Saussure's Influence On Western Formal Aesthetics In The 20th Century

Ferdinand de Saussure(1857-1913),a Swiss linguist,is an important founder of modern linguistics.Structural linguistics,which he initiated in the Course of General Linguistics,has not only greatly promoted the establishment of modern linguistics,but also made outstanding contributions to the establishment of modern semiotics.Saussure is the forerunner of the linguistic turn in the study of modern western humanities and social sciences,which has a far-reaching impact on the rise and development of western formal aesthetics in the 20 th century.From the perspective of Saussure's influence,this paper tries to analyze the deep mechanism and intrinsic characteristics of the development of modern western formal aesthetics.For this reason,this paper introduces the research overview and significance of this topic in the introduction.Chapter one gives a thorough and comprehensive exposition of Saussure's structural linguistics.Firstly,by placing Saussure in the history of linguistics,this chapter highlights Saussure's transcendence of traditional linguistics.Then,this paper discusses the fundamental purpose of Saussure's linguistic research,and expounds the research object of linguistics,the composition of linguistic symbols,the nature of linguistic symbols,the two major relationships between linguistic systems and the duality of symbols.In addition,Saussure's expositions of diachronic linguistics and geography in the Course are discussed in good time,and the theoretical characteristics and individuality of Saussure's linguistics are summarized.Since then,this paper has entered Saussure's discussion on the influence of Western formal aesthetics in the twentieth century,which includes the following chapters:Chapter two: Saussure's influence on the study of literary aesthetics.The concept of "literariness" put forward by Russian formalism contains the theoretical essence of literary aesthetic research in this period.Saussure has no genetic significance for literariness,but he is also an important theoretical source in the development of the concept of literariness.Without the nourishment of Saussure's structural linguistics,the marriage of poetics and linguistics,the proposition of literary problems and their solutions will not be possible.Chapter three: Saussure's influence on the study of literary history of Western formal aesthetics.The synchronic and diachronic relationship in Saussure's linguistics makes the study of literary history of western formal aesthetics stand at a new starting point.With the addition of systematic view,the essence of the evolution of literary aesthetic paradigm is the mutual infiltration and fission of forms,and its motive force is the "defamiliarization" of literary language and form.Chapter four: Saussure's influence on the structure theory of western formal aesthetic works.Saussure clearly distinguishes the internal and external elements of language in his General Linguistics Course,which promotes the inward turn of modern formal aesthetics.Rene Wellek(1903-1995)transplanted the concept of internal and external research into literary theory,and further elaborated his theory of the structure of his works.Chapter five: Saussure's influence on the study of aesthetic self-discipline of formal aesthetics.In Ernst Cassirer's(1874-1945)semiotics of human culture,aesthetics is an important sector.As a neo-Kantian,Cassirer has absorbed Saussure's linguistics,opened up the dimension of linguistic symbols which Kant's anthropology has not paid attention to,expanded and enriched Kant's aesthetics,especially made important contributions to the study of aesthetic self-discipline.Chapter six: Saussure's influence on the study of aesthetic pleasure value of formal aesthetics.With the change of human living conditions and artistic reality in the twentieth century,aesthetic pleasure has different values in formal aesthetics,which brings us a sense of Utopian emancipation.Barthes' aesthetics of semiotics clearly embodies such a sudden change,and his construction of semiotics is based on Saussure's methodology of semiotics.Saussure's structural formal aesthetics is of great significance in modern western formal aesthetics.Its uniqueness lies in its strong linguistic color,and its limitation lies in its emphasis on the closeness of the linguistic system while neglecting the communicative nature of the language.The publication of the Chinese version of the Course has played a certain role of "language enlightenment" in the aesthetics of our country in the new period and promoted the linguistic turn of our aesthetics.The theoretical process of western structural formal aesthetics has certain reference significance for the development of contemporary literary aesthetics in China.