Baumgarten's Reflections on Poetry

Baumgarten delineates poetry from philosophy by a series of syllogisms and taxonomies. Throughout the essay, he demonstrates that the foundation of beauty is "sensitive representations," anything which awakens the spirit, which, for Baumgarten, is fundamental for knowledge.

Since this piece was written during the middle of the 17th century, Baumgarten can be characterized as an Enlightenment philosopher. Given that, he wants to restore rationality to the world; only through logic, taxonomy, and "scientific" explanation can this happen. Thus, he tries to show that poetry can be codified --and perhaps made rational -- through this process. I think he's responding to contemporaries who either disagree with him (ie those who felt that poetry/aesthetics was merely fluff, because of its connection with feeling); or to those who understand the importance of poetry but do not know how it might be used. In addition, it seems that Baumgarten wants to extol the importance of poetry as a crucial part of experience, as a means to "know" the world and gain access to its perfections.

I'm still a bit confused about why a poem must be "confused" in order to be successful; I'd like us to clarify how "confusion" works with distinction in order to get at the beautiful. Also, I don't think I understand how, or whether, Baumgarten believes we can attain beauty.

Put another way: Can everyone access or experience beauty? What about those who are not poets? How might Baumgarten account for, say, painting or music? Can his theory be applied to these forms?

Finally, why does Baumgarten (and all others) want to establish a universal ideal for beauty? What value does such a universal truth --if one ever existed -- possess? Does Baumgarten think he's establishing universals?

I did like that he called it "reflections on poetry." I'm also interested in the "we." Who? :)