A Study Of The Spiritual Characteristics Of Marx's Aesthetic Ideal

Marx,devoting himself to the cause of human liberation,did not focus on the theoretical research and achievements of beauty as a professional aesthetician or artist.But we can not deny Marx's unique and rich theoretical and practical contributions in aesthetics.In his early years,Marx was keen on poetry and novel creation and left behind many works.Later,he studied and clarified many problems in the field of aesthetics with dialectical materialism and historical materialism in terms of world outlook,methodology.Aesthetic appreciation is a special way for human beings to master the world,aesthetic ideal is the core and soul of aesthetics,which determines the direction of aesthetic activities.In Marx's Aesthetic Thought,the integral unity and logical coherence of Marx's aesthetic theory are embodied in his aesthetic ideal.Marx's interpretation of aesthetic ideal is driven and served by his alienation of real life,the social conflicts he faces,and his mission of guiding the cause of proletarian liberation.It contains the theoretical significance that only Marx can put forward and profoundly elucidate,and has unique ideological and theoretical characteristics.This paper aims to grasp and elucidate the spiritual characteristics of Marx's aesthetic ideal in a more comprehensive and in-depth way by combing Marx's early poetry creation,various literary and artistic comments in the middle and late stages,and his prose-style,poetry-style expression and criticism of social reality.Firstly,as a revolutionist,Marx's aesthetic ideal is different from that of ordinary aestheticians or artists.It is a presupposition and pursuit of life and social beauty based on the social reality he faces,the social ideal he establishes and the revolutionary practice he participates in.Therefore,his aesthetic ideal must be intertwined with his social ideal.They are highly unified in the ideal of realizing the free and all-round development of human beings.Secondly,Marx's aesthetic ideal is the unity of non-utilitarianism at the individual level and utilitarianism at the human level.On the individual level,Marx pursues the direct self-confirmation and pleasure affirmation of life by aesthetics,and "beauty in thought" is often the spiritual transcendence and emotional compensation for the ugliness of reality and the lack ofutilitarianism,reflecting the sublimation and objectification of human's essential power.However,as far as human beings are concerned,Marx pursues the significance of aesthetics for the spiritual emancipation of human existence and development.Aesthetics is by no means independent of utilitarianism.He repeatedly emphasizes the view and thinking of the beauty of society and life from the benefit pattern of real life.Furthermore,Marx's aesthetic ideal is rooted in the realistic concern for human survival,directed towards the ultimate concern for human destiny,resorted to the social practice of changing the existing production relations,and formed the appeal and expectation for beauty,which is the connotation of reality and transcendence.In addition,Marx's aesthetic ideal is the consistency of criticism and constructiveness.His aesthetic ideal is generated from criticism and developed in construction.On the one hand,it criticizes the phenomenon of alienation aesthetically,on the other hand,it historically analyses the inevitability of alienation's existence and extinction,pointing out that "the sublation of self-alienation and self-alienation follow the same path" [Marx,Translated by the Central Compilation Bureau,1844 Economic and Philosophical Manuscript [M].Beijing: People's Publishing House.2014.12:75],realizing the aesthetic perception community in the process of alienation's self-sublation.Will redeem and sublimate the subject.Faced with the predicament brought by contemporary aesthetic capitalism,Marx's aesthetic ideal is comprehensively studied and explained,and the way of aesthetic creation is clarified by his aesthetic view of real life;At the same time,it also uses the call of real life to highlight and enrich the contemporary explanatory power of Marx's thought.Based on this,it has become a serious academic mission to study Marxist theory.