Marcuse's Critique Of Modernity Thought

Marcuse's critique of capitalist society is essentially a critique of modernity. The theoretical construction and contents of his critical social theory,all are closely related with modernity.Marcuse's theory as the theory of modern society are the social critical theory type. While the explaining social theory rationalizing existing social order, the critical social theory want to explore the way to change the social reality. Marcuse believes in Marxism, his critical social theory based on freedom, equality, moral ideals, in order to radically change the social order of capitalist society. The critical social theory reflects the shift of the philosophical paradigm in modernity. Based on the ideals of the Enlightenment, Marcuse reflected and criticized the reality of the society as the contradictory result of the modern concept realizated itself.Marcuse considered that, the fundamental source of dilemma of modernity is rooted in the rationality principle of modernity which separated the world into two parts, the real world and the meaning world, which led to the fragmentation of human existence. Therefore, people are rich but not free in a morbid modern civilization. Marcuse researched the logic of the development of modern capitalist society.In the world of reality, the principle of technical rationality as the logic of the reality principe, it dominated the all aspects of social structure and composition consist of economy, polity, and legal norms etc. The way of modern technical thought concealed the truth of the world by supposing all things can be perceived as things in nature. Technical rationality to focus only on means, without considering the purpose, that lead to a dilemma of modern society, the crisis of civilization, a situation that was pushed forward by technical logic, but was not clear about the purpose and the consequences. In a sense, the modernity means that technology is popular.The dependence on modern technology led to a universal catastrophe. The modern world is alienated completely by the technical architecture,which is a threat to the existence, and even more, is a humiliation to human'dignity.In the meaning world, the field of arts and culture, the bourgeois culture is affirmative in essence that lost its character of critique, and became a means of totalitarian rule. Marcuse presented a "dialectical cultural theory", arts and culture can be a power of the rule or create the possibility of the liberation by the affirmative character of culture or its negative nature respectively. However, the function as a guide of a revolution derived from the negative nature of culture lost gradually in the process of the development of capitalism. The bourgeois culture is a affirmative culture, and its role lies in maintaining the order of the existing society. Marcuse argued that it was positivism promoted the way of thought shifting to positive aspect, which is the logic of technology rationlity,and the performance of it expanding into the ideological field.Marcuse designed a projection for the Redemption of Modernity that is a way of radical aesthetics.First, to reconstruct the contact of the meaning world and real world by the way of aesthetic existence, thus, the unity between value and truth would be achieved, and the freedom of human would be restored. Beauty contains good, also enlightens truth, so that aesthetics should be involved into life directly, while the aesthetic is a measure for man that can established the unity of the truth,the good,the aesthetic and the existence of man in harmony. Once the aesthetic impulse become a perceived way of life and principles of action,it will make a real change in reality. Then,people will no longer treat the nature and society as controled objects, instead of meditated things. People in aesthetic experience will refuse to be instruments of labor and be controled by other passively, but to open out themselves freely.Secondly, to restoration of the negative and critical characters of the concept of reason by reconstructing it. Reason means freedom,and to realize itself. So as the nature of freedom, reason should criticize the existing society and transcend it endlessly. Reason is dialectical, the unity of the sensibility and rationality. Reason contains both the transcence of the sensibility and the certainty of the rationality. Marcuse believed that the harmonious scenes accumulated inside the imagination in the art world can be a standard of judging and action, and sensibility will stir up a potential imagination about the future society by comprehensive aesthetic standards. If the consideration of political and technical action can be integrated with aesthetic judgments and rational deduction, then the highest value and value will also be integrated in the economic and political practice of individual or a society. Despite being concealed in the theme of radical revolution, Marcuse's critique of modernity is a profound and systematic thought, and it is unique. Consequentially, Marcuse'theory has very value and status among lots of theory on critique of modernity at present.