A Study On The Rationality Of Aesthetic Education

At the 18 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,the general Secretary attached great importance to aesthetic education.In the National Education Congress,he pointed out that we should comprehensively strengthen and improve aesthetic education in schools,adhere to aesthetic education and cultural education,and improve students’ aesthetic and humanistic quality.As one of the "five educations",aesthetic education is of great significance for individual growth and the cultivation of high-quality talents with comprehensive development.While the national policies advocate for aesthetic education,the "integration of the five educations" also provides broad space for the development of aesthetic education.However,aesthetic education still faces the problem of being "covered" to varying degrees.The reason for this is that there are still some shortcomings in theoretical research of aesthetic education,making it difficult to effectively respond to the dilemma faced by aesthetic education practice.In view of this,this study selects a reasonable perspective to theoretically defend why aesthetic education can and does,and attempts to solve the challenges faced by aesthetic education in the era.This study takes the meaning of beauty and aesthetic education as the starting point,sorts out and analyzes the different interpretations of beauty and aesthetic education by Chinese and Western scholars,aiming to clarify the concept of beauty and aesthetic education.This study believes that beauty is an objective existence that cannot be separated from subjective cognition,and can bring physiological pleasure or spiritual baptism to humans through naturalness,sociality,or a combination of the two.Aesthetic education refers to an educational activity that guides individuals towards the perfection of their own lives and the sublimity of their souls by enabling them to recognize the beauty of nature and society,thereby realizing individual values and assuming social responsibilities.On the basis of defining the concepts of beauty and aesthetic education,this study explores the rationality of aesthetic education.It is believed that rationality refers to the internal laws(facts)or external forms(values)of the existence of things that can meet certain needs of humans through human practical activities,achieving the unity of purpose and regularity under human rational understanding.The rationality of aesthetic education refers to the rational grasp of the laws of beauty and education,which satisfies the growth and spiritual needs of both teachers and students through aesthetic education activities.It is the unity of the purposiveness and regularity of aesthetic education activities.The rationality of aesthetic education is composed of three dimensions: formal rationality,substantive rationality,and practical rationality.Its inevitability is determined by the characteristics of aesthetic education itself,the realization of aesthetic education goals,and the demands of education itself.Why is aesthetic education reasonable? This study aims to explore from three dimensions of the rationality of aesthetic education why it can be taught,what its value is for use,and why aesthetic education practice is feasible,in order to answer this question.Firstly,it discusses how beauty can be taught from the perspective of the rationality of aesthetic education forms.Its teachability comes from the following three aspects: firstly,the pursuit of beauty is a fundamental human need.The main manifestation is that the knowledge of beauty can meet the physiological needs of individuals to pursue beauty,the psychological pursuit of individual spiritual perfection,and the social pursuit of individuals towards the collective.Secondly,beauty itself is the existence that awakens human consciousness.Mainly reflected in the fact that aesthetic knowledge,as an aesthetic education content,can lay the groundwork for awakening consciousness;Beauty can cultivate aesthetic qualities and promote the growth of consciousness;Return to the fundamental education of beauty and unleash its educational ability.Thirdly,beauty exists in the mutual communication between subject and object.Mainly reflected in the mutual communication between the aesthetic subject and the aesthetic object;Beauty exists in the mutual communication between the subject and object of teaching.Secondly,the value of aesthetic education is discussed from the perspective of its substantive rationality.Its practicality comes from two aspects: firstly,aesthetic education can promote individuals to complete their spiritual world.Mainly reflected in the fact that aesthetic education can make people physically happy;Aesthetic education can cultivate virtue;Aesthetic education can free the soul.Secondly,aesthetic education can cultivate high-quality talents and promote social development.Mainly reflected in the ability of aesthetic education to reconcile the "four educations" and assist in talent cultivation;Aesthetic education can provide development momentum and promote social development;Aesthetic education can promote social stability and harmony.Finally,the feasibility of aesthetic education practice was discussed from the perspective of its rationality.Its feasibility comes from the following three aspects: firstly,aesthetic education can enter nature and society.Mainly reflected in the fact that aesthetic education can move towards natural beauty,social beauty,scientific beauty,and artistic beauty;Secondly,aesthetic education can enter the soul.Mainly reflected in the fact that aesthetic education can lead people from perception to beauty,from pleasure and satisfaction to beauty,and from spiritual perfection to human perfection.Thirdly,aesthetic education can transform the world.The principle of combining ideological and artistic,emotional and cognitive,theoretical and practical,special and universal needs to be followed in order to be implemented.