Aesthetic Education Function from the Perspective of Educational Philosophy
Cai Yuanpei believes that the world has two aspects: the phenomenal world and the physical world. The phenomenon world is the material world, and the material world is the spiritual world, which is the final destination and refuge of human psychology and spirit. The fundamental difference between man and other animals is that man not only lives in the material world and has material needs, but also has a psychological, emotional, spiritual world and a desire for the soul to rely on. Aesthetic education is the way to realize world outlook education and reach the spiritual world, which is determined by the characteristics of aesthetic education. Everyone has feelings of love, evil, fear, anger, sorrow and joy, which change with life and death, fortunes and interests. However, beauty is not. Aesthetic feeling has the characteristics of non-utility, detachment and universality. People never have the idea of possession when facing the object of beauty. Psychological beauty is pure, free from distractions, and everyone faces the object of beauty. So they can forget the difference between people and me, merge with beauty and enter the material world.
From the perspective of education, the significance of aesthetic education to life lies in improving people's spiritual realm, making people enter a realm beyond fame, wealth, personal views and interests, making people experience the true meaning of life and get the ultimate happiness of life.
On the significance of aesthetic education from its significance
"Aesthetic education, applying aesthetic theory to education, aims at cultivating feelings. Life is nothing more than will; The relationship between people is nothing more than behavior; Therefore, the purpose of education is to make everyone have proper behavior, that is to say, it is also centered on moral education. There are two preparations for proper behavior: on the one hand, care about interests, investigate the cause and effect, and judge calmly; All the virtues of defending the country belong to this category, and it is also the help of Lai Zhiyu. On the other hand, regardless of fortune, regardless of life and death, go with warm feelings; Anyone who enjoys happiness with others and sacrifices himself for the virtue of the group belongs to this category; It depends on the help of aesthetic education. Therefore, aesthetic education is a supplement to intellectual education in order to complete moral education. "
It can be seen that the purpose of aesthetic education is to cultivate people's feelings, cultivate people's noble interests, moral feelings and positive attitude towards life, and give people the motivation to pursue noble behavior. In addition, Cai Yuanpei also clearly said: "The purpose of aesthetic education is to cultivate a lively and keen spirit and cultivate a noble and pure personality."
We can understand it this way: cultivating people's feelings is the direct purpose of aesthetic education; The fundamental purpose of aesthetic education is to purify people's mind, cultivate people's noble interests, moral feelings, positive and enterprising attitude towards life, cultivate noble and pure personality, and give people the motivation to pursue noble behavior.
Aesthetic education can improve an interest beyond interest, integrate a prejudice that separates people from me, and maintain a permanent peace of mind. It can be seen that the function of aesthetic education lies in dispelling people's despicable desires, eliminating the selfish boundary between people and me, transcending the narrow concept of personal self-interest and entering the realm of goodness and beauty.
On the Function of Aesthetic Education from the Perspective of Psychology
Cai Yuanpei believes that there are three kinds of human spirit (psychology): knowledge, will and emotion. Knowledge belongs to science, the expression of will is behavior and ethics, and emotion belongs to aesthetic education. This great and noble behavior is entirely out of emotion. Everyone has feelings, but not necessarily great and noble behavior. This is because the emotional driving force is weak. Aesthetic education is to cultivate emotional motivation. This paper discusses the role of aesthetic education in people's noble behavior from the psychological point of view. Cai Yuanpei also believes that art can make people have noble, brave and self-sacrificing thoughts. Why? He also explained the psychological relationship between reason and emotion: people who understand aviation theory may not dare to take risks; What? When you are excited, you can't use reason to adjust; When feelings are stagnant, excitement is irrational. Who will supervise? Who is lively? Art is self-interested because it is above life and death.
Aesthetic education can cultivate people's sympathy. With compassion, people can care for and help each other. Why can aesthetic education cultivate people's compassion? Cai Yuanpei believes that because aesthetic feeling has the function of "emotional transfer". For example, if the scenery is on the wall, you can swim lying down; Moved by tragedy, not shed tears; This is the situation of emotional transfer.
On the function of aesthetic education from the perspective of beauty and aesthetic feeling
How does aesthetic education affect people's spiritual accomplishment and noble behavior? This has to start with the essence and nature of beauty and aesthetic feeling. Cai Yuanpei believes that from the various categories of beauty, there are two kinds: advocating flood (that is, magnificent), beautiful (beautiful), tragic and funny. Advocating flood includes the greatest and the most rigid.
How does the object of beauty cultivate feelings? Cai Yuanpei believes that because it has two characteristics: one is universality and the other is detachment. A spoonful of water, one person drank, others didn't have a penny; If one person has enough space, others will not have enough space. This material incompatibility encourages the differences between people and me and selfish care. The object of beauty is very different. Famous mountains and rivers, everyone has a tour; Sunset and bright moon make everyone enjoy it; Everyone likes the statues in the park and the paintings in the art gallery. Qi Xuanwang said that "being alone does not like being happy with others", "being less happy does not like being happy with others", and Tao Yuanming said that "enjoying all the wonders" are all universality of beauty. Flowers of plants are only for the preparation of fruits; As for plum, apricot, peach and plum, flowers are the poet's favorite. Flowers designed for enjoyment have the function of being selected by others and cannot bear fruit. Animal feathers keep out the cold. People have the habit of making fur and weaving cloth; However, the feathers of egrets and the tails of peacocks are designed for decoration. The palace can shelter from the wind and rain, so why carve and paint? If only utensils can be used, why should they be patterned? It can be seen that the function of beauty has exceeded the scope of utilization. It has the universality of breaking people's prejudice and the detachment of revealing interest relations; Thus, at a critical juncture, there is a spirit of "wealth can't be lewd, poverty can't be moved, and powerful people can't be bent", and even the courage to "kill yourself to be benevolent" instead of "being spared from harm". These qualities are due to the cultivation of feelings and come from aesthetic education.
Cai Yuanpei believes that aesthetic education can also cultivate a quiet and strong spirit. There are two kinds of aesthetic feeling, one is elegant beauty, the other is sublime beauty, calm and indifferent, super interesting, forgetting the boundary between people and me. For example, in Youmingsheng, people didn't think of logging and making machines at first; Music lovers are always happy with others; Such a transcendental and universal mentality is accustomed to self-restraint. What despicable temptation can disturb him? Sublime beauty can be divided into two categories: greatness and strength; Thinking about the star world and comparing geological ages, we can't help but be surprised at the obscurity of individuals; Describing the volcanic eruption and the cross-flow of floods, we can't help but sigh the fragility of manpower; But once I am induced by aesthetic feeling, I wander in the object unconsciously, so the greatness of the object is my greatness; The power of the object is my power; I am used to exercising in this state of mind. What else in the world can scare him?