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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).

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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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
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