Date of Award
2025
Degree Type
Restricted to Claremont Colleges Dissertation
Degree Name
Philosophy, PhD
Program
School of Arts and Humanities
Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair
Kevin Wolfe
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
David Pagel
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
Sthaneshwar Timalsina
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2025 Khang Bao Nguyen
Keywords
aesthetics, art, being as such, nonconceptual, nonduality, subject/object duality
Subject Categories
Philosophy
Abstract
Certain fundamental onto-epistemological dimensions can be disclosed by surpassing the duality of subject/object perception through aesthetic contemplation. Heidegger's post-aesthetic approach aims to overcome the subject-object duality to uncover two hidden onto-epistemological dimensions: the mode of practical engagement and Being as such, also referred to by other terms including ‘the clearing,’ ‘the nothing,’ and ‘appropriation.’ He identifies Van Gogh's still-life painting of shoes as one of the exceptional works of art that can facilitate a resistance to and transcendence of the subject/object dichotomy that underpins modern aesthetics. He argues that the indeterminateness or “no-thingness” of the painting’s background can resist the attempts of the reflective subject to conceptually master it. This sort of encounter, he says, with the painting's background can shift our attention away from specific entities and can lead to the disclosure of Being as such. Heidegger further asserts that to fully comprehend the significance of art, one must begin from the practical level of self/world unity rather than the standpoint of subject/object dualism. To undermine that duality, Heidegger introduces the phenomenological concept of ‘ek-sistence,’ denoting that human existence fundamentally stands outside of subjectivity. That notion adheres to the core phenomenological principle. It says that one should refrain from attempting to fit objects of perception into preconceived notions and instead be receptive to the meaning that the artwork conveys. By exercising such restraint, one allows the work to be as it is. Abhinavagupta states that the perceptive spectator is evoked into a state of aesthetic relishing, which is a modification of latent impressions and common emotions, by their identification with the represented content and/or by their apprehension of the suggested meaning in poetry or drama. Such experience may be accompanied by other senses, including tranquility, harmony, wonder, and elevated delight. The activities of identification and universalization lead to an augmented experience of Being, although a temporary one. When the perceptive spectator identifies with and is absorbed in the represented content in either poetry or drama, they have an experience of elevated delight in an impersonal state of being and momentarily feel as though they are transcending the sense of self/other duality. This heightened state of being is referred to as ‘generalization’ or ‘universalization’ for the reason that awareness rises above the finite self’s mundane preoccupations and spatiotemporal limitations. In like manner, this aesthetic approach can give rise to a less delimited state of knowing awareness. In poetry, Abhinava makes a strong case for the use of language for ‘suggestion.’ It is a form of revelation beyond primary denotation, secondary denotation, and extra-denotation. ‘Suggestion’ supersedes primary and secondary denotations, even though it arises from them. It is the element of meaning that enables aesthetic relishing and is primarily expressed in poetry. When the learned reader intuitively apprehends the suggested meaning in a poem, a resonance is evoked that heightens and intensifies their consciousness. That state is coupled with a sense of wonder as the mind is lifted above the constraints of explicit or conventional meaning. Abhinavagupta and Heidegger have shown that aesthetic contemplation has the capacity to bring to light facets of knowing and being that would otherwise be concealed from the minds of those consumed by mundane concerns or discursive thought. However, their aesthetic approaches fall short of fully realizing the most fundamental onto-epistemological dimension, namely the self-reflective light of nondual consciousness as the innermost Self of Shiva, due to the limitations of conceptuality, emotive states, and temporality. In Kashmir Shaivism, the three means, namely anavopaya , shaktopaya , and shambavopaya , are ways for the realization of the fundamental dimensions of being and knowing. My approach to aesthetic contemplation proposes that these means can be visually expressed in artwork, specifically in drawing and painting, for the purposes of providing insights into the nature of subject/object dualism and nondual awareness as well as guidance for contemplative practice. The means, particularly shaktopaya and shambavopaya , involve awakening and harnessing the power of consciousness itself rather than individual effort. Specifically, instead of exerting force to control and pacify the mind and body, the higher forms of meditation in the Kashmir Shaiva tradition entail repose, release, and absorption, which allows the subtle currents of consciousness to self-clarify and spontaneously flow inward toward self-illumination and self-recognition. What I have proposed here points to the possibility that the purview of aesthetics can be extended past subjectivity. That is, I maintain that aesthetics has the capacity to shift the gaze of consciousness from being exclusively on the particularity of beings to the universal field of Being itself. That can be realized by accessing nondual, nonconceptual awareness by means of the aesthetic contemplation that I have outlined above. That state of awareness illuminates itself, as opposed to some particular form or content, as the innermost Being that underlies every being.
ISBN
9798314885758
Recommended Citation
Nguyen, Khang Bao. (2025). Aesthetics of Diagrammatic Contemplation: Abhinavagupta's and Martin Heidegger's Views on Being as Such and How It Can Be Disclosed Through Aesthetic Contemplation. CGU Theses & Dissertations, 956. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/956.
