--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The work of art is the object seen sub…" description: "\"“The work of art is the object seen sub specie aeternitatis; and the good life is the world seen sub specie aeternitatis. This is the connection betwee..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_art_the-work-of-art-is-the-object-seen-sub-s_1068498.png" --- # The work of art is the object seen sub specie… ![“The work of art is the object seen sub specie aeternitatis; and the good life is the world seen sub specie aeternitatis. This is the connection between art and ethics. The usual way of looking at things sees objects as it were from the midst of them, the view sub specie aeternitatis from outside…” quote by Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_art_the-work-of-art-is-the-object-seen-sub-s_1068498.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_art_the-work-of-art-is-the-object-seen-sub-s_1068498.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_art_the-work-of-art-is-the-object-seen-sub-s_1068498.png) > ““The work of art is the object seen sub specie aeternitatis; and the good life is the world seen sub specie aeternitatis. This is the connection between art and ethics. The usual way of looking at things sees objects as it were from the midst of them, the view sub specie aeternitatis from outside. In such a way that they have the whole world as background.”” [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art and ethics share a perspective that sees things from an eternal, detached viewpoint, revealing deeper meaning beyond immediate experience. **In simple terms:** Seeing the world from a timeless, objective stance links beauty and morality. Key Takeaway Adopt a broader, detached view to understand deeper values. Themes philosophy art ethics perspective Mood contemplative introspective analytical Type philosophical reflective inspirational When to use this quote - museum curation - ethical decision making - personal reflection - academic analysis Key Concepts sub specie aeternitatis objective observation holistic view Questions to Reflect On - How does stepping back change your moral judgments? - Can art ever be truly objective? A Different Perspective Such a detached view may ignore personal context and emotional nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Good life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Transcendence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendence/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) ## Related quotes > [ “The work of art is the object seen sub specie aeternitatis \[i.e., under the aspect of eternity\]; and the good life is the world… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/the-work-of-art-is-the-object-seen-sub-specie-aeternitatis-i-e-under/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [What strikes me is the fact that in our society, art has become something which is related only to objects and not to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/what-strikes-me-is-the-fact-that-in-our-society-art-has-become-2/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Today we say all art is political. But I'd say all art has to do with ethics. Which after all really comes to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingmar-bergman/today-we-say-all-art-is-political-but-i-d-say-all-art-has-to-do-with/) [Ingmar Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingmar-bergman/) > [Thus art is not an object, it is an experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/thus-art-is-not-an-object-it-is-an-experience/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Why should the lamp or the house be an art object but not our life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/why-should-the-lamp-or-the-house-be-an-art-object-but-not-our-life/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [One reason I was interested in photography was to get away from the preciousness of the art object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/one-reason-i-was-interested-in-photography-was-to-get-away-from-the/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [Art is not an object, but a trigger for experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/art-is-not-an-object-but-a-trigger-for-experience/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Painting is seen as picture making, the making of an art object, something that can stand on its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wright/painting-is-seen-as-picture-making-the-making-of-an-art-object/) [Peter Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-wright/) > [“A story is a really weird art object that should contain life but not be enslaved by the banality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-story-is-a-really-weird-art-object-that-should-contain-life-but-not/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Art is not an object, but a way of looking at an object.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/art-is-not-an-object-but-a-way-of-looking-at-an-object/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [ Through the last few decades it \[the art object\] has been ripped off the wall and twisted through every conceivable permutation, yet back to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-bickerton/through-the-last-few-decades-it-the-art-object-has-been-ripped-off/) Ashley Bickerton > [Each living art object, taken out of its native habitat so we can conveniently gaze at it, is like an animal in a zoo.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/each-living-art-object-taken-out-of-its-native-habitat-so-we-can/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [A movie star is not an artist, he is an art object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schickel/a-movie-star-is-not-an-artist-he-is-an-art-object/) [Richard Schickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schickel/) > [Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count, because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/society-takes-what-it-wants-the-artist-himself-does-not-count-because/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [“Communication Is a work of art Some are normally born with it Some may need a chart ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amal-saleh/communication-is-a-work-of-art-some-are-normally-born-with-it-some/) Amal Saleh ## More by Ludwig Wittgenstein > [“But some of the greatest achievements in philosophy could only be compared with taking up some books which seemed to belong together, and putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/but-some-of-the-greatest-achievements-in-philosophy-could-only-be/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [What can be shown, cannot be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/what-can-be-shown-cannot-be-said/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“This is connected with the conception of naming as a process that is, so to speak, occult. Naming seems to be a \_strange\_ connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/this-is-connected-with-the-conception-of-naming-as-a-process-that-is/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [If a lion could talk, we could not understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/if-a-lion-could-talk-we-could-not-understand-him/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [White must be the lightest color in a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/white-must-be-the-lightest-color-in-a-picture/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Freud's fanciful pseudo-explanations (precisely because they are brilliant) perform a disservice. 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(Ethics and æsthetics are one.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/it-is-clear-that-ethics-cannot-be-expressed-ethics-are-transcendental/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) [Explore all 454 Ludwig Wittgenstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. 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