Somaesthetics in Baumgarten? The Founding of Aesthetics and the Body

RESEARCH ARTICLE ABSTRACT In he p esen a ion o his p ojec abou ‘somaes he ics’, Richa d Shus e man claimed ha he ecu ing neglec o he body in aes he ics was disas ously in oduced by Alexande Go lieb Baumga en (1714–1762) in his i s o mula ion o aes he ics as a discipline in he mid-eigh een h cen u y. In he p esen essay I aim o call his hesis in o ques ion, in es iga ing o he i s ime he ole o he body in Baumga en’s hough and ocusing on i s signi icance o he ounding o aes he ics. Fi s , I conside Baumga en’s doc ine o he body in gene al and o he human body in pa icula , in i s ela ionship wi h he soul. I hen u n o discuss Baumga en’s esump ion o he scholas ic discipline o ‘soma ology’ as a philosophical in es iga ion o he body in bo h i s heo e ical and p ac ical – namely, die e ical, side. On hese bases, I deal wi h wo examples o die e ic embellishmen o he body, one p esen ed by Baumga en himsel (cosme ics) and he o he pu o wa d by his pupil and co- ounde o disciplina y aes he ics Geo g F ied ich Meie (physical exe cise and soma ic ine a s). Subsequen ly, I explo e he ways in which Meie and Baumga en use die e ics o os e beau i ul hinking. Finally, I conclude ha nascen aes he ics is conce ned wi h he aes he ic ca e o he body bo h inso a as he body can be a s age o aes he ic alue and inso a as he body is a necessa y p esupposi ion o beau i ul hinking. Somaes he ics in Baumga en? The Founding o Aes he ics and he Body Alessand o Nannini Uni e si y o Bucha es , RO CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Alessand o Nannini Uni e si y o Bucha es , RO alessand onannini1@gmail. com KEYWORDS: somaes he ics; Alexande Baumga en; Enligh enmen aes he ics; die e ics; soma ology; Richa d Shus e man TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Nannini, Alessand o. ‘Somaes he ics in Baumga en? The Founding o Aes he ics and he Body.’ Es e ika: The Eu opean Jou nal o Aes he ics LIX/XV, no. 2 (2022): pp. 103–118. DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.33134/ eeja.289 104Nannini Es e ika DOI: 10.33134/eeja.289 I. INTRODUCTION A he beginning o The Ideology o he Aes he ic, Te y Eagle on claims ha aes he ics is bo n ou o a discou se su ounding he body. To subs an ia e his hesis, Eagle on e e s di ec ly o Alexande Go lieb Baumga en. Wi h Baumga en, Eagle on a i ms, philosophy seems o suddenly become awa e o he p esence o a dense and c awling e i o y beyond he limi ed men al encla e – he e i o y o sensa ions and a ec s depending on ou soma ic inse ion in o he wo ld. The neglec o his e i o y, ypical o he pos -Ca esian adi ion, u ned he whole li e o he body in o he un hinkable o he ness o hough . Acco ding o Eagle on, aes he ics s emmed p ecisely om he a emp o escue sensibili y om me e subjec i i y and o ame i in he majes ic building o eason. The e o e, while he eme gence o aes he ics se ed as he sp ingboa d o he coloniza ion o soma ic li e on he pa o eason, i also b ough o he o e he long, ina icula e ebellion o he body.1 The hesis abou he cen ali y o he body o he genesis o aes he ics as a discipline is no unanimously sha ed. The mos s iking case o scep icism in his ega d is p obably ha o Richa d Shus e man. In pu ing o wa d he new discipline o somaes he ics, Shus e man ha kens back o Baumga en’s Aes he ica, conside ed he ounding ex o mode n aes he ics.2 The Ame ican philosophe p aises Baumga en o unde s anding aes he ics as a gene al p og amme o sel -pe ec ing, which goes well beyond a me e philosophy o a o o na u al beau y. In ac , Baumga en de ines aes he ics as he science o sensible knowledge;3 he goal o aes he ics is beau y, which is he pe ec ion o sensible knowledge (AE, § 14). P ecisely in ela ion o he issue o he body, hough, Shus e man depa s om Baumga en. Mo e speci ically, Shus e man poin s ou ha Baumga en omi ed he cul i a ion o he body om his aes he ic p og amme; o his eason, Shus e man a gues, in he o ma ion o he elix aes he icus, soma ic exe cises and he lea ning o soma ic disciplines such as physiology o physiognomics a e no e en men ioned. Acco ding o Shus e man, his is due o he iden i ica ion o he body wi h he lesh o sin, an iden i ica ion ha allegedly es i ies o Baumga en’s ‘dis as e’ o he soma; in addi ion, he image o he body-machine, ypical o he a ionalis adi ion emb aced by Baumga en, sic e simplici e ules ou he possibili y o some hing like a eeling and knowing body. I is p ecisely agains he neglec o he body ha Baumga en had ‘disas ously’ in oduced in o aes he ics ha Shus e man pi s his own p oposal o somaes he ics. As is e iden , Eagle on’s and Shus e man’s posi ions seem o be comple ely opposed as a as he ela ionship be ween nascen aes he ics and co po ei y is conce ned. On close inspec ion, howe e , Eagle on himsel , while highligh ing he impo ance o he body o aes he ics, e ains om examining Baumga en’s concep ion o he body. Eagle on’s emphasis on he body is a he a way o poin ou he cen ali y o sensibili y and a ec s o he p ojec o aes he ics compa ed o pos -Ca esian a ionalism. In 1 Te y Eagle on, The Ideology o he Aes he ic (Camb idge, MA: Blackwell, 1990), 13–30. 2 Richa d Shus e man, ‘Somaes he ics: A Disciplina y P oposal’, Jou nal o Aes he ics and A C i icism 57 (1999): 299–313. 3 Alexande Go lieb Baumga en, Aes he ica (F ank u : Kleyb, 1750), § 1. He ea e : AE. I ende ‘sensi i us’ as ‘sensible’ h oughou his essay; while ‘sensualis’ (sensuous) only e e s o he senses, ‘sensi i us’ in Baumga en e e s o he cogni i e achie emen s o all he lowe powe s o he mind. 105Nannini Es e ika DOI: 10.33134/eeja.289 his sense, he body, e en when i s ele ance is aken in o conside a ion, seems o be a bes an implici p esence, a phan om wande ing h ough he Aes he ica wi hou ma e ializing. Bu is ha eally he case? Is he body he g ea absen ee a he bap ism o aes he ics? In his pape I aim o analyse o he i s ime he ole o he human body in he ounding o aes he ics as a discipline on he pa o Baumga en and his pupil Geo g F ied ich Meie . Fi s , I in end o ou line Baumga en’s concep ion o he body in gene al and i s links wi h he human body (Sec ion II). In pa icula , I ocus on Baumga en’s hesis ha he soul ep esen s he wo ld acco ding o he posi ion o he body, poin ing ou he di e ence wi h Wol and i s ele ance o aes he ics (Sec ion III). I hen u n o discuss Baumga en’s esump ion o he scholas ic discipline o ‘soma ology’ as a philosophical in es iga ion o he body in bo h i s heo e ical and p ac ical – namely, die e ical, side (Sec ion IV). On hese bases, I deal wi h wo examples o die e ic embellishmen o he body, one p esen ed by Baumga en himsel (cosme ics; Sec ion V) and he o he pu o wa d by Meie (physical exe cise and soma ic ine a s; Sec ion VI). Subsequen ly, I will explo e he ways in which Meie (Sec ion VII) and Baumga en (Sec ion VIII) use die e ics o os e beau i ul hinking. Finally (Sec ion IX), I will conclude ha nascen aes he ics is conce ned wi h he aes he ic ca e o he body bo h inso a as he body can be a s age o aes he ic alue and inso a as he body is a necessa y p esupposi ion o beau i ul hinking. II. FROM THE BODY IN GENERAL TO THE HUMAN BODY In on ology, he i s pa o his Me aphysica (1739), Baumga en claims ha he physical body is he ex ended being o which bo h he powe o ine ia and he mo i e powe a e a ibu ed (seconda y ma e ).4 Seconda y ma e and p ime ma e ( o which he powe o ine ia alone is a ibu ed) ha e he appea ance o a subs ance, a being subsis ing pe se, bu hey a e ac ually only wholes o monads (monada a; M, § 406); in his sense, hey a e called subs an ia ed phenomena (M, § 201). The ac ual subs ances a e exclusi ely monads (M, § 230), simple and imma e ial subs ances ha only God could di e en ia e om one ano he . By con as , monads composing bodies appea con used in he o m o ma e ial ex ension o man’s ini e knowledge. Bodies a e i ually in ini ely di isible, bu we can obse e only he pa s o ma e ha a e di isible, up o he elemen s o co puscles, whose u he composi ion one chooses o igno e (M, §§ 420–21). The na u e o he physical bodies is he way o hei composi ion (M, § 431); since such a composi ion is go e ned by he laws o mo ion (M, § 432), and since a composi e being ha is mo eable acco ding o he laws o mo ion is a machine, e e y body is a machine (M, § 433). The co po eal o ma e ial wo ld, go e ned by he mechanical nexus, is he kingdom o na u e (M, § 434). While he body is a whole o monads, he soul is a subs ance o which acciden s a e inhe en , ha is, hough s in hei mu abili y (M, § 505). As a subs ance, he soul is a monad ha ep esen s he uni e se as an ac i e mi o (speculum ac i um; M, § 400). Thus, he soul ep esen s some bodies o his uni e se and hei al e a ions (M, § 508). As Baumga en poin s ou , ‘ he soul hinks less abou he al e a ions o his body, mo e abou he al e a ions o ha body, and he mos abou al e a ions belonging 4 Alexande Go lieb Baumga en, Me aphysics, ed. and ans. Cou ney Fuga e and John Hyme s (1739, 1757; London: Bloomsbu y, 2014), §§ 295–96. He ea e : M. 106Nannini Es e ika DOI: 10.33134/eeja.289 o one body’. In his way, Baumga en in oduces he concep o one’s own body: ‘My body is he one whose changes I hink mo e abou han I do o any o he body’ (M, § 508).5 I is he expe ience ha shows he in e ac ion be ween soul and body, and he a ious psychological sys ems a e expec ed o accoun o his ac (M, § 761). Acco ding o Baumga en, he soul in luences he body ( o example, in he olun a y mo emen s o he body and in a ec s: M, §§ 734–35), jus like he body in luences he soul ( o example, in sensa ions: M, § 736). Ye he in luence mus be unde s ood as an ideal in luence, in ha he su e ing o he body ha unde goes a change on he pa o he soul is a he same ime an ac ion on he pa o he body and ice e sa.6 In his way, Baumga en can emb ace he sys em o p e-es ablished ha mony be ween he soul and he body wi hou ejec ing hei in e ac ion: ‘My soul and my body cons i u e me, and I am one. The e o e, hey a e uni ed wi h one ano he . Thei in e ac ion, inso a as by means o i one human being endu es, is a union […] and he e is no union as g ea as his be ween my soul and any o he body’ (M, § 739).7 The human soul and he body wi h which i has he closes in e ac ion cons i u e he human being (M, § 740). III. THE BODY AND THE SOUL I he soul is a powe o ep esen ing he wo ld and i he soul hinks he mos abou he al e a ions o he body wi h which i cons i u es a human being, he soul, Baumga en in e s, ep esen s he wo ld acco ding o he posi ion o he human body in i (M, § 741). I is h ough he posi ion (posi us; S elle) o one’s own body in i s ela ion o o he bodies ha he soul ep esen s he es o he wo ld in a conca ena ion o nexus (M, § 512). The cosmic ela ions in which he body is en angled a a ce ain ime hus p o ide he poin o iew o he soul. Gi en ha he whole uni e se is in mo ion, he posi ion o he body and he co esponding ep esen a ions o he soul con inually change (M, § 743). The g ea numbe o changes p e en s he human soul om knowing hem all wi h he same dis inc ness, so some o hem a e ep esen ed only in a con used way, and o he s, he majo i y, in an obscu e way. Such a concep ion ecalls Ch is ian Wol ’s posi ion. Wol a gues: ‘The soul ep esen s his wo ld o i sel acco ding o he si e o he o ganic body in his wo ld in compliance wi h he al e a ions occu ing in he senso y o gans.’8 Schola ship has hi he o unanimously s a ed ha Baumga en ollows in Wol ’s s eps in ela ion o his s a emen . Compa ed o Wol , howe e , Baumga en in oduces an inconspicuous bu momen ous di e ence. Acco ding o Baumga en, he soul ep esen s he wo ld o i sel no acco ding o he si e (si us) bu o he posi ion (posi us) o he body. Fo 5 In his passage, he e e ence o Go ied Wilhelm Leibniz’s Monadology, in pa icula § 62, is clea . 6 Fo he way Baumga en app op ia es he dis inc ion be ween eal and ideal in luence om Leibniz, see E ic Wa kins, Kan and he Me aphysics o Causali y (Camb idge: Camb idge Uni e si y P ess, 1995), 75–77. Since his ‘uni e sal ha mony’ ob ains among all he subs ances o he wo ld, Baumga en concludes ha he p e-es ablished ha mony also ob ains be ween he body and soul (M, § 762). 7 As Dyck poin s ou , Baumga en hus manages o ci cum en he cha ge o se e ing he union be ween he soul and he body ha he Pie is Joachim Lange had add essed o Wol ’s concep ion o he p e-es ablished ha mony be ween he soul and he body; see Co ey Dyck, ‘Be ween Wol ianism and Pie ism: Baumga en’s Ra ional Psychology’, in Baumga en and Kan on Me aphysics, ed. Cou ney Fuga e and John Hyme s (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 2018), 78–93. 8 Ch is ian Wol , Psychologia a ionalis (F ank u : Renge , 1734), § 62. 107Nannini Es e ika DOI: 10.33134/eeja.289 Wol , ‘si us’ is he o de o he non-con inuous beings, like he ees in a ga den wi h ega d o a ce ain ee aken as a benchma k,9 whe eas ‘posi us’ does no occu as a echnical e m in his con ex . By con as , Baumga en in oduces he e m ‘posi us’ in his on ology as ‘ he espec o a being ha is de e mined om his being’s conjunc ion wi h o he s’ (M, § 85). I he espec is simul anei y wi h o he beings, hen he posi ion is place (locus; O ; M, § 281); i he place conce ns beings ha a e dis an om one ano he , hen i is si e (si us; Lage; M, § 284); i he posi ion conce ns a being ha is successi e o o he s, he posi ion is age (ae as; Al e ; M, § 281). The body hus has a de e mina e posi ion, hence i has a place, an age, and a si e (M, § 509). As is e iden , ‘posi us’ is mo e gene al han ‘si us’, inso a as i is no only a spa ial bu also a empo al no ion.10 I he body cons ains he soul h ough i s ‘posi us’ a he han h ough i s ‘si us’, his bond does no depend exclusi ely on he spa ial posi ion o he o ganic body, as was he case o Wol ,11 bu also on i s empo al posi ion. This is o say ha he ‘posi us’ o one’s body wi h ega d o o he bodies can ea u e h ee kinds o espec : p ecedence, simul anei y, and succession. Hence, he soul can ep esen he wo ld as p eceden , simul aneous, and successi e. In Baumga en’s wo ds, ‘Acco ding o he posi ion o i s body, he human soul ep esen s o i sel (i) a p esen s a e o he wo ld, i.e. i senses; (ii) a pas s a e, i.e. i imagines; and (iii) a u u e s a e, i.e. i o esees’ (M, § 752). In his way, he senses a e no longe he only p ima y acul y in ol ed in he ep esen a ion o a s a e o he wo ld, as in Wol ; beside he senses, Baumga en makes e e ence o imagina ion and o esigh ,12 which a e also pa o he domain o sensibili y, ha is, o he lowe powe o he mind. Acco ding o he posi ion o he body, he soul has he e o e an ‘ais he ic’ app ehension o he wo ld, bo h in he ep esen a ion o he p esen and in he ep esen a ion o he pas and he u u e. This link wi h aes he ics is no acciden al, o he p o usion o he soul owa ds he pas and he u u e is he p esupposi ion o beau y: ‘A beau i ul mind mus ha e a s ong imagina ion, a s ong awa eness o he pas , linked wi h he ep esen a ion o he u u e, o he wise no hing beau i ul will come ou . The p esen is always only a poin , whe e he e is no enough oom o b ing in some hing beau i ul’.13 This empo al pe spec i e will be e en mo e accen ua ed in he case o he highes beau y – namely, aes he ic li e, which equi es he emo ion o he soul, hence he possibili y o ep esen ing a desi ed good in a p oxima e u u e.14 In Sec ion VIII we shall see which posi ions o he body pa icula ly os e he emo ion o he soul. Wha is al eady clea is ha , by means o he shi om ‘si us’ o ‘posi us’, Baumga en can ecas he 9 See Ch is ian Wol , Philosophia p ima, si e on ologia (F ank u : Renge , 1730), § 603. 10 Fo Baumga en, space is ‘ he o de o simul aneous beings’; ime is ‘ he o de o successi e beings’ (M, § 239). 11 Rejec ing he necessi y o he ac ion o he physical bodies on one’s own body, Baumga en can claim, unlike Wol , ha he soul ep esen s i s body ‘acco ding o choice’ (p o a bi io); see Pie o Pimpinella, ‘Sensus e sensa io in Wol e Baumga en’, in Wol e Baumga en: S udi di e minologia iloso ica, ed. Pie o Pimpinella (Flo ence: Olschki, 2005), 60. 12 On he impo ance o o esigh in Baumga en, see Clemens Schwaige , Alexande Go lieb Baumga en (S u ga : F ommann-Holzboog, 2011), 84. 13 Alexande Go lieb Baumga en, ‘Kollegium übe die Äs he ik’ (1749), in Alexande Go lieb Baumga en, ed. Be nha d Poppe (Bo na: Noske, 1907), § 31. He ea e : K. 14 ‘Wha is o mo e me mus a ouse desi es in me; ye , desi es canno ise bu in ela ion wi h a u u e being’ (K § 31). 108Nannini Es e ika DOI: 10.33134/eeja.289 way in which he body limi s he soul’s powe o ep esen a ion, hus pa ing he way o he de elopmen o aes he ics.15 IV. SOMATOLOGY The impo ance o he body in he acquisi ion o knowledge makes Baumga en mo e sensi i e o i s ole in he philosophical deba e. This aspec is b ough o he o e in Baumga en’s lec u es on philosophical encyclopedia (1739–1740). In his cou se, Baumga en discusses he p oblem o he body in ela ion o a speci ic discipline, soma ology. The science dealing wi h bodies, Baumga en s a es, is called soma ology: hence, he e is an on ological soma ology i i looks a he body in i sel ; a cosmological soma ology i i looks a he body as a pa o he wo ld, wi h special ega d o i s genesis om he elemen s and in acco dance wi h he laws o mo ion; and a physical soma ology i he body is conside ed a pa o his wo ld.16 The science dealing wi h man is heo e ical an h opology, consis ing o wo pa s – namely, an h opological psychology, dealing wi h he human soul, and an h opological soma ology, he science o he human body (SC, § 146). Soma ology as a discipline a ose wi hin P o es an scholas icism a he end o he six een h cen u y in connec ion wi h an h opology.17 In men ioning soma ology, Baumga en p obably has in mind he wo ks o O o Casmann (1562–1607), one o Rudolph Goclenius’s pupils. Casmann iden i ied soma ology as he gene al science o he bodies in his Soma ologia physica gene alis (1598), dis inguishing i om ‘soma o omy’, he speci ic science o he human body.18 I human na u e is he essence pa icipa ing in he dual na u e o he wo ld, spi i ual and co po eal, Casmann a gues,19 an h opology, he doc ine o he human na u e, mus spli in o psychology and soma o omy.20 Baumga en akes up Casmann’s ca ego y, hough p e e ing he ph ase ‘an h opological soma ology’ o he mo e abs use ‘soma o omy’. Acco ding o Baumga en, an h opological soma ology deals wi h di e en elemen s o he body, in pa icula i s (physiological) na u e, i s o igin, li e, dea h, and esu ec ion (SC, §§ 147–53). Hence, Baumga en does no en i ely delega e he doc ine o he body o he medical discou se, as i was inc easingly mo e common in he ea ly eigh een h cen u y,21 bu a gues o he necessi y o a philosophical discipline o he human 15 Dyck con ends ha his ecas ing is a esponse o Wol ’s Pie is c i ics who had objec ed o he p ominen ole g an ed by Wol o sensa ion as he sou ce o all he soul’s al e a ions; see Dyck, ‘Be ween Wol ianism and Pie ism’. 16 Alexande Go lieb Baumga en, Sciag aphia encyclopaediae philosophicae, ed. Johann Ch is ian Foe s e (Halle: Hemme de, 1769), § 141. He ea e : SC. 17 See F ancesco Vale io Tommasi, ‘Soma ology’, in Knowledge, Mo als and P ac ice in Kan ’s An h opology, ed. Gual ie o Lo ini and Robe B. Louden (Cham: Palg a e Macmillan, 2018), 133–46. 18 The e e ence o soma o omy appea s al eady in O o Casmann, An h opologiae pa s II: Hoc es ab ica humani co po is me hodice desc ip a (Hanau: An on, 1596), 1. 19 O o Casmann, Psychologia an h opologica (Hanau: An on, 1594), 1. 20 O o Casmann, Nucleus mys e io um na u ae (Hambu g: F oben, 1605), 312. 21 See he en y ‘An h opologie’, in G osses olls ändiges Uni e sal-Lexicon alle Wissenscha en und Küns e, ed. Johann Hein ich Zedle , ol. 2 (Halle: Zedle , 1732), col. 522. 109Nannini Es e ika DOI: 10.33134/eeja.289 body.22 Jus like Casmann,23 Baumga en also s a es ha soma ology has i s nex genus in zoology. Zoology (SC, § 266) deals wi h he pa s o animal bodies, hence wi h ana omy, and wi h animal species, including bo h ‘ e iology’, conce ned wi h he b u es, and an h opological soma ology, conce ned wi h he human body (SC, § 279). Baumga en’s philosophical encyclopedia ends p ecisely wi h a s a emen conce ning how li le we know abou an h opological soma ology (SC, § 279) – a discipline Baumga en e iden ly conside ed wo h in es iga ing u he . I does no ake long o ind an impo an de elopmen in his demand. In ac , in he pe iod immedia ely a e Baumga en’s lec u es, s ill in Halle, he physician Johann Go lob K üge would achie e he mos signi ican a emp a a philosophy o he human body in he mid- eigh een h cen u y wi h his Na u leh e.24 The e y s uc u e o his wo k inca na es he duplici y o soma ology, wi h he i s olume de o ed o he doc ine o he bodies in gene al, and he second and hi d olumes conce ning speci ic aspec s o he human body (physiology and pa hology). Howe e , o Baumga en, an h opological soma ology is no exclusi ely a heo e ical discipline; i also has a p ac ical side. Mo e speci ically, Baumga en a gues in his Sciag aphia, p ac ical soma ology is die e ics (SC, § 167), which has o do wi h he ca e o he body, hence wi h inc easing he ha mony o he body’s ac ions (ma e ial pe ec ion o he body) as well as i s ag eemen wi h he soul ( o mal pe ec ion o he body) (E, § 250).25 As Baumga en discusses die e ics in his E hica philosophica, we shall now u n o his wo k o unde s and mo e abou he p ac ical aspec o soma ology. I is al eady appa en in any case ha he soma ology emb aced by Baumga en is he bea e o a melio a i e conce n o he body, hence also, as we ha e seen in he i s sec ion, o he poin o iew o he soul. The goal will be now o unde s and wha consequences his bodily imp o emen migh ha e o beau y, o , o pu i blun ly, whe he soma ology can ha e a genuinely aes he ic applica ion. V. EXTERNAL BEAUTY Acco ding o Baumga en, he c ucial concep o die e ics is ha o ‘heal h’. Heal h is de ined as he a i ude owa ds ha monic ac ions inso a as i depends on non- impai ed na u e, whence he obliga ion o pu sue he heal h o he whole body and i s singula pa s (E, § 253): ‘I am heal hy inso a as my body is able o ul il he will o my soul’ (K, § 45). Among he pa s one has o keep as heal hy as possible, he i s place is gi en o he i al o gans o he human body. Second, Baumga en men ions he sense o gans and he ne ous sys em, whose in eg i y and heal h a e essen ial o a co ec sensa ion (E, § 258). Since heal h does no always depend on man’s a bi a y decisions, Baumga en ema ks, i is inapp op ia e o boas o one’s igou o eel guil y o one’s diseases (E, § 255). I is much mo e ui ul o de elop an a ins illing, as a as possible, he co ec habi s in hose who pu sue i . This a is a s diae e ica, which con ains he 22 See al eady Johann Julius Hecke , Be ach ung des menschlichen Cö pe s (Halle: Waisenhaus, 1734), ‘Vo ede’, whe e Hecke , one o he eache s a he Pädagogium Regium in Halle, ecognized ana omy, physiology, and die e ics as pa s o philosophy. 23 Casmann, Nucleus, 300, 312. 24 Johann Go lob K üge , Na u leh e, 3 ols (Halle: Hemme de, 1740–1750). 25 Alexande Go lieb Baumga en, E hica philosophica (Halle: Hemme de, 1740), § 250. He ea e : E. 110Nannini Es e ika DOI: 10.33134/eeja.289 ules o die , ha is, he ‘no m o cus om o li ing acco ding o heal h’ (E, § 254). The die e ic no ms a e g ounded in he six non-na u als coming om he Hippoc a ic– Galenic adi ion: ‘six hings’, ex e nal o he na u al componen s o he body, whose al e a ion is howe e able o in luence he p ese a ion o heal h and he onse o diseases.26 In Baumga en’s lis , he non-na u als a e (i) heal hy mind, (ii) ood (and d ink), (iii) body hea , (i ) exe cise, and ( ) exc e ion. I is e iden ha he six non- na u als a e ac ually i e in his enume a ion. As is clea om he ollowing sec ions o he wo k, he usual en y ‘sleep and wake ulness’ is subsumed unde he en y ‘exe cise’ (mo um); in addi ion, ‘ai ’ is eplaced by ‘body hea ’. In he con ex o die e ics, wo elemen s a e pa icula ly impo an o aes he ics: co po eal beau y and physical exe cise. Acco ding o Baumga en, he body shape is ‘pe ec ion o impe ec ion o he whole body inso a as i is obse able by he eyes’ (E, § 264). Since he pe ec ion obse able by as e in he b oad sense is de ined as beau y (M, § 662), he body shape is submi ed o aes he ic judgemen . Al hough he ca e o he body shape should no p e ail o e highe goals, Baumga en claims, one should no neglec i ei he , o damage i wi hou eason (E, § 265). The ca e o physical beau y is no only limi ed o he naked body bu also includes clo hes, which Baumga en conside s an aspec o die e ic hea . In ac , clo hes a e no o be chosen o u ili a ian easons alone bu also on he basis o hei capaci y o enhance he beau y o he body shape, ha is, on he basis o hei capaci y o d i e a en ion o he quali ies o he body shape and di e i om he de ec s (E, § 266). F om his poin o iew, i does no come as a su p ise ha clo hes a e discussed no only wi hin he domain o die e ics bu also wi hin he domain o ‘cosme ics’, ha is, he discipline dealing (also) wi h he o namen s o he body (SC, § 89). ‘The discipline o he ado ned body’ (AE, § 211) depends on he way ce ain signi ieds a e sensibly exp essed wi h signs h ough he sensible acul y o cha ac e iza ion, which is a lowe powe o he mind (SC, § 80; M, § 622), hus belonging o he aes he ic domain. As Baumga en a i ms a he beginning o Aes he ica, he beau y o signs mus be one o he main ca es o he aes he ician along wi h he beau y o hough s and o hei o de (AE, § 13). I he impo ance o he beau y o signs is e iden in he ine a s such as pain ing and music, i mus also be pu sued in one’s soma (K, § 13). As o one’s soma, he signs o beau i y include i s o all hose ‘phenomena o he body’ such as soma ic ea u es, changing ai s o he ace, he pos u e o he body, and so on, which can signi y hough s and desi es; he acul ies o he soul; and habi s (SC, § 86). In addi ion, he signs also include he deco a ions o cosme ic p axis, which can e eal he s a us and good mo als o a pe son (SC, § 89; AE, § 211). In conclusion, acco ding o Baumga en, he aes he ic ca e o signs demands embellishing he human body in i s social phenomenali y – he body in he way i appea s in he public eye – hus con ibu ing o make deco um a seminal aspec o he newly bo n aes he ic discipline. As is al eady clea , hough, he aes he ic ca e o he body also in ol es he soul. In ac , i is he acul y o cha ac e iza ion ha deals wi h he exp ession o he signi ied by way o sensible signs; hence, he sea ch o he beau y o he body also equi es, and a he same ime os e s, he pe ec ing o he soul. Along wi h he acul y o cha ac e iza ion, ano he lowe powe o he mind is c ucial o he p omo ion o 26 See James Kennaway and Rina Knoe , eds., Li es yle and Medicine in he Enligh enmen : The Six Non-Na u als in he Long Eigh een h Cen u y (London: Rou ledge, 2020). 111Nannini Es e ika DOI: 10.33134/eeja.289 co po eal beau y – namely, as e. I is a ‘delica e as e’, hence a sensible judgemen a en i e o de ails (M, § 608), ha is asked wi h he choice o he clo hes able o inc ease na u al beau y (E, § 266; K, § 35). Acco dingly, he aes he ic ca e o he body is also a aining in he aes he ic ca e o he soul, which imp o es he p ac i ione ’s sensible hinking in a so o i uous ci cle wi h soma ic p ac ices: ‘[The beau i ul mind] mus ain in he beau i ul. […] This is wha a woman does, who g ooms he sel e e y day o please and be beau i ul, e en i she doesn’ always show o he bes clo hes’ (K, § 47). In his sense, he cosme ic cu e o he body u ns ou o be a kind o spi i ual exe cise. VI. PHYSICAL EXERCISE The embellishmen o he body and i s posi i e e ec on he soul is p esen no only in a ep esen a ional ac i i y such as cosme ics bu also in a pe o ma i e ac i i y such as physical exe cise.27 In his espec , Baumga en a i ms ha i is i s o all necessa y o de elop a habi (habi us) o ha monic ac ions bo h in he whole body in gene al and in i s single pa s: soundness (incolumi as) conce ns he coo dina ion o he pa s, while dex e i y conce ns he unc ions sui able o he di e en pa s (E, § 253). Co po eal dex e i y, inso a as i is acqui ed h ough exe cise, is agili y. Agili y con ibu es o he pe ec ion o a heal hy body and diminishes he impe ec ion o a weak body; o his eason, i is o be ce ainly pu sued (E, § 256). Baumga en hus ecommends physical exe cise o imp o e he agili y o he body. Such a pu sui , howe e , should no u n in o an excessi e lo e o physical o ce (passio a hle ica, E, § 256; passio […] e ociae a hle icae, AE, § 50) o an excessi e lo e o agili y (passio his ionica; E, § 256). Wi h his wa ning, Baumga en ce ainly does no in end o exp ess any dis as e o he body, as Shus e man seems o belie e,28 bu ollows in he oo s eps o Galen’s Th asybulus, whe e he G eek physician cau ioned agains a hle ic excesses, which aimed no a he heal h o he body bu only a compe i i e spo .29 Baumga en conside s some physical exe cises noble ; hese can be called exe cises (Uebungen) ‘pe eminen iam’ (E, § 256). Howe e , he does no go in o u he de ail abou he na u e o hese exe cises. I is his pupil Geo g F ied ich Meie (1718–1777) who would expand on his aspec and also d aw he aes he ic consequences om i . In he pas , Meie a gues in his e hics, he g ea he oes had o de elop he abili y o d i ing ho ses hi ched o a cha io , whe eas by his ime he noble co po eal exe cises 27 I make e e ence o he way Shus e man uses hese e ms: ‘ ep esen a ional’ somaes he ics is mo e conce ned wi h he body’s ex e io o su ace o ms; ‘pe o ma i e’ somaes he ics e e s o disciplines de o ed p ima ily o bodily s eng h, skill o heal h; see Richa d Shus e man, Body Consciousness (Camb idge: Camb idge Uni e si y P ess, 2008), 26–29. 28 Shus e man, ‘Somaes he ics’, 301. Shus e man claims ha Baumga en does no men ion any dis inc i ely bodily exe cise among aes he ic exe cises; howe e , Baumga en chooses cosme ics (along wi h pain ing) p ecisely as a gene al example o aes he ic exe cise (K, § 47). In addi ion, Shus e man s a es ha Baumga en neglec s he impo ance o physical exe cise. To suppo his hesis, he quo es he a o emen ioned ph ase om Baumga en’s Aes he ica ‘ e ociae a hle icae’, which Shus e man ansla es as ‘ ie ce a hle ics’, hus implying Baumga en’s ejec ion o a hle ics as a ie ce ac i i y as such. Ye Baumga en’s ph ase should be unde s ood as a geni i e e e ed o he noun ‘passio’ and should be ead as ‘a hle ic ie ceness’. Wha is ejec ed, hen, is jus he aspec o ie ceness in spo s, due o he excessi e lo e o physical s eng h. 29 Claudius Galenus, Th asybulus, in Sc ip a mino a, ol. 3 (Leipzig: Teubne , 1893), § 9. 118Nannini Es e ika DOI: 10.33134/eeja.289 TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Nannini, Alessand o. ‘Somaes he ics in Baumga en? The Founding o Aes he ics and he Body.’ Es e ika: The Eu opean Jou nal o Aes he ics LIX/XV, no. 2 (2022): pp. 103–118. DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.33134/ eeja.289 Submi ed: 12 Augus 2021 Accep ed: 17 June 2022 Published: 15 Sep embe 2022 COPYRIGHT: © 2022 The Au ho (s). 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