Concepts of force

With this proposed compendium, we are responding to the fact that 'force' as a concept has not yet been covered lexically in art theoretical and aesthetic discourses. For instance, the multi-volume compendium Ästhetische Grundbegriffe (‘Aesthetic Fundamental Terms’) does not include an entry on "force"; the same is true of the relevant Reallexikon der Literaturwissenschaft (‘Specialist Dictionary of Literary Studies’) or Metzler's Lexikon Kunstwissenschaft (‘Dictionary of Art Studies’).

Whereas the long history of the concept of force in physics has undergone a wealth of research and the tumultuous history of the notion of force in metaphysics has recently gained renewed attention in the field of philosophy, comparatively little notice has been taken of the fact that force has been a guiding category in the arts since Antiquity. We assume that the lexical gap is attributable to the wealth of variations and complexity of aesthetic concepts of force. Since Antiquity, force (dynamis) has been a topos in poetry and art theories, whereby several conceptual traditions have emerged from the reflection on various artistic practices and media. Plato's definition of enthusiasm as a divine force (dynamis) and his distinction between dynamis and techne was passed on in the Renaissance and Early Modern period as ingenium and ars. In doctrines on inspiration and genius, the distinction is sharpened between what is inspired by God, the muses or nature, and what is subject to rules and is thus feasible and learnable. However, in reflecting on their forces, the arts by no means only engage with what concerns or even exceeds the technical side of artistic production. Energeia as an activity or efficacy, which in Aristotle's Rhetoric is meant to explain the mode of operation of particular metaphors, merges with the ideal of vividness (enargeia) in late Antiquity and constitutes a fundamental reference model for the mobilization of emotions and imagination in Early Modern art theory and poetics. Thereby a variety of effects come into play, ranging from true-to-life deception and emotional overwhelming to sensory overload. Inspired by deliberations on intrinsic formative forces in nature (vis formativa), forces also gain relevance in theories of form. Given that the term 'force' plays a central role in 18th-century philosophical aesthetics, it is here that widespread paths of tradition of artistic concepts of force intersect. However, the diversification of force-related aspects can hardly be reduced to one common conceptual denominator. If the arts can address the cause of their emergence, the possibilities of composition as well as the range of their effects by appealing to concepts of force, then we can hardly speak of one force of art.

Therefore, our question is not a systematic one: we are not attempting to reactualize 'force' as the conceptual foundation of an aesthetics spanning the arts, nor are we pursuing a theory of creativity, of agential art or an empirically, for example neuroaesthetically, attestable potency of poetry, images or music.

Our question is rather a historical-hermeneutical one. The aim is to trace historical continuities and shifts within aesthetic concepts of force and to reconstruct their respective discursive frameworks. In addition to the terms dynamis, energeia and force, this also includes derivatives stemming from them, compounds and contiguous terms stemming from reflections of forces. Furthermore, we would like to take the opportunity to incorporate central concepts of force from non-European traditions and explore their aesthetic valence and significance. In doing so, it will be essential to assess in each case how artistic practices and intra-disciplinary dynamics of concepts, traceable in rhetoric, poetics, art theory and aesthetics, relate to the debates and paradigm shifts in the fields of epistemology, natural philosophy, natural history as well as the increasingly differentiating natural sciences, but also to theological, religious or ethical agendas and practices.

Articles are planned on terms such as: actus and potentia, antagonism, atmosphere, expression, (natural vs. unnatural) movement, generative force, compositio, conatus / striving / pushing, imagination, impression, elasticity / malleability, energeia / enargeia / evidentia, energy, enthusiasm, sublime, fatigue, fascination, formative force / vis formativa, forza, violence / violenza, equilibrium / balance, intensity, impetus, irritation, chi, lines of force, latency, vital force, raptus / overpowering, mana, friction, stimulus, affection, blow / impact, shock, weakness, gravity / levitation, tension, superpowers, telos / entelechy, drive, vehemence, vibration, virtus / facultas, vis, perceptive force, resistance.