Research On Eagleton's Theory Of Aesthetic Ideology

Terry Eagleton is a western marxist scholar with an important influence.In the book The Ideology of the Aesthetic published in the 1990 s,he focused on the theory of“Aesthetic Ideology”,revealed the contradictions and historical complexity of aesthetics around the emotional body outside the spiritual enclave,established a link between aesthetics and politics and ethics,and constructed a unique marxist political poetics with its own system.The systematic study of Eagleton’s theory of aesthetic ideology is beneficial to promote comprehensive innovation of contemporary Chinese literary theory.This paper is composed of the following parts:Introduction As a diligent and prolific theoretician and critic,Eagleton’s research involves many fields,such as marxist literary criticism,ideology theory,postmodernism,cultural criticism,Irish cultural studies and ethics.At present,Chinese and foreign academic circles around the connotation of its ideology theory,body discourse,etc.First,the connotation of eagleton’s aesthetic ideology theory This paper locates Eagleton’s aesthetic ideology theory on two levels,analyzes his ideological criticism in literary text analysis,and reveals the fundamental reason behind literature and art and aesthetics.This theory is the theoretical transcendence achieved by Eagleton on the basis of learning from Gramsci,Williams and Althusser.Second,the discourse of "body revolution" in Eagleton’s aesthetic ideology theory Eagleton’s "body revolution" refers to rediscovering the meaning of the body,rebuilding the body-based aesthetic view,restoring the materialist position of aesthetics,and establishing the connection with politics and ethics in the revelation of aesthetic contradictions.In the history of aesthetics,Marx,Nietzsche and Freud respectively carried out theoretical exploration on the basis of the body of labor,the body of power and the body of desire,trying to reconstruct ethics,politics and rationality,etc.By analyzing the perceptual body of labor,Eagleton not only revealsthe materialist nature of Marx’s aesthetics,but also clearly shows the relationship among the body of labor,aesthetics and political ideology.Eagleton found the connection between the body of power and aesthetics and politics in Nietzsche’s theory,and believed that Nietzsche brought huge impact to the traditional society which was conservative and indestructible through the tide of aesthetics raised by the will to power.Through his speculation on Freud’s theory,Eagleton intends to find the key point to solve the contradiction between mandatory rule and individualized subject.According to Eagleton,"aesthetics is born as the discourse of the body",which belongs to materialism and is a science agitated by sensibility and rationality.It is necessary to restore the proper position of the body in aesthetics and pull aesthetics back to the materialist camp from the wrong path of idealism.Third,the ethical dimension of eagleton’s aesthetic ideology theory Eagleton shows great concern for humanity and connects the tentacles of theoretical research with the real world.In his aesthetic ideology theory,human body is not only aesthetic,but also ethical.His theoretical research focuses on ethics,which is related to his strong religious influence and concern for reality.Eagleton put the study of modern western ethics and politics under the framework of Lacan’s psychoanalysis for philosophical reflection,and skillfully utilized the concept of "the other" which in the three stages of the formation of the subject: imagination,symbol and reality.According to eagleton,socialist ethics has incomparable advantages.It not only attaches importance to the mutual care between people,but also pays attention to the particularity of each person.Communism is the final aesthetics of human existence.Conclusion Eagleton’s theory of aesthetic ideology deepens the study of ideology theory,brings aesthetics into the individual’s life world,and successfully establishes the relationship between body,aesthetics,ethics and leadership contest.Its theory can provide reference for the construction of marxist literary theory in our country and enlighten us to respond to the concerns of The Times dialectically and critically in theory.