Contemporary Thoughts on Aesthetic Essay "Beauty is Difficult" (1)

When it comes to the aesthetic proposition "Beauty is difficult", we must talk about Plato. It was Plato who for the first time discussed the nature of beauty in a dialogue style in his famous treatise on beauty, Scipios the Great, and at the same time left this eternal mystery - beauty is difficult.

From the perspective of hot topics in CNKI papers, academic circles have rarely discussed the nature of beauty in recent years, and the proposition that "beauty is difficult" is even less mentioned. But this does not mean that the understanding of the nature of aesthetics has been finalized, but it is still unclear. Or perhaps it is precisely because no conclusion can be found that the debate on the nature of beauty is temporarily suspended. This also reflects from another aspect that the nature of beauty is indeed as Plato said - beauty is difficult. At the same time, it shows that this proposition still has fresh vitality and contemporary significance.

Especially when art has developed into contemporary times, looking back at this proposition, its profound meaning is self-evident. In the following, we will approach our problem from three angles based on the origin of this aesthetic proposition.

The first angle: Plato, the proposer of "Beauty is difficult"

As the first person to explore the nature of beauty, Plato is of unquestionable importance in the history of Western thought . This can be gleaned from the evaluation of him by other philosophers and thinkers:

Plato is philosophy? Philosophy is Plato---Emerson

Two thousand five hundred years of Western philosophy is nothing more than a series of footnotes to Plato. ? ---Barrett

As long as there is one copy of Plato's "The Republic", all the libraries can be burned, because their value is in this book. ---"The Story of Philosophy" Durant

All metaphysics speaks the words of Plato---Heidegger

The above are the opinions of Plato by the great philosophers and thinkers in the history of Western philosophy evaluate. We can’t cover everything about why Plato is so important to Westerners in Western history, but we can explore Plato’s significance and influence from an issue closely related to our discussion, the historical development of the nature of beauty. We will leave this topic here for the time being and will go into more depth later. discuss. What we need to make clear here is that Plato, the proposer of the aesthetic proposition "Beauty is difficult", not only plays an important role in the history of Western aesthetics, but also plays an important role in the history of Western philosophy and thought. It should be said that Plato is as important to the West and Europe as Confucius is to Chinese and Asian culture.

The second angle: text analysis of "Hippias"

For the specific origin of the aesthetic proposition "Beauty is difficult", you can refer to Mr. Zhu Guangqian's translation "Plato's Literary Dialogues". Among them, the discussion of the essence of beauty in "Scipios" has gone through three stages from shallow to deep, from phenomenon to essence:

In the first stage, the essence of beauty is provided by Scipias Answer.

Socrates asked: What is beauty?

Hippias answered: Beauty is a young and beautiful lady.

Socrates asked again: Isn’t a mare and a soup can beautiful? Where is the beautiful harp?

Big: Gold is what makes things beautiful.

Su: Why do people use ivory to sculpt the face of the goddess instead of gold, and use stone to sculpt the body of the goddess.

Da: Appropriateness is beauty.

This stage of discussion is of a gradual nature. Socrates asked about the nature of beauty, and Scipios gave a general answer, focusing on the phenomenon of beauty. So he specifically talked about specific things like a beautiful lady, a beautiful mare, a beautiful soup can, a beautiful harp, etc.

However, in Socrates's rebuttals one by one, Scipias finally followed Socrates' ideas and began to explore beauty itself, that is, the essence of beauty. He finally moved away from the appearance of specific things and turned to explore beauty from the perspective of the essence of things, and gave a definition to the essence of beauty: what makes everything beautiful is appropriateness.

But Plato was not satisfied with this answer and refuted it again. This opens the second stage of exploring the nature of beauty.

In the second stage, Socrates also gave three answers to what beauty is.

The first answer - beauty is usefulness.

The second answer - beauty is beneficial.

The third answer--Beauty is the pleasure produced by sight and hearing.

The above three answers are Socrates' three attempts to give beauty from a conceptual perspective. However, every time he puts it forward, he denies himself. In the end, he rejected all three answers he proposed; this also forced him to enter the third stage of the discussion on the nature of beauty, which is the last proposition of many discussions on the nature of beauty in "Scipios" - beauty is difficult .

The third angle: Plato and the aesthetic contribution of "Scipios"

The significance of "Scipios": This article attempts to analyze the concept and definition of Define the connotation of beauty. It is the first article to define beauty, and systematically discusses the core issues of beauty, such as the sense of beauty, the development of beauty, the relationship between beauty and ugliness, etc. These issues are still the core topics of aesthetics discipline so far.

Among them, in the discussion of the nature of beauty, this article has a special significance in that it directs people's attention from concrete phenomena to the relatively abstract ontology of beauty. Started thinking about "beauty".

The article repeats several times and emphasizes one point again and again: beauty itself or the essence of beauty. For example, Socrates said: "Is there a beauty itself that makes those things beautiful?" "I'm asking about beauty itself. This beauty itself imparts its characteristics to a thing, which makes that thing become what it is." "For beauty?" "Have you forgotten my question? I'm asking about beauty itself. This beauty itself, when added to anything, makes that thing beautiful."...

In other words, the entire article is centered around the discussion and questioning of beauty itself. Why did Plato do this? Because, as a philosopher, he often starts from the essence when looking at the world. He will not be satisfied with the phenomenon, but will explore the thing behind the phenomenon - the essence of things. The same is true for beauty. He will do it. Know what it is, know why it is. Because just knowing it but not knowing why it is is not true knowledge. The true mastery of beauty must move from the phenomenon of beauty to the essence of beauty. Even, in Plato's view, those vivid, colorful and beautiful phenomena often become an obstacle to the most fundamental things.

Meaning 2: Beauty is indeed difficult.

The second significance of this article lies in the formulation of the aesthetic proposition "Beauty is difficult". Although the article discussed the essence of various kinds of beauty from the perspective of Scipios and Plato, they were unable to convince each other. At the end, Plato sighed and ended the article with "Beauty is difficult" to end this debate and discussion. . Since then, it has left an eternal mystery in the field of aesthetics - what is beauty? Later philosophers and aestheticians followed this idea and continued to enrich their understanding of beauty in the process of exploring the essence of beauty. Wujie Academy

Attached: Zhou Xian’s aesthetic reading list

Zhou Xian, senior professor of humanities and social sciences at Nanjing University, professor of the School of Art, dean of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, education Yangtze River Scholar Distinguished Professor and former assistant to the president of Nanjing University. He is the author of "Criticism of Aesthetic Modernity", "The Turn of Visual Culture", "Theoretical Travels Between Cultures", "What is Aesthetics", etc.

1. Ariti: "The Secret of Creation", Liaoning People's Publishing House, 1987 edition.

2. Abrams: "Mirror and Lamp", Peking University Press, 1989 edition

3. Aizan Bell: "The Social Psychology of Creativity", Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press, 1987 edition

4. Barthes: "S/Z", Shanghai People's Publishing House. 2000 edition.

5. Bell: "Art", China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Publishing Company, 1984 edition.

6. Block: "New Interpretation of Aesthetics", Liaoning People's Publishing House, 1987 edition.

7. Block: "Aesthetics as Mediation", Joint Publishing House, 1991 edition.

8. Selected and edited by Fang Shan: "Selected Russian Formalist Literary Essays", Sanlian Bookstore, 1989 edition.

9. Geiger: "The Meaning of Art", Huaxia Publishing House, 1999 edition.

10. Greenberg: "Modern Painting", edited by Francina: "Modern Art and Modernism", Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House, 1982 edition.

11. Gombrich: "Art and Illusion", Zheting Photography Publishing House, 1987 edition.

12． Selected and edited by He Dazai: "Notes on Modern Art", Foreign Literature Publishing House. 2001 edition.

13. Jin Daoyouxin: "Philosophical Reflections on Love and Beauty", Sanlian Bookstore, 1997 edition.

14. Kant: "Critique of Judgment" Volume 1, The Commercial Press, 1964 edition

15. Collingwood: "Principles of Art", China Social Sciences Press, 1985 edition.

16. Lange: "Emotion and Form", China Social Sciences Press, 1986 edition.

17. Lippmann, editor: "Contemporary Aesthetics", Guangming Daily Publishing House. 1986 edition.

18． Listowel: "Review of the History of Modern Aesthetics", Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 1980 edition.

19. Li Zehou: "The Course of Beauty", Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1981 edition.

20． Marcuse: "The Aesthetic Dimension", Joint Publishing House, 1989 edition.

21. Marcuse: "Art as a Realistic Form", edited by Wu Lifu and Hu Jingzhi: "Selected Books on Western Literary and Art Theory", Peking University Press. 1987 edition.

22. Maslow: "Exploration of Existential Psychology", Yunnan People's Publishing House, 1987 edition.

23. Parker: "Principles of Aesthetics", Guangxi Normal University Press, 2001 edition.

24. Winckelmann: "On the Art of the Greeks", in "World Aesthetics and Art", Vol. 1, 2, 3, Culture and Art Press, 1983 and 1984 editions.

25. Sheppard: "Aesthetics", Liaoning Education Press, 1998 edition.

26. Xu Fuguan: "The Spirit of Chinese Art", Chunfeng Literature and Art Publishing House, 1987 edition.

27. Aristotle: "Poetics", Commercial Press, 1999 edition.

28. Yao Si et al.: "Reception Aesthetics and Reception Theory", Liaoning People's Publishing House, 1987 edition.

29. Edited by Ye Lang: "Modern Aesthetic System", Peking University Press, 1999 edition.

30. Ye Lang: "The Bamboo in the Heart", Anhui Education Press, 1999 edition.

31. Ye Lang: "Outline of the History of Chinese Aesthetics", Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1985 edition.

32． Ye Xiushan: "The Philosophy of Beauty", People's Publishing House, 1991 edition.

33. Huysmans: "Aesthetics", Commercial Press, 1995 edition.

34. Zhu Di: "Contemporary Western Aesthetics", People's Publishing House, 1984 edition.

35. Zhu Guangqian: "Talking about Beauty Letters", Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, 1980 edition.

36． Zhu Guangqian: "History of Western Aesthetics", People's Literature Publishing House, 1979 edition.

37. Zong Baihua: "Aesthetic Walk", Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1981 edition.

——Contained in "What is Aesthetics", Peking University Press