Emotional Areas Of Western Aesthetic Theory

In the light of modern thoughts of the modern becoming theory and with the help of Mr. Mo Zongsan's theory of "four carses", Category Theory of Western Aesthetic Emotions expatiates upon the category of emotions, and makes an explanation for "emotion" in philosophical and aesthetic terms, and in the mean time draws a general picture for the understanding of emotional categories in the history of western aesthetics.The traditional understanding of emotion in the history of western aesthetics is influenced by the thinking mode of separation between body and spirit, and that between form and material. This understanding can hardly reach the height of ontology and the modern becoming theory, but will eventually conclude that emotion is but psychological issue, or that it's just people's carnal desire, and thus excludes it from the scope of theory. All the tradition produces the vague understanding of emotional category. This thesis, however, argues that the Chinese wit, with the characteristics of introspection and harmonization, will solve the problem very well. Through the reading of classics like Middle of the Road and Guodian Cujian , the thesis points out that emotion is the impetus and potential cause in the "four causes" which are easy to be neglected in western culture, and is the means to "turn nature into reality". The emotional category is the depiction of the process of human life. During appreciation, "emotion" takes the part of its impetus, but in a deeper level, emotional category in terms of aesthetics is a "transcendental emotion", is a compete realization of destined "nature". On the basis of understanding of emotional category, this thesis makes a generalization on understanding of emotional category in the history of western aesthetics, and divides it into three categories, namely the emotional category in the phase of ontology, the aesthetic theory in the phases of epistemology, and the transcendental theory of emotion in modern aesthetics.The thesis composes four parts, including the Preface. The Preface is the hypothesis and guideline of this thesis. With the help of modern thinking mode of the modern becoming theory, it defines the term of emotional category, and renders an answer for the question of "in what sense emotion is an aesthetic category?" This setsthe hypothesis of the whole article.The first, second and third chapters are the main body of the thesis. The first chapter is a depiction of the phase of the beginning period of western aesthetics. This chapter argues that "emotion" in this phase still held its original state, though it was criticized by some forefathers of western aesthetics as Sucrets, Plato and Aristotle, for its direct relations with the body. But the existing beauty will appear just after the emotion fades away, and this in return enables people to keep their complete understanding of emotion. The aesthetic thinking in this phase preferred to lay stress on the discrimination between beauty itself and emotion, especially the sense of body. Therefore, we name it the phase of "Emotion Theory"The second chapter deals with the emotional category in the phase of modern phase, the western philosophy converted gradually from the concern of the world as whole to that of people's reorganization of the world, the way people acquire the truth. The separation of man and the world became the mode of human spiritual world. The emotional category now was characterized with the following factors. Firstly, emotion becomes a state of mind in the process of appreciation. Secondly, it's totally different from carnal pleasure, but is controlled by spiritual feelings. Thirdly, there is an aesthetic emotion that differs from the emotions produced in all other human activities. Last, sense of beauty has an intrinsic connection with advanced reasoning, and is the primary phase of it Therefore, we take this phase as that of "Sense of Beauty Theory"The last chapter tells the emotional category in 20th western aesthetics. The thesis names this phase the phase of "Transcendental Emotion Theory", for the phenomenological aesthetics represents best the modern philosophical aesthetics. In this phase, aesthetics get independent from philosophy, and steps on a new phase of diversity with the help of many modern academic techniques. The thesis makes an introduction to the understanding of emotional category in different aesthetic perspectives.