Admiration (admiratio) as a Criterion for the Autopoiesis of art (on the Example of the Distinctions of Ancient Thinkers)

The research is devoted to the phenomenon of admiratio (admiration, wonder, marvelous) as a criterion of art. The methodological basis of the study is the system theory of Niklas Luhmann. Admiration is presented as a factor in the activation of social autopoiesis, the media of successful communication. The German sociologist refers it to the “traditional” theories of art, the origins of which are found in philosophical and literary reflection starting from ancient Greece. In the sphere of describing art, admiration (wonder) appears in Homer’s poems, marking the sphere of skillful activity (techne) and its works, which are considered as one of the ways of achieving fame for the author. In the philosophical thought of the classical period of Ancient Greece (in the works of Plato, Aristotle), further in the treatises of Cicero and the letters of Horace, admiration is revealed in many ways: the key aspect of the epistemological program; a source of pleasure, in connection with which it receives a controversial assessment; a phenomenon that has a strong and unpredictable effect on the audience. The initial orientation of this concept to observation and the figure of the observer is noted, allowing art to be conceptualized in terms of communicative theory, taking into account the expectations of the audience, directing attention to the reflection of what is perceived.

admiratio, admiratio, wonder, art, N. Luhmann, autopoietic systems, philosophy of antiquity