Heidegger and Aesthetics

Author: Liu Xuguang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: It is troublesome to avoid the confusion in narration caused by the "polyphony" of research. They must be combined to allow the research to unfold in a clear manner, which requires outlining the research path in advance. We will proceed with the research along the following: First, we need to provide a summary and review of the overall thought of Heidegger. This summary and review is, of course, one-sided and superficial, because any overview of a thinker like Heidegger is a and inevitably suffers from the criticism of "blind men." However, interpretation should not aim for "objectivity" or "comprehensiveness." Heidegger tells us: what we can grasp is not the true nature of things, but only the meaning they reveal to us. Second, we will follow the from the to explore the significance of Heidegger's thought for aesthetics. This means we will force Heidegger to speak in the field of aesthetics. "Forcing" here means making him say what he can say but has not said, bringing his influence and insights on aesthetics to the fore. This "bringing to the fore" manifests as identifying how his thought system, from methods, perspectives, and even directions, provides insights into some fundamental aesthetic questions. Third, based on his overall thought, we will study his basic views on beauty, aesthetics, the history of aesthetics, art, and poetry. The research will fulfill the following tasks: First, introduction, listing his basic views; second, analysis and interpretation of these views, clarifying why he says what he says, what his theoretical basis is, and what theoretical problems he aims to solve?Finally, we will comment on these views in light of their historical resonance, combining the history of aesthetics or interpreting the significance of these views from the perspective of the history of aesthetics. Fourth, it is essential to clarify the significance of his thought for Chinese aesthetics. We raise this question separately to consider the inspiration Heidegger offers for Chinese aesthetics from the perspective of Sino-Western cultural dialogue and interaction. There is no doubt that Heidegger is now a prominent field of study in Chinese academia and an immensely influential thinker in aesthetic research. Why? What has Heidegger provided for the study of Chinese aesthetics? What has he offered for the study of classical Chinese aesthetics? All the questions in the introduction are, as we mentioned earlier. Only when questions can be answered do they become questions, and the questions themselves are answers. The answers may not matter; what matters is how we arrived at the answers. In this sense, research is about opening up a path. Now, let us embark on this path.