ABSTRACT
Arnold Schopenhauer reformulates Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's conception of the genius in light of a dissipation of other sources of value. Goethe's conception of the genius is part of an integration network that also involves his conceptions of the subject and nature as these appear in his writings, especially his early lyric poetry, his scientific writings, and his aphorisms. Heinrich Schenker and Schoenberg conceive of the genius as the true artist who first of all realizes an idea. This conception draws on and develops those of Goethe and Schopenhauer, particularly as Goethe's conception relates to his morphology. Schenker and Schoenberg tighten a series of analogies between art and the spirit to the point of identity in a blend of art as spirituality. Schenker's and Schoenberg's shared musical and spiritual conceptions set them apart according to their contrasting emphases on the absoluteness of the tone versus the singularity of the artist's encounter.
