On Sartre’s Imagination Thoeryin The Perspective Of Phenomenology

Jean-Paul Sartre(1905-1980) is known as a most outstanding philosopher and writer whose imagination phenomenology and existentialism philosophy exert a great influence on his aesthetics、literary theory and literary works. This dissertation, against a historical background of the evolution of the concept "imagination" in Western philosophy and aesthetics, has uncovered the central methodological position of "imagination" in Sartre’s phenomenological aesthetics and the influence of "imagination" on his literary theory through a theoretical and comparative study.This dissertation includes five chapters besides Introduction and Conclusion.The first chapter is entitled "The Historical Origin of Sartre’s Imagination Theory". It firstly introduces the dilemmatic position of "imagination" in the history of western thought, which was denounced by philosophers and praised by artist. David Hume fully affirmed the importance of the three principles of the imagination in combining the concepts, but by attributing imagination to the habit he also thought it shook the foundation of rational building In the first edition of "Critique of Pure Reason ", Kant believes that pure imagination is the possibility of all experience, but he pays more attention to the integrative ability of intellectual apperception in the second edition. In his "Critique of the Power of Judgment", imagination is free in aesthetic judgment, is predominant in judging the sublime, and is reflected in the creation of a genius. Sartre draws inspiration from Husserl who emphasizes on the role of imagination and perception on intuition, and associates imagination with image to make the former a present consciousness.The second chapter, entitled "The Philosophical Foundation of Sartre’s Imagination Theory", focuses on Sartre’s phenomenological thoughts. Under the influence of Husserl’s phenomenology Sartre thinks, in particular, that the theory of intentionality reunites men and the world, which brings about the advancement from internality to transcendence philosophy. The basic stand of Sartre’s philosophy is the transcendence of the ego. He refuses to acknowledge a transcendental ego and regards the ego before reflection as the basis of reflection. He also confirms the constantly constructive function of the ego which adds more value to human practices.The third chapter, entitled "Analysis for the Phenomenon of Imagination", firstly analyzes the definition of imagination, and clarifies the misunderstanding resulting from the confusing translation of the term "imagination". By the analysis of the image theory before, Sartre believes that imagination is a comprehensive consciousness which would work as a new starting point of his imagination theory. It needs the participation of materials, but more important are its spontaneous, emotional and ideological characteristics. Therefore Imagination plays an important role in cognition, and it brings transcendental and aesthetic freedom through its symbolic function.The fourth chapter is entitled "Comparative Analysis on Sartre’s Imagination". In the first section, it points out the insufficiencies and the focus in Sartre’s imagination theory by a comparative study of the theory of perception in Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception. Then in section two, although image is the key word of Imagist Poetry of which Ezra Pound, the famous American poet, is a vanguard, Sartre’s definition of image is different:The former belongs to literature while the latter is in the category of phenomenological aesthetics; and the purpose of the former is to find out the equivalent objects to specific feelings while the latter is a process of transcendent activitybeyond present existence.The fifth chapter, entitled "Imagination in Sartre’s Literary Theories", focuses on the imagination in his theories of art, of words, of reading and of aesthetic joy. The works of art are the approximate constructions produced historically through imagination space, in which likeness and meanings are created to fill in the void in appreciation and dialogue. To Sartre, words have the two natures:the physical nature and the instrumental one. He attaches great importance to the charming images, but is more inclined to appreciate the intervention and practice of literature. Reading is a response to the call of literary works, which builds up a world of image of the text. It is also coordination between artists and readers on the basis of the acknowledgement of the freedom of each other. The emergence of aesthetic pleasure is a sign of success for art works, which not only establishes the aesthetic imagination, but also reflects the aesthetic values through the practice leading to ultimate freedom.The conclusion,"From Imagination Phenomenology to Existentialism", focuses on the theoretical transition in Sartre under the influence of his times. Imagination is no longer the focus of his study but a methodology which integrates into his existentialist aesthetics.