On Marcuse Formalism And Aesthetic Thought

Herbert Marcuse was an important philosopher, aesthetician and sociologist in the twentieth century. He produced a lot of works. Among them the aesthetic works was the most important part. This dissertation studies his formalism aesthetics emphatically. It is divided into the following parts:Introduction part: This part probes into the connection between Marcuse's formalism aesthetics and Form-Structure Theory, and compares the academic difference between Marcuse and other formalists.The first part: origin of Marcuse's formalism aesthetics. This part probes into the philosophy tradition of German, of which aesthetics of Marcuse demonstrated, and researches Marx, Heidegger and Floyd's impacts on aesthetics of Marcuse.The second part: intension of Marcuse's formalism aesthetics. This part explains essence, standard, characteristic, function and production of art that Marcuse's formalism aesthetics expounded.The third part: basic characteristics of Marcuse's formalism aesthetics. This part expounds the characteristics of Marcuse's formalism aesthetics: the revolutionary character, the psychological character and the fantastic character. These three characteristics can't be cut apart. They are both the advantages and the shortcomings.The fourth part: comparing Marcuse's formalism aesthetics with others'. This part compares the aesthetics of Marcuse with the theories of Russian formalists, Ransom and Barthes, and defines the position of Marcuse's aesthetics.The last part: the impact of Marcuse's aesthetic formalism. This part roundly appraises Marcuse's formalism aesthetics under the specific theoretical and social background, and expounds its significance to reality and the future.