Inquiry Concerning Shaftesbury’s Concept Of "Sense Of Beauty"

Shaftesbury was not only the initiator of the aesthetics in the 18 th century,but also the initiator of the Scottish enlightenment emotionalism philosophy in the 18 th century.Shaftesbury is remembered in history largely because he put forward the concept of "sense of beauty" in the history of British thought.The 18 th century was an unusual period in Britain,in which both art and aesthetics underwent fundamental changes.During this period,art began to develop,and aesthetics,which was closely related to art,also developed.However,due to the differences in language and culture,the recognition and understanding of the concept of "sense of beauty" and the inner sense theory developed from it are not clear in the aesthetic circle of China.In view of this,this paper chooses Shaftesbury ’s "sense of beauty" as the research object,and by focusing on the concept of "sense of beauty",tries to better understand the unique value and significance of the concept of "sense of beauty" put forward by Shaftesbury in the aesthetic history of 18 th century England.The study of Shaftesbury’s aesthetic thoughts,it is found that what Shaftesbury pays most attention to is the study of nature and emotion.Nature and emotion both follow a certain order,and in accordance with this order,people have the aesthetic feelings of happiness or unhappiness.Shaftesbury,this article aims to analyze the concept of "sense of beauty" in aesthetics,from the origin of the concept of sense of beauty to the object of aesthetic evaluation,aesthetic judgment standard,make us better understand the overall thought of Shaftesbury aesthetic context,in order to better understand the 18 th century British emotionalism aesthetes aesthetic thought.This paper is divided into five chapters: the first chapter is the introduction,mainly describes the domestic and foreign thinkers on the concept of " sense of beauty" research status.The second chapter mainly analyzes the ideological origin of the concept of "sense of beauty ".This paper holds that the four ideological origins represented by neoclassicism,Cambridge Platonism,Locke’s thought and deism promoted the birth of Shaftesbury ’s concept of "sense of beauty".The third chapter mainly analyzes the aesthetic objects targeted by the concept of "sense of beauty" in the process of aesthetic evaluation,and clarifies the complex relationship between the characteristics of these objects.The fourth chapter tries to evaluate the aesthetic evaluation standard of the concept of "sense of beauty",and clarify the historical influence of the standard on the concept of "sense of beauty" and the history of British emotionalism aesthetic thought behind it,so as to reveal its relevance more clearly through comparison.The fifth chapter mainly expounds the historical influence of Shaftesbury ’s "sense of beauty" on other British aesthetes.Shaftesbury to Hutcheson,Hume has a certain influence,Shaftesbury aesthetic thought in Hutcheson and Hume’s thoughts can be seen in the inheritance and transformation,but between them there are a lot of difference,so the Shaftesbury "sense of beauty" concept for after his emotionalism thinkers to study this idea provides a reference and has far-reaching significance.