On The Connotation Of Inter-subjectivity In Dufrenne's Aesthetic Thought

Based on the context of the French existentialist phenomenology, Mikel.Dufrenne, the famous French thinker in the domain of phenomenological aesthetic, discusses the aesthetic and philosophical questions through the aesthetic perspective of the research on esthetic experience. He establishes the system of the aesthetic and artistic theory that covers the domains of the phenomenology of aesthetic experience, the cultural anthropology and the natural philosophy. His aesthetic thought contains a abundant and profound connotation of inter-subjectivity, which presents concretely a logical developing trace as "thinking method of inter-subjectivity(applied in the research of the aesthetic experience)-construction of the category inter-subjectivity(applied in the relationship between the creating subject and the appreciating subject in the activity of the aesthetic experience, between the self and the others in the existentialist philosophy)-ultimate attention of inter-subjectivity(the affinity relationship between the whole human and the Nature), and which covers the level of aesthetic experience in the aspect of the relation between human and things, that of individual subject in the aspect of the relation between human and human, that of ultimate origin in the aspect of the relation between human beings and the Nature. These three levels contribute to a inter-subjectivity connotation of accordance, in order to search for the answer in the existentialist aesthetic domain for the question persistently proposed by Dufrenne:What on earth is the true existential mode of human beings and the method to realize the spiritual freedom, which has a important inspiring significance for the correct and reasonable behavior to treat the relationship of themselves and the exterior world, such as things, others and nature. We can say, as the marrow of Dufrenne's aesthetic thought, inter-subjectivity is the main clue to understand Dufrenne's academic life and furthermore the place which embodies its time spirit and its practical significance. However, because of the single visual angle and the lack of the original materials, French and Chinese researchers have never been conscious of this connotation and then grasp synthetically Dufrenne's whole aesthetic thought by this visual angle. Based on the abundant original materials, this dissertation studies Dufrenne's whole and complete aesthetic thought by deeply excavate the inter-subjectivity connotation for the first time, in order to compensate the shortcomings of recent research and enlarge the research on inter-subjectivity in the development of contemporary philosophy and aesthetic.The main body of this dissertation is divided in the introduction, main text, epilogue and appendix:The part of introduction expounds Dufrenne's academic life and his principal aesthetic thought, especially the thought in the later period works which haven't been translated into Chinese but considered as the important parts of his complete aesthetic theoretical system, as well as the related research in France and in Chinese. Based on the comparison, this part points out the weakness of these research and leads to the origin of problem, the value of research and the plan of this dissertation. After concretely analysis and classify the notion of inter-subjectivity, this part identifies explicitly the connotation of inter-subjectivity in Dufrenne's aesthetic thought as a connotation which embodies at the same time two aspects:the construction of inter-subjectivity theoretical category between human and human(the broad sense of inter-subjectivity), the thinking method and the ultimate attention of inter-subjectivity which extend to the relationship of human and things, human beings and Nature. In this way, this part drives the dissertation to the following concrete discussion.The main text is divided into six chapters:The first chapter, Intentionality of aesthetic perception, expounds the general research project or the whole thinking structure, and reveals its thinking method of inter-subjectivity. The first section, Theoretical origin of the intentionality of aesthetic perception, points out that accepting Husserl's scientific spirit "to the things(phenomena) themselves", Dufrenne put aesthetic object and aesthetic perception into the structure of intentionality to be researched, but while concretely studying their relationship, he turns to the direction of existentialism and transforms Husserl's intentionality of pure consciousness in which consciousness points and constitutes its object only in one single direction to the intentionality of aesthetic perception in which aesthetic subject and object function on each other, according to the inspiration by Merleau-Ponty's intentionality of pure perception. This structure or method leads him to carry out the research of aesthetic experience. The second section, Construction of intentionality of aesthetic perception, concretely describe the route of characteristic construction of intentionality of aesthetic perception based on the critical succession. That is to put rigidly aesthetic perception and aesthetic object into the phenomenological circle to be grasped, differentiating the general perception and the aesthetic perception, the artistic works and the aesthetic object. The third section, Thinking method of inter-subjectivity of intentionality of aesthetic perception, concretely reveals the thinking method of inter-subjectivity embodied by the intentionality of aesthetic perception by there parts: the transcendence of dualistic opposition subject-object, the reciprocity of I-Thou and inter-subjectivity.The second chapter, "Being for each other" of the aesthetic object and the aesthetic perception, on the level of aesthetic object-aesthetic subject, elaborates the relation of "being for each other" between aesthetic object and aesthetic perception under the direction of intentionality of aesthetic perception, according to which this part studies the concrete embodiment of its thinking method of inter-subjectivity. The first section, Static embodiment of the thinking method of inter-subjectivity, reveals this embodiment through the reciprocity between the "for us" of aesthetic object and the "for object" of aesthetic perception on the static aspect. The second section, Dynamic unfoldment of the thinking method of inter-subjectivity, reveals this embodiment by analyzing the three logical developing stages of both aesthetic object and aesthetic perception on the dynamic aspect:sensibility of aesthetic object and body of aesthetic perception, representation of aesthetic object and imagination of aesthetic perception, expression of aesthetic object and sentiment of aesthetic perception.The third chapter, Meeting and co-existence of the quasi-subject and the appreciating subject, reveals that Dufrenne deepens the inter-subjectivity between aesthetic object and aesthetic perception into the inter-subjectivity between the quasi-subject and the appreciating subject through the emphasis of the autonomy of aesthetic object and furthermore reveals that Dufrenne lead the profound sympathetic reflection and the accordance of the two return to the foundation of affective a priori. The first section, Inter-subjectivity between the quasi-subject and the appreciating subject, expounds the notion of quasi-subject and its relationship with the appreciating subject, based on the autonomic world of the space in the time and the time in the space. The second section, Affective a priori:the foundation of accordance between the quasi-subject and the appreciating subject, points out that the notion of affective a priori comes from the phenomenological transformation of Kant's idea of a priori carried out by Dufrenne, based on Schiller's idea of a priori. That is to distribute the a priori equally to perceptive subject and perceptive object and then considers it as the foundation of their inter-subjectivity.The fourth chapter, Contract and communication between self and others, studies Dufrenne's construction of the category inter-subjectivity from both the aesthetic and philosophical levels. The first section, Existentialist contract and communication between the creating subject and the appreciating subject, reveals that Dufrenne discovers the world of creative subject and his image behind aesthetic object, then establishes the inter-subjectivity between the creative subject and the appreciating subject in the activity of aesthetic experience and in this way construct the theoretical category of inter-subjectivity on the level of aesthetic experience. The second section, Existentialist contract and communication between self and others, analyzes the new idea of the relation between the humans and the existentialist transformation from the absolute other in Levinas' phenomenological ethics. In this way, Dufrenne establishes the co-existence and the reciprocity under the premise of their difference and construct the theoretical category of inter-subjectivity on the level of existentialist philosophy.The fifth chapter, Original accordance between the human beings and the Nature, studies the most profound embodiment of Dufrenne's thinking method of inter-subjectivity on the level of the ultimate attention of the human existence. The first section, Human beings as the creator and Nature who send a demand, expounds Dufrenne's characteristic idea of the Nature- the dialectical relation between the great creative power of the Nature and its practical embodiment realized by the human beings, analyzes the progress of demanding and replying between the Nature and the artistic creators(typically the poets) and makes clear the pursue of the Nature to present itself to the human beings in Dufrenne's field of vision. The second section, Human beings as the appreciater and Nature who send a demand, reveals along both directions of aesthetic experience of art and that of nature the route though which the Nature presents itself to the human beings by the aesthetic method, and the original accordance of aesthetic inter-subjectivity between the human beings and the Nature, which is expressed by the ultimate attention of inter-subjectivity in Dufrenne's aesthetic thought.The sixth chapter, Comparative research of the connotation of inter-subjectivity in Dufrenne's aesthetic thought, classifies explicitly the connotation of inter-subjectivity in Dufrenne's aesthetic thought into three relation levels which concerns each other and go deeply. Moreover, this part put the connotation of inter-subjectivity into the overall developing trace of inter-subjectivity in the contemporary philosophical and aesthetic thoughts, according to these three logically progressing levels. In this way, this part tries to make clear the special place and significance of Dufrenne's inter-subjectivity in the development of the whole contemporary philosophical and aesthetic inter-subjectivity. The first section, Thinking method of inter-subjectivity in the relation level of human-things:comparison between Dufrenne's inter-subjectivity and Ingarden's relationship of subject and object, compares Dufrenne's inter-subjectivity and Ingarden's relationship of subject and object on the level of the relation between human and things. The second section, Category inter-subjectivity in the relation level of human-human, carries out the comparative research according to the two aspects contained by Dufrenne's discussion on the category inter-subjectivity.on the level of aesthetic experience, the part compares Dufrenne's perceptional inter-subjectivity and G. Poulet's conscious inter-subjectivity. On the level of existentialist philosophy, this part compares Dufrenne, Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty on the construction of category inter-subjectivity. The third section, Ultimate attention of inter-subjectivity in the relation level of human beings and the Nature:comparison between Dufrenne's inter-subjectivity and Martin. Buber's relationship of I-thou, compares on the level of the relation between the human beings and the transcendental things Dufrenne's original accordance between the human beings and the Nature and Buber's meeting relationship of I-thou between the human beings and the eternal God.Based on the comparative research in the sixth chapter, the epilogue concludes the tendency and pursue of accordance embodied by the connotation of Dufrenne's inter-subjectivity, and concretely reveals it through three logically deep-going levels: balance and equality, fusion and agreement, affinity. Meanwhile, this part points out the three theoretical weakness of Dufrenne's inter-subjectivity:the lack of social and historical aspect, simplism and ideal mode, partiality caused by the pure aesthetic perspective. Finally, this part reveals the realistic significance and research value of this kind of accordance respectively on the levels of human-things, human-human and human beings- Nature, which is to observe the world with a aesthetic sight, to treat others with a aesthetic attitude and to return to the nature with a aesthetic attention, in order to form a healthful and civilized existing mode, finally achieve the free state in the true existentialist meaning and realize the ultimate self- saving in the harmonic and complete artistic life.