the 85th birthday of Viktor Pöschl. Winter, Heidelberg 1995, ISBN 3-8253-0334-9 .
  • Carl Gustav Carus: The art of living according to the inscriptions of the temple at Delphi . Dresden 1863.
  • Pierre Hadot: Paths to Wisdom - or what does ancient philosophy teach us? Eichborn, Frankfurt am Main 1999, ISBN 3-8218-0655-9 .
  • Pierre Hadot: Philosophy as a way of life: spiritual exercises in antiquity . Gatza, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-928262-02-5 .
  • Christoph Horn: Ancient art of living. Happiness and morals from Socrates to the Neoplatonists. Beck, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-406-42071-0 .
Further essays, papers, individual aspects, miscellaneous

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Kurt Röttgers: Introduction to practical philosophy based on selected problem areas. (PDF) Fernuniversität Hagen, 2010, p. 9 , accessed on January 3, 2017 .
  2. Ferdinand Fellmann (2019): Liebeslebenkunst. In: Critical Art of Living. Analyzes - Orientations - Strategies. Eds. Günter Godde, Jörg Zirfas. JB Metzler, Stuttgart 2019, 46–52.
  3. Petzold, HG, Moser, S., Orth, I. (2012): Euthyme therapy - healing art and health promotion in the asklepiadic tradition: an integrative and behavioral treatment approach “multiple stimulation” and “lifestyle change”. In: Psychological Medicine, Issue 3, 18–36 and 4, 42–59, and in: Textarchiv 2012. http://www.fpi-publikation.de/images/stories/downloads/textarchiv-petzold/petzold-moser- orth-2012-euthyme-therapy-healing-art-asklepiadic-tradition-integrativ-behavioral.pdf
  4. Petzold, HG (1999q): The self as artist and work of art - Receptive art therapy and the healing power of “aesthetic experience”. Düsseldorf / Hückeswagen: FPI / EAG. And in: Art & Therapy 1–2 / 1999, 105–145, Integrative Therapy 3/2004, 267–299; also in: Düsseldorf / Hückeswagen. At www. FPI-Publikationen.de/material.htm - POLYLOGE: Materials from the European Academy for Psychosocial Health - 07/2001. http://www.fpi-publikation.de/downloads/download-polyloge/download-1999q-update-2006-07-2002-petzold-hg.html
  5. ^ Wilhelm Schmid: What is work? , momentum magazine, Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn Verlag for Architecture and Technical Sciences GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin, October 13, 2012 (accessed on July 5, 2017)