On The Problems Of The Mediation In Theodor Adorno's Thought Of Aesthetics

As the first generation leader of Frankfurt School,Theodor W.Adorno has made brilliant research in the fields of philosophy,aesthetics,literary theory and sociology,and so on.From the perspective of object and purpose of study,Adorno's critical theory,on the one hand,acquires correlatively social knowledge with the aid of analyzing and criticizing social experience.On the other hand,aiming the freedom of individual and society,Adorno dissects and breaks the hidden social compulsion from ideological criticism.As far as the specific historical context is concerned,confronted with many disadvantages from social modernity and the logic evolution of predicament of dialectic of enlightenment,Adorno places takes critique of traditional epistemology as the logic starting point of his theory,viewing aesthetic elements as a dialectical link about considering social and historical experience.Ultimately,through the construction of aesthetic theory,Adorno rethinks the value of individual experience and restores the genuineness of experience,which realizes the critical intervention of theory into praxis.Mediation,which is the core category of dialectics,plays a significant role in Adorno's aesthetic theory.As an important factor in communicating between subject and object,mediation can mediate the completely opposed situation between subject and object,and put them into interaction.From the perspective of specific theoretical deduction,mediation,as an essential link of Adorno's epistemology,is conductive to thinking about the shaping process of subject,shining the vitality of the object,establishing a non-identical relationship between subject and object,achieving the revolution of the mode of epistemology.Adorno regards the alienation of society as an extension that man control over nature,but recognizing nature through the conceptual mediation is an important step to improve the relationship between man and nature.As a necessary mediation,natural philosophy,which can explain natural beauty,is helpful to restore people's aesthetic experience of nature.Natural beauty is also the mediation between nature and art.By imitating natural beauty,art achieves the transition from nature to freedom.The dialectical relationship between automaticity and sociality about modern art makes Adorno to concern the construction of the sociology of art,which views the issue of mediation is its core theme.Aesthetic theory is the indispensable mediation about interpreting aesthetic activities and experience.The dialectical thinking of aesthetic theory can contribute to analyzing the truth of art,achieving theory's critique of society,realizing the function of theory.The introduction of this thesis focuses on the mediation problems in Adorno's aesthetic theory,summarizes the relevant research results at home and abroad,comprehends previous achievements,seeks the growing point of theory,which is divided into five parts:Chapter One mainly analyses and interprets Adorno's epistemology,which makes a foundation for the next chapters.Adorno's theory is not only a reflection and critique of German classical philosophy and aesthetics,but also an extension of classical Marxist political economy.Adorno's epistemological premise is the dichotomy of subject and object,but this dichotomy is interaction mutually rather than absolute opposition.To begin with,subject that has individual humanity,is mediated by object.In a nutshell,subject is a result,not an idea.As far as the object is concerned,Adomo proposes the concept of primacy of the object that reflects and questions about traditional subjective philosophy,breaking the illusion of the abstract of subjective reason.Second,Adorno denies the chaotic state of the subject and object,emphasizing individual consciousness.The object can only be known through the reflection of the subject,drawing a clear line with the old materialism.And the significance of praxis has been established.In the end,Adorno changes the task of concept that recognizes the non-identical relationship between subject and object,which is the hinge of negative dialectics.It is conducive to the critique and intervention of theory on praxis.Chapters Two investigates Adorno's natural aesthetic theory from the perspective mediation.Human gradually enrich their natural knowledge by means of the conceptual mediation of nature.However,this conceptual cognition cannot replace all human understanding and perception of nature.The natural aesthetic experience of human beings is a kind of value judgement mediated by conceptual mediation.The value of natural beauty lies in that it reveals the non-identical relationship between the conceptual nature and non-conceptual nature.Philosophy,as a theoretical mediation,can be interpreted its social and historical connotations on the basis of understanding natural aesthetic experience,Natural beauty is a mediation between nature and art.By imitating natural beauty,art eases the opposition between nature and art,facilitating the transition from nature to freedom.Chapter Three adopts the approach of historical materialism,starting from the dialectical relationship between artistic autonomy and artistic sociality,paying attention to the study of social structure,ideology and other social factors how to be implemented in art and become an important mediation between art the social reality.Adorno argues that the real issue of musical sociology is the problem of mediation.Broadly,Adorno's sociology of art aims at the generation of meaning and social function of artistic meaning,from the prospective of production,reproduction,consumption,reception and criticism,etc.Chapter Four penetrates into internal logic of the construction of art,and studies the effect of mediation of aesthetic theory in the construction and interpretation of artistic meaning.In Adorno's view,the philosophical contents of art works makes aesthetic theory a necessary mediation to interpret the inner meaning of art works.The systematic construction of traditional aesthetics neglects the non-conceptual elements of art works,running into hurdles when it is questioned by aesthetic nominalism.The innovation of aesthetics appeals dialectical thinking,which understands the truth contents of art works according to the diachronic development of art works and concretely social experience.In addition,from the aspects of the theoretical reflection,the logic of construction,and the value orientation,Adorno's aesthetics not only reasonably interprets the concrete contents of aesthetic experience,and restores the vitality of experience,but also points out the dimension of society of theory,which promotes the effective growth of theoretical recognition.Finally,the Conclusion part summarizes the full thesis.From the perspective of epistemology,Adorno admits the objectivity of the dichotomy of subject and object.On the one hand,he emphasizes the dynamitic function of subjective consciousness,puts forward the concept of primacy of the object by taking advantages of the thought of mediation,on the other and establishes the non-identical relationship between subject and object.The natural aesthetic theory and the construction of the sociology of art,starting from the mediation issue,will help restore the vitality and genuineness of experience,which can provide necessary content for the effective growth of cognition.Aesthetics,as an essential mediation to reflect specific aesthetic experience its dialectical thinking is conductive to interpreting the truth content in art works,realizing the essential cognition and important guidance of theory to praxis,and promoting the freedom and liberation of human and society.