Culturism And Ideologic Fantacy

In the eyes of the British people the Victorian times was an era when Britian reached the zenith of its prosperity and an era when science advanced and culture florished, while at the same time, it was times of anxiety and doubt. Among those who reflected on the mechanism of modernism, Metthew Arnold was a unique one.He was a poet. In his poet writing, he pursued the spirit of right reason rooted in western physical tradition, hoping to beat the romantic trend with classic tastes as pure and curbed feelings, cool and clear meaning, and elegant and exiquite wording. He advocated generalized poet critism, let the poems undertake the responsibility of cultivating public wisdom, purifying ethnic spirit and social taste.His social-political critism went along with his ideas of literary critism. In the context that religion, which used to be an integrating power of society, became weakened, Arnold on the one hand wished poems to take place of religion, on the other hand, he seeked a way for the religions crisis. He believed that religion should returned to its original meaning,the truth of religion could only be aquired through metaphor and retorics. Religion should remain people’s spirit land along with science.Arnold was not against captism, buthe was doubtful with capitalist foundmentalism which preached the omnipotent market. He kept people alarmed against the logic of market to penetrate into all social institutions. He put forward his ideas of modern spirit and modern life. He believed three aspect should be included into modern life:the pursuit of industry, trade, and wealth; the love of reason and knowledge; and the love of beautiful things. He understood the trend of democracy, political power being transited to the middle and lower classes from the nobles, and the latter becoming the leading part of British society. Just on the latter Arnold focused his critism. He called their "philistine" culture as "machinary", which meant two aspects. With the accumulation of wealth, people lost their judgement, they equaled progress with machines and money; while on the other hand, they took freedom of belief and politics as an end. Their freedom was regid and exclusive. Arnold stressed the importance of culture. Culture was defined by him as "to learn and spread the best that was thought and said". Culture in his eyes was an attitude towards the world and the use of mental power instead of knowledge. Culture seperates people from the pursuit of money, political position and prejudice by the joint power of scientific passion and passion for action.His concept of state was closely linked with that of his culture. The progress of culture relyed not only with poets and intellectuals, but a State representing collective reason and wisdom.Arnold in fact was not clear how the State surpassed individuals and classes to embrace the collective will of the community. It was not clearly explained how the "best self" to be expressed in the State. His concept of State was just an ideal. The idea that with the absence of public ration, the State functioning as guard god caused a suspection that he might be an authoritarian or a dictator. In fact he embraced culture and upheld zeitgeist. He only longed for a State to overcome anarchy and bring the collective character and the "best self’of English community into full play, and thus acquired intellectual deliverance and became modernized.