| The study of moral education aesthetics and its related issues belongs to one of the frontier studies on ideological and political education.Based on various researches in the past 30 years,this paper tries to use a new academic thinking pattern to avoid and challenge the traditional theory such as “carrying out moral education in an aesthetical way” or “aestheticizing moral education.” After learning from the former theories,this paper tries to achieve a break up with the traditional concepts by introducing an interdisciplinary vision of aesthetic,ideological and political education,taking the perspective of “dimension studies”,and following the clue of “opening,developing,changing and concluding.” This paper is dedicated to promoting more insights and methods for the effectiveness and vitality of moral education in the view of re-exploration of moral value,and more deeply,echoing with the teaching of “the advance of the society is the fruit of mankind's unfailing pursuit of beauty.” Hinging on the history and reality of moral education aesthetics,the opening part is to point out its historical link and the current predicament;the developing part is to analyze why the moral education and aesthetic education are influenced;the changing part is to define the realization of the aesthetic self-consistency of moral education process;and the concluding part,also the key part,is to clarify the function and aspiration of the aesthetic dimension and to provide an aesthetic scheme making the moral education change from “the doctrine of life” to “the approach of life”.Briefly,following a clue of the “history,question,theory,practice,aspiration,” this paper will hew out a new way to discover,establish,blend,manifest and use the “dimension of moral education aesthetics.”Based on former speculations,in the introductory part,this paper first points out the boundary problem,including present research outcomes and some original ideas,emphasizing that we should insist on the position of the ideological and political education.According to the thinking of “refining what they have and making up what they lack,” this paper tries to dig out the to-be-explored value by the aesthetic orientation.Hence,this paper will take the position of Marxism and the traditional sights,absorb interdisciplinary and public knowledge,face the returning object and the subject of the examination,in order to clear the unnecessary stereotypes.This paper is divided into five chapters.The arguments are as follows:The first chapter talks about the prerequisites,which are to clarify the meaning of related concepts and their research evolution.By roughly distinguishing the related concepts of moral education aesthetics such as beauty,aesthetics,aesthetic education,virtue,and discovering the evolution and changes of the moral education aestheticresearches in eastern and western world,this chapter clarifies the related concepts,recalls the present outcomes of related issues,and hence gives out the views like “the homology of beauty and goodness,” “the unity of truth,goodness and beauty,” “the existence of aesthetic quality in morality,” “aesthetics as the necessary provision to realize moral education aims,” etc.Hence,for one thing,we can avoid problems such as unidentified concepts or disordered systems;for another,we can provide a historical reference for the study of aesthetic orientation of moral education.Therefore,when recalling and investigating the two levels of “history and righteousness,” this chapter prepares the proposal of moral education aesthetic dimension and answers the historical questions about moral education aesthetic dimension.The second chapter presents the dimension of reality,which is to identify the reality of the problems.By defining the question through analyzing the key words of the present predicament in traditional moral and aesthetic education,this chapter expounds the unidirectional and utilitarian character of moral education from the perspective of the absence of caring and the concealment of truth,points out the abstraction and generalization feature in aesthetic education in the perspectives of both“overlooking from the clouds”and“looking front horizontally,”and brings up the voice talking about the to-be-solved problems in the practice of moral education and aesthetic education.As a result,this chapter presents the unsatisfied emotional need that pays little attention to“humanity”,or the present predicament that indulges in the“beauty”in moral education and aesthetic education.Also,this chapter puts forward the possibility that these two may draw lessons from each other and make a co-existence in education,preparing for the unfolding of the third chapter.Then by demonstrating the predicament and aspiration in both“confusion”and“pity”level,this chapter offers a basis for the proposal of the moral education aesthetic orientation,echoing to the practice of moral education aesthetic orientation.The third chapter demonstrates the potential of coupling,which is part of“developing” in this paper.Following the first two chapters,which can be considered the “opening” part,this chapter aims at discussing the close relationship between moral education and aesthetic education.The first task is to seek the theory and method to put aesthetic tool in moral education.The second task is to find the foundation of theory and reality for the moral education aesthetic dimension.To be more specific,through the three levels of traditional meaning,philosophy meaning and reality meaning,this paper states three cultural states of consciousness: “Chinese,Marxism,Modernism.” “Chinese” represents the inevitable combining trend in the Chinese traditional cultural practice,as some sayings go,“the music one plays shows his thought” or “those who do goods will look good.” “Marxism” refers to the possible combining in the Marxist position,showing as the thought of “freedom and individuality” and the theory of “the beauty law.” “Modernism” implies the necessarycombining in modern practical moral education,demonstrating as the need for the objects to develop individually and comprehensively.Thus,this paper breaks the binary opposition between moral education and aesthetic education,offering a theoretical foundation for the application of moral education aesthetic orientation and theoretically interpreting the usability of the moral education aesthetic dimension.The fourth chapter,describing the way of fulfillment,is the “changing” part,which claims that practically the aesthetic feature naturally exists in moral education and assures the practical value of the moral education aesthetic orientation.This chapter first sorts the keynote part out of the moral education.Under the prerequisite the subject,object,mediator,and cycle of moral education may convert aesthetically,this chapter investigates those elements one by one.This chapter panoramically exhibits the aesthetic demonstration and usage point in moral education: the subject of moral education(the educator)'s casting of aesthetic personality,the change of the aesthetic role and the application of the aesthetic category;the aesthetic pattern of content,method and carrier of moral education mediator;the aesthetic needs and attitudes of the object of moral education(the educated);and the moral education cycle aesthetic penetration in the school-based environment,the public opinion environment and the community environment,as well as the aesthetic self-consistency in the moral education process.Therefore,based on the present context and focusing on the education practice,this chapter strives to bring the“opening” and “developing” part to the “changing” part,that is,to bring the understandings of the questions to the running practice of moral education.Thus,the practical wisdom can be offered to the connotation of moral education aesthetic orientation,and the value of moral education aesthetics can be confirmed.The fifth chapter focuses on the way of faith.While the gradual advance of the first four chapters is to provide theoretical basis and practical reserve for the research,the last chapter serves as the “conclusion” part,which is not only a theoretical contact point,but also full of anticipation.Following the sequence of “what is the liminality of its meaning,” “what does its function embody,” and “what is the current aspiration,” the last chapter emphasizes that the essence of moral education aesthetic dimension is to truly seek the to-be-discovered value of moral education.For the theoretical contact point,this chapter reveals the gap between what moral education should be and what moral education is.From the perspective of aesthetics,this paper,sticking to Marx's leisure thought,Marx's view of interest and the aesthetic category of “sublime”,examines “what function is undiscovered(but should be discovered)”and puts forward the enjoyment function of moral education.For the anticipation,this chapter not only maintains that inwardly,the enjoyment function should make moral education amiable,satisfying and popular in practice,but also assumes that outwardly,the moral education aesthetic orientation should pursue the “construction of good moral education,” pointing out that a “good moral” should meet “people's increasingneeds for a better life” and a “good moral education” should satisfy “people's longing for a better life.”From what has been mentioned above,the basic understanding of this paper is as follows:First,the study of moral education aesthetic dimension should stick to the position that the moral education aesthetics should be valued in the moral education practice,adhering to the subjectivity and autonomy of moral education,transcending the narrow concept of aesthetic and moral education culture,developing and demonstrating the practical life of moral education in aesthetic dimension.Second,the practice of moral education and the pursuit of aesthetic education share a foundation both from Chinese traditional culture and Marxist thought.The moral spirit of the entanglement of courtesy and recreation,personality and nature in Chinese traditional culture and the idea of all-round development in Marxism have long been considered in today's practice of moral education and aesthetic education,shaping the practical spirit of the moral education aesthetic orientation.Third,the exploration of the moral education aesthetic orientation and its enjoyment function reflect the contemporary vision of ideal moral education in some senses,which enables moral education to have the tension that makes the validity of moral education remain actual and ideal,factual and possible.Forth,that the moral education has aesthetic dimension is admitted and the idea of conforming the cultural psychology,experience structure,emotional need and aesthetic expectation of the moral education objects is advocated is of benefit to develop disciplines,unit value consciousness,recollect cultural confidence and nourish the spirit of the times.Hence,a “middle way” can be expanded in the new aesthetic dimension,and that will eventually be helpful to nourish people with both realism and romanticism,pushing the practice of moral education to develop from “the doctrine of moral” to the“method of life.”... |
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