Aesthetic self

Author: Zhang Yinghang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: "The Anxiety of the Self" is understood by existentialist thinkers as one of the modern symptoms inevitably produced by commercial society. Perhaps it is from this that we can understand why postmodernist theory arose and spread rapidly, as it offered a solution to the dilemmas of modern people in anxiety. It advocates resolving the problem of "the anxiety and confusion of the self" through paths such as deconstruction, pluralism, diffusion, and de-determination. However, the solution proposed by postmodernist theory—deconstructing the pursuit of certainty in life for truth, goodness, and beauty—has not been successful, as many scholars have criticized. A simple fact is that it has instead led the self into new dilemmas of relativism or even nihilism. Therefore, the topic of "re-establishing the pursuit of certainty" has become a fashionable discourse in humanities and social thought in the 21st century. Against this backdrop, we will discuss the topic of "the self's pursuit of certainty in aesthetics" in this book. The author attempts to explore conventional discussions from the perspective of the self's pursuit of aesthetic certainty, while also striving to address the numerous self-confusions arising in contemporary Chinese society, which are similarly caused by the negative impacts of the market economy.