Aesthetic And Freedom - Schiller's Aesthetic Education Thought And Its Modern Impact

Freedom is an ideal of which people of all times are always in hot pursuit. The philosophers, whether in ancient times or at present, use their outstanding wisdom and enthusiasm to explain this glorious and obscure word. Just as Rousseau says, man is born with freedom but is chained in the fetters. I-Tow to break up various fetters? Different people have different answers. I-Iowever, Schiller overtly connects beauty with the freedom of people, trying to remedy the disintegration between human perception and ration, between the individual and the society by means of aesthetics and art so as to do away with alienation and predicament of people in the reality. When we make an examination on the thought of Schiller, we find that the foundations of his thoughts arise from the two aspects: the historic background and theoretic source. The eruption of French Revolution and the development of the revolutionary situation make Schiller think over such a question: how to avoid the unfree ways to obtain the goal of freedom? He finds the enlightenment from the thoughts of Kant. Kant analyses the critique of aesthetic judgement, inquires into the beauty and sublimity, and puts forward the topic that 揃eauty is the symbol of morals? All these illustrates that Schiller has been aware that aesthetics is the media between the perception and ration, the bridge between congition and ethics. From these points, Schiller closely associates the aesthetics with freedom and advocates that 揃eauty is the freedom in the phenomena? Based on deep critic of reality, he firstly puts forward that the concept of aesthetic education and analyses its functions. Moreover, he inquires into such 2 concepts as impetus of games, aesthetic states of mind, aesthetic form and the funiction of the imagination. Scliiller raises aesthetic and art to an improper level, in an attempt to save the alienated humanity in the alienated society, which is carried with the fancy colour of Utopia. Although aesthetic can bring spiritual freedom to the individual, it cannot bring the real freedom to the social groups. Marx, from the analysis of the alienated labor, puts forward that only by giving up the private property can one attain harmonious development of humanity. These designations, based on the reality, contain much more truth values. Schiller抯 aesthetic thoughts have an influential significance. After long times, jt affects aesthetic thoughts in the modern west countries, and also influence aesthetic education thoughts in our country. Especially today, we eagerly advocate aesthetic education, which can elevate people and shape people抯 characters. We must recognize and evaluate the real relationship between aesthetics and freedom, the functions and positions of aesthetics and art in a correct way. So, studying the merits and demerits of Schiller抯 aesthetic thoughts has an invaluable significance.