Research On Adorno’s Negative Aesthetics

This article takes Adorno’s "Aesthetic Theory" as the starting point to explain Adorno’s "negative" aesthetics.The fundamental characteristic of Adorno’s aesthetics is negation,which is not only manifested in works of art,but also in the criticism of the condition of alienated society.In the era of technological monopoly,the study of Adorno’s negative aesthetics and the study of art as a form of social resistance can help enlighten individuals’ spirit of reflection and criticism,and help reveal the control of technology over individuals and defend individual’s freedom.This paper mainly discusses the following five chapters:Firstly,the first chapter gives a brief overview of the research condition,background,significance and methods of Adorno’s negative aesthetics.The purpose is to have an overall grasp and understanding of Adorno’s negative aesthetics,and then to discover the area worth further excavation.It should be pointed out that this chapter focuses on the in-depth analysis of the historical background and problem orientation of the research,in order to understand the realistic reason for Adorno’s "negative" aesthetics and the fundamental problem that drives Adorno’s aesthetic research.Secondly,the second chapter mainly discusses the "negation" of Adorno’s negative aesthetics.The core task of this chapter is to make a conceptual in-depth clarification of the "negation" of negative aesthetics,aiming to clarify the origin of the concept of "negation" and Adorno’s "determinate negation",so as to be differentiated from Hegel’s concept of "negation".It is particularly noteworthy that few Adorno researchers have conducted in-depth analysis of Adorno’s concept of negation,analyzed the origin and determinate significance of Adorno’s concept of "negation",and turned to consider "negation" as a self-evident thought premise.In fact,Adorno’s "determinate negation" is a concept that deserves further study and needs to be clarified first,because Adorno’s "negation" is not a "negation" in Hegel’s sense.This is also the innovation of this paper.Thirdly,the third chapter mainly discusses the expression of "negation" in works of art.The core task of this chapter is to examine how works of art embody Adorno’s negative aesthetics.Through "anti-artistic","shuddering" and "enigmatic" works of art,Adorno reveals the fundamental character of negative art.What needs to be clarified in particular is that the characteristic of "anti-art" is,on the surface,that it opposes the aesthetic illusion of harmony,beauty and unity,but in fact it is opposed to the beautified real world.The characteristic of "shudder" lies first of all in the deep experience of the subject brought by the great work of art,and fundamentally in the fact that the great work of art awakens the subject’s fear similar to that of prehistoric times.The characteristic of the "enigmatic quality" is not only manifested in the fact that art is like a mystery that both reveals and conceals,but also lies in the fact that the truth content of art lies in the external expression of art in the form.Fourthly,the fourth chapter mainly discusses the realistic criticism of Adorno’s negative aesthetics.The core task of this chapter is to reveal Adorno’s criticism of reality by negative aesthetics.It is mainly reflected in two critical dimensions: one is cultural criticism;the other is language criticism.Cultural criticism is mainly reflected in the criticism of cultural industry,and language criticism is mainly reflected in the proposition of Auschwitz and the criticism of inappropriate pleasant language.What is particularly noteworthy is that this chapter firstly distinguishes between "popular culture" and "cultural industry",aiming the criticism at industrialized culture,so as to deeply analyze that industrialized culture is controlled by technology and capital,and in essence cultural industry is the domination of ideology.Finally,the fifth chapter makes a general evaluation of Adorno’s negative aesthetics: on the one hand,it is affirmed as a form of social resistance and has strong negative force;on the other hand,it is recognized as a utopian thought,because its influence is indirect after all.