Roger Scruton - Wagner and Philosophy

How are Richard Wagner's operas shaped by his interest in philosophy? How can Immanuel Kant's vision of the human condition inform our understanding of Tristan und Isolde? Can the same interpretation be applied to Der Ring Des Nibelungen? How does that alter our understanding of the moral framework of the opera? And what are we to make of Wagner's last opera, Parsifal, which Nietzsche described as "a secret attempt to poison the very presuppositions of life"? Does Parsifal represent a rejection of the moral spheres of Tristan and the Ring, or can we arrive at a more subtle interpretation of it?
Philosophical Conversations - Sarah-Jane Leslie, Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University, conducts interviews with some of the world's leading philosophers through her association with the Marc Sanders Foundation. In this interview Professor Leslie meets with Professor Roger Scruton to discuss philosophical issues in Richard Wagner's operas.

[@VisionaryCompanion]

I am so glad I found this! Sarah-Jane Leslie is a truly brilliant interviewer, and Scruton is at his best in such congenial company.

[@luke7727]

Roger really flourishes in this personal environment. Thank you - great interview.

[@christiano4873]

Thank you for this rich and civilized conversation. The way life should be! Many gems here. I particularly like characterizing monasteries as a "collective bid for immortality." For me, Scruton's heartfelt passion here opens up Wagner for further exploration. Thanks again.

[@msfinkers]

the power of love.!!! Wagner was a complete genious and he will live forever!!!

[@benspencer9705]

Wonderful insight, explained beautifully - thank you

[@mattgilbert7347]

Lovely! Very glad I found this. No mention of the Schopenhauerian "will" in the music? I suppose it's been done to death.

[@Patriotman54]

Why is Schopenhauer not mentioned? Was Richard Wagner impressed by reading Schopenhauer ? Are you saying Wagner comes from Kant found in Schopenhauer?

[@therapsids]

What is the opening keyboard piece?

[@PhilConversations]

therapsids The music is Bach's Siciliano.

[@iga27]

Poor Roger! How many interviews did you have to conduct on that day? Both of you are wearing the same clothes, the room is the same, my guess is they were all done in one day;

[@BlindEyeJones]

Wrong, Roger. Love is more real than anything for lovers -- it's not about confronting the void, but about living forever. Love is a removal from this world and its limitations brought about by dearth. It is a promise of life, almost a fairy tale existence. Romeo and Juliet didn't worry about Death. Wagner's take is a corruption and so is much of the later commentary on the erotic love of the two lovers.

[@wmarkfish]

He seems to equate all eroticism as valid. That flesh is flesh and then it's not seems so flat. The male and female principles and the longing for God is not "Scutonized"? Picture 2 lovers (whether Homo or Hetrosexual) as two planets revolving around each other spiraling off into the void of space and juxtapose that to a picture of 2 planets (more like a moon and a planet rather than two planets of the same nature) orbiting a sun, the single object of their combined desires. Sex that excludes an entire segment of humankind along with God is a spiraling race into nothingness. How conservative is this guy anyway - not very if he ignores God, the true and only Authority to obey.