| Decades have witnessed a substantial growth of environmental aesthetics.Since its birth in the 1960s,environmental aesthetics has attracted worldwide researchers from countries including the United States,Canada,France,Finland,the United Kingdom,etc.In the area of global contemporary aesthetics,it has become an important growth point,which is inseparable from the contribution of Arnold Berleant,one of the most influential and theoretically contributing researchers in this field.Environmental aesthetics was born in the background that contemporary aesthetics had faced a deficiency of the natural beauty.Thus,naturally,the natural beauty has been a dominating topic in environmental aesthetics research,since the theory emerged.In this sense,it can be said that environmental aesthetics was passively formed as a supplement to this deficiency.However,from the perspective of genealogy,nothing has only one origin.Instead,things are usually syntheses with various causes at a specific time in history.Similarly,with the analysis of the development of Berleant’s theory,another different origin of environmental aesthetics can be found.That is the theory of "the aesthetic field" put forward by Berleant under the stimulation of the new development of modern art.The aesthetic field theory was initially proposed in order to solve artistic problems and it became an important theoretical constituent of later environmental aesthetics.Therefore,genealogically speaking,modern art is actually one of the origins of environmental aesthetics.This is the difference between the origin of Berleant’s environmental aesthetics theory and of other environmental aesthetics theories.At the same time,this is also the reason why Berleant has a critical influence in the field of environmental aesthetics,due to the unique achievements and penetrating judgments of his theory.Macroscopically,Berleant did not limit his eyes mainly to nature and landscape.He essentially concentrated on those profound issues,namely,how to better develop and improve aesthetic disciplines from the inside and how to give aesthetics a broader interpretability and practicality.And from this point of view,Berleant’s theory stands out in the overall theoretical standpoint.Furthermore,in terms of specific theory,Berleant eventually constructed his unique environmental aesthetics theory by treating art and nature equally with a monistic view of aesthetics and emphasizing the points such as aesthetic experience,engagement,context,continuity,and embodiment.The thesis consists of 6 chapters besides introduction and conclusion.The introduction firstly clarifies the research background and significance,points out the meaning of this thesis to correct some stereotype of environmental aesthetics,and then briefly introduces a new understanding of the origin of environmental aesthetics.By this means,it can be stated that this research makes a meaningful and groundbreaking attempt to study Berleant’s environmental aesthetics theory from a global perspective.Meanwhile,the introduction summarizes the current situation of the researches on the environmental aesthetics of Berleant at home and abroad.Moreover,the introduction also makes an analysis of the standpoint of Berleant’s theory in the genealogy of the whole environmental aesthetics theories,which lays a solid foundation for the research of the latter text.Chapter one mainly analyzes and introduces the main sources of Berleant’s thoughts and theories.In general,John Dewey is the thinker who had the most profound influence on Berleant.Dewey’s ideas can be directly or indirectly found in some of the essential standpoints and categories in Berleant’s environmental aesthetics theory.In addition to Dewey,Maurice Merleau-Ponty fundamentally influenced Berleant.Berleant were inspired by Merleau-Ponty and transformed Merleau-Ponty’s thoughts to form most of his phenomenological intellectual resources and views of the body.And Jean-Fran(?)ois Lyotard directly inspired Berleant’s creation of the theory of negative aesthetics,which plays a prominent role in the later development of environmental aesthetics.In the end,the introduction digs the background of Berleant’s overall ideas in depth.Karl Marx and Charles Darwin,as two giants in the twentieth century,influenced Berleant in some degree.Although their influences are not as direct as the former three theorists,their theories gave a general background of the development of many ideas and theories.Hence,their influences should be mentioned.Chapter two goes directly to the origin of environmental aesthetics:the aesthetic field theory.The proposal of the aesthetic field theory was to make up for the failure of the traditional aesthetics to be applied in the development of modern art.In the twentieth century,the development of art entered the phase of modern art.In this phase,various laws and rules,formed for a long time in the past history,were broken.For many modern artists,the only rule to observe was to oppose all existing rules.These changes in the development of art made the traditional aesthetics overwhelmed,made many theorists either choose to ignore the innovative development of modern art or to directly deny modern art in a holistic manner.Nevertheless,this state would not exist for such a long time that the artistic practice alienates the aesthetic theory.By putting forward his theory of the aesthetic field,to a large extent,Berleant made up for the aphasia of the aesthetic theory on the artistic practice.He returned the art practice and aesthetic theory to a state of harmony and reciprocity.Simultaneously,the aesthetic field theory is a nonobjective field theory,so it naturally transformed to the study of environmental aesthetics.Because it shared in common with environment that neither of them is a clearly identifiable object.The aesthetic field theory,considering art from the field and environment,finally became an important constituent of environmental aesthetics.This environmental aesthetics theory based on aesthetic field had a contextual feature and regarded the environment as an all-inclusive being,with nothing outside of the environment.Therefore,according to environmental aesthetics,whether it is nature or art,in city or country,in real or virtual world,and even in intangible social culture,everything is all within the scope of its aesthetic attention.In addition,environmental aesthetics gives all things,including art and nature,an equivalent view through a method of description.Chapter three makes a comprehensive analysis of the experience standpoint(standpoint of regarding the experience as the foundation)of environmental aesthetics.As many creative practices of modern art have been deeply rooted in a larger environment,if the modern art needs a proper appreciation,the action of experiencing physically should be taken,with a multi-dimensional and dynamic observation.The physical input and the directness of experience required by the aesthetic field actually constitute the core of environmental appreciation required by Berleant’s environmental aesthetics.Berleant’s environmental aesthetics is based on an experience standpoint.That is to say,to appreciate and experience the environment,one must participate in the environment for an immediate and intuitive perception.To obtain as much experience as possible,Berleant criticized the excessive speed in modern society.Because excessive speed would make people lose the chance of experiencing,and would make people always in a state of wandering in a foreign land.Moreover,Berleant pointed out that people were beings in a definite socio-cultural environment,and that it was impossible for anyone’s experience to leave the influence of dimensions such as history and culture.As a result,Berleant affirmed the multi-dimensional composite characteristics of experience.Later,also in order to obtain as much experience as possible,Berleant tried to restore the senses excluded in traditional aesthetics in the theory of environmental aesthetics.He analyzed the senses,traditional aesthetics theory thinking of irrelevant to aesthetics,including the sense of touch,smell and taste,and concluded that these senses were actually closely related to aesthetics.The fourth section of this chapter further analyzes functional dimension of aesthetic experience,and explains the internal relationship among aesthetic experience,the creation of environmental criticism and sense of place accordingly.Chapter four focuses on the two principal categories of the monolithic principles of Berleant’s environmental aesthetics:continuity and engagement.Continuity can be said to be the basic way and standpoint that Berleant understands the world.In universal continuity,there is no division or separation in any sense.This is a region where there is no object,no difference between subject and object,no opposition between spirit and material,but where all things are connected into a whole,and this whole is the environment.In the context of this universally connected overall environment,if aesthetics needs to accomplish,things must be engaged.In this sense,it can be said that engagement is the aesthetic approach of environmental aesthetics.With universal continuity and aesthetic engagement,environmental aesthetics extensively incorporates everything we can think of into its field of vision,and it forms an inclusive environmental aesthetics.Chapter five analyzes the subsequent development of Berleant’s environmental aesthetics and the broadening of the connotation of its aesthetics.In general,aesthetics is a positive word.But since Berleant’s environmental aesthetics theory takes the overall environment as his research object,in this all-inclusive environment,there is not only the sublime and beauty,but also horrible and frustrating things.These things are included in the environment,so they are also in the environmental aesthetics.Hence,Berleant made these things as aesthetic objects of environmental aesthetics.He defined that overwhelming pure horrible experience as the negative sublimity,called the experience of those depressing and frustrating things the negative aesthetics and named those experiences aesthetic damage that directly brought physical and psychological trauma to people.All these negative concepts combined and formed Berleant’s negative aesthetics.The last section of this chapter makes a general analysis and grasp of negative aesthetics.On this basis,this part makes further research on the necessity and feasibility of negative aesthetics,and finally questions the practice of incorporating terrorist acts into aesthetics by negative aesthetics.Chapter Six first focuses on cutting-edge contributions of Berleant’s environmental aesthetics theory,based on a macro grasp of the overall development of environmental aesthetics.In some of the later areas of the overall environmental aesthetics,Berleant made his own pioneering efforts and attempts.In fields where research on environmental aesthetics was relatively little,he made corresponding supplements and enhancements.On urban environmental aesthetics,he did not inherit the usual negative views of the city,but regarded the city as a place of hope.In his eyes,the city was the most potential place to fulfill oneself.In this sense,the city was similar to a reified utopia.Besides,Berleant also put forward a lot of constructive ideas on making the city more humane.These are invaluable constructive opinions and affirmative confidence different from the conventional critical attitudes in the field of urban environmental aesthetics.The environment does not only contain the visible material environment,but also the immaterial social environment.Thus,in addition,Berleant also proposed the establishment of a social aesthetics.Of course,the conception of this new social aesthetics had its limitation and was actually not so perfect.However,it should be noted that this attempt to extend aesthetics to the social environment had its own innovative value,so this proposal of social aesthetics is worth further exploration.The latter part of this chapter introduces and analyzes Berleant’s contributions and basic views in the field of aesthetics of everyday life,and makes an intensive exploitation of his critical views on the relationship between art and life.The concluding section of this chapter locates in Berleant’s ultimate ideal of environmental aesthetics:the aesthetic community.After examining the essentials of the "sociality"of the aesthetic community,this section enumerates and analyzes the connotations of various community forms and then analyzes the aesthetic community itself.This chapter ends with the summary of the inevitable connection between environmental aesthetics and aesthetic community,and concludes that the aesthetic community is the concrete reification of the ultimate ideal of environmental aesthetics.The conclusion summarizes and sublimates the foregoing,and gives a general summary of the success and failure of Berleant’s environmental aesthetics theory.It also puts forward corresponding suggestions and prospects for the further development of environmental aesthetics in the future,in order to contribute to the more benign development of environmental aesthetics. |
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