Images Thinking Study Since The Foundation Of The State

Images thinking is one of the most fundamental issues of literary theory. It was first put forward as a conception by Byelinsky, a Russian literature theoretician, whose connotation of images thinking is inherently contradictory. German classical aesthetics has laid a theoretical foundation for images thinking. From Kant, Goethe to Hegel, they all have a deep discussion for images thinking while Kant's reflective judgment and Hegel's emphasis on practicality characters are particularly important. Meanwhile, the discussion in Soviet Union has directly influenced China in this issue. The rise of argumentation of images thinking is of strong realistic direction in China. In the conflict of the strongly against and maintenance, its essence is becoming more and more clear.This paper is divided into three chapters. The first chapter introduces the advancing of the notion, the contribution of German classical aesthetics and the discussion of Soviet Union about the issue. The second chapter focuses on a couple of argumentations in China. It was divided into two steps. From 1950s to 1960s, two schools follow—position and negation. The positive scholars, represented by Li Zehou, Jiang Kongyang and Zhou Bo, holding that images thinking is existence. The essential features of images thinking are developed from particularity to generality, while the generality cannot deviated from the particularity. They thought that in the epistemological range, images thinking also rise to the rational knowledge level. It is also closely associated with human's emotion. The negative scholars, represented by Cai Yi, Mao Xing and Zheng Jiqiao, however, holding that the process of thinking cannot become an independent phenomenon without concept, judgment and rationlisation. Only through those ideas could the literature rise to the rational cognition. Therefore, images thinking is inexistence. Zheng Jiqiao thought that images thinking is an anti-Marxist theoretical system. At the second step, from the middle of 1970s to the middle of 1980s, the positive scholars took dominant position. They, represented by Li Zehou and Zhu Guangqian, thought literature are not cognition, but emotion is the life of art. The characteristics of literary writing are irrational and unconscious. The last chapter is a comment on images thinking by Li Zehou, Zhu Guangqian and Zhou Yang. Li Zehou thought images thinking is a medium of emotion, essentialization and individualization appeared at the same time, and images thinking is conformed to emotional logic, etc. Zhu Guangqian paid much attentions to the characters of practice of images thinking and introduced the achievements of western psychology into this field. Owing to political factors, Zhou Yang's attitude has a great change for images thinking from pros to cons.