The term Anschauung is derived from the Middle High German term aneschouwunge, which means "contemplation" or "to look at". The term emerged into a philosophical concept as it became a component in theoretical discourse. It became a part of Friedrich Nietzsche's theory of language. It is also cited in Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Immanuel Kant's works. There are scholars who maintain that the concept is part of the Kantian terminology, which was developed in Latin and translated to German. This observation holds that Kant often associated the word intuitus with Anschauung to make his meaning clear. The conceptualization was also used in the Kantian investigation on the immediate cognition of the existence of God.
Arthur Schopenhauer's definition described the term as what transpires once the eye senses an external object, recognizing it as the cause of the vision.(2011). Chapter Eleven. Nietzsche’s Worldview in Anschauung. In The Beginnings of Nietzsche's Theory of Language pp. 158-178. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. Nietzsche defined Anschauung as the projected image of a completely enraptured being. He also associated it with the word "contemplation". In this definition, there is a rejection of Schopenhauer's version of the concept, as it denies the abstract idealism of the will as well as "its objectifications of the world of representations".
In Fichte's doctrine of knowledge, Anschauung plays a role in the perception of the external objects and is united with the notion of Denken. He used Anschauung in a various ways when he outlined his doctrine of knowledge. In some instances, he described it as "non-thought" as sense qualifies as such. In other works, however, he cited that all thoughts are confined within Anschauung. Particularly, Fichte identified "ordinary" and technical conceptualizations. The former pertains to perception or the objective universe for man, citing that what is visually perceived is ego-stuff in thought-forms. The latter denotes the "this and that of the qualitative".
According to Arthur Schopenhauer, everyday empirical Anschauung is intellectual in character since it mainly entails the work of the intellect. This definition is notable because it was against the Kantian notion of a totally direct perception ( Wahrnehmung). However, some scholars maintain that for both philosophers, Anschauung is some form of perception. For Schopenhauer, Anschauung is not the common conception of idea since it should be understood as intuition and requires a higher degree of intellect. It is also associated with the thinker's notion pessimism, which was used as part of the principle of sufficient reason. He maintained that truth is compatible with Anschauung and that it can achieve the same result as from that of pessimism.
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