△ Marx's problem in "1844 Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts", he said: "Human beings are also shaped according to the laws of beauty." To understand the meaning of this sentence, we must first understand the starting point of Marx's 1844 Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts to criticize bourgeois national economics. National economics ignores the nature of workers as human beings, "treating workers as only animals at the bottom of labor and as livestock with only physiological needs." Marx disagreed with this view. He strictly distinguishes between human labor and animal labor. He believes that animal labor is purposeless and unconscious, while human labor is purposeful and conscious. "Free and conscious activities are the characteristics of human beings" and "conscious life activities directly distinguish the life activities of human beings and animals". In Das Kapital, he also cited an example to illustrate this difference: "But the worst architect is also superior to the most ingenious bee, because the architect has built a beehive with beeswax in his mind before building it. The results obtained at the end of the labor process have already existed in the minds of workers at the beginning of the labor process, and they already exist conceptually. " Because of this, human labor "not only causes a morphological change of natural objects, but also realizes his purpose in natural objects." It is the realization of this goal that human beings objectify their own essential strength through labor and visualize themselves in the world he created. In this way, people get not only material satisfaction but also spiritual enjoyment through labor. Labor creates not only material products, but also the realization of some people's essential strength, such as workers' thoughts and feelings, intelligence and wisdom. In the process of realizing these essential forces, people feel happy and lucky, so they also feel beautiful. Marx said: "Labor produces beauty", which is what it means.

So, how does labor produce beauty? Marx said: "Animals are only shaped according to the bottom scale and needs of the species they belong to, while humans can produce according to the bottom scale of any species and can apply the internal scale to objects anywhere;" Therefore, human beings are also shaped according to the laws of beauty. " This sentence not only explains the fundamental meaning of "human beings are also shaped according to the law of beauty", but also explains how human beings produce beauty through labor. The "scale" mentioned here refers to laws or rules. Because animal's labor is instinctive, it only meets the needs of its body directly, so animals can't consciously grasp the laws of objective things and can only work according to a "scale" specified by their species instinct. For example, bees and ants can only build nests and nests according to such a "scale" of their own species, and nothing else can be done. Not only that, this nesting and nesting is completely unconscious, without any prior purpose. Therefore, as a result of labor, it has no joy to achieve its goal, and it doesn't matter whether it is beautiful or not. However, human beings are different. "Human characteristics" is a kind of "free and conscious activity". Free and conscious activities have a clear purpose first. "He knows his purpose and uses this purpose as a criterion to stipulate the style and method of his activities." Secondly, he can create freely on the basis of mastering the objective and inevitable laws. In other words, he can consciously reproduce the whole nature according to the "scale" of objective things themselves. For example, a carpenter can make a table if he has mastered the "scale" of the table, and a house if he has mastered the "scale" of the house. The carpenter has mastered the blacksmith's skill, and he can make various ironware according to the "scale" of ironware. Therefore, when a person exerts the essential power of his race and grasps the laws of the objective world, he can transform the whole world around him and meet his material and spiritual needs. Third, in this transformation process, consciously grasping the laws of the objective world and consciously realizing subjective goals and intentions are always unified. "The bottom scale of any species" refers to the law of objective things; "Internal scale" refers to the subjective understanding and mastery of this law. When the internal scale is applied to the object to produce various products, because these products are the realization of his purpose and intention, they all become "his works and his real world". The laborer is intuitive to himself in "this world created by him". That is to say, in the objects and products of labor, workers appreciate their essential strength as a "race" and their ideals, wishes, cleverness, wisdom and skills. It is in this sense that labor is full of creative happiness, and the law of labor has become the law of beauty. It is a fundamental feature of human labor that human beings shape according to the law of beauty. It shows that human labor should embody human essential strength, be beautiful and conform to the law of beauty.

Because human labor is shaped according to the law of beauty, people should not be satisfied with eating and drinking and "eating raw" like animals. He wants to transform the whole objective world according to its laws, and transform the subjective world in the process of transforming the objective world. He not only produces objects for subjects, but also produces subjects for objects. The working people's efforts to build shelterbelts, carry out the four modernizations, turn a barren land into a hundred flowers garden, and sculpt a marble into a perfect artistic image are all based on the objective laws of the world, and are all shaped according to the laws of beauty, so they all have important aesthetic significance. In particular, the creation of literature and art should not violate the law of beauty. The law of beauty is based on consciously grasping the law of the objective world. Therefore, literary and artistic creation should not be divorced from the laws of real life itself and fabricate deceptive lies and big words. Instead, we should profoundly reveal the richness of human nature and show all kinds of potentials and infinite possibilities in the process of transforming the world.

In this way, "human beings are also shaped according to the laws of beauty" is a very broad proposition. It is a basic principle of Marxist aesthetics, and it is also a basic principle for people to consciously transform and build the world around them in socialist society.

(Jiang Kongyang)

△ Marx pointed out in "1844 Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts": "It is true that animals also produce. It also nests or lives for itself, such as bees, beavers and ants. But an animal only produces what it or its young need directly; Animal production is one-sided, while human production is comprehensive; Animals can only be produced under the control of direct physical needs, while people can only be produced under the control of no physical needs. Only when they are not controlled by such needs can they really be produced. Animals only produce themselves, while people copy the whole nature; Animal products are directly related to their bodies, and people can treat their products freely. Animals are only built according to the scale and needs of their species, but people know how to produce according to the scale of any species and how to apply the internal scale to objects everywhere. So people are also built according to the laws of beauty. "

Marx demonstrated the qualitative difference between human production and animal production. He pointed out the one-sidedness and narrowness of animal production and its passivity, unconsciousness and aimlessness; The comprehensiveness and generality of human production and its freedom, consciousness and purpose. Marx believes that the fundamental difference between human production and animal production is concentrated in the following aspects: animal production can only use "the scale of the species it belongs to"; And human production "knows how to produce according to the scale of any species and how to apply the internal scale to objects everywhere." "Scale" refers to rules or standards. Any production is the subject acting on the object. Therefore, both animal production and human production must use both subject and object. Based on Marx's argument, "the scale of species" refers to the external "form" of the object and the external direct and narrow physical needs of the subject; "Internal scale" refers to the internal law of the object and the internal spiritual demand of the subject, that is, people change the object according to their own will and purpose, and realize the spiritual pleasure and enjoyment brought by the material satisfaction of their own essential strength. Animal production can only change the external form of natural things according to the "species scale" of the object, so as to realize its own "species scale and needs", meet its own narrow physiological needs, and maintain its survival and reproduction after inoculation; However, human production can not only change the object according to the "species scale" of the object to meet the needs of the subject's life, but also follow the "internal scale" of the object, utilize and utilize the internal laws of the object, materialize and realize the will and purpose of the subject and all essential forces to meet their own spiritual needs. As Marx pointed out, man's production "not only causes the morphological changes of natural objects, but also realizes his purpose in natural objects." Man's production makes the changed object a material carrier that embodies man's will, purpose and all essential forces. People can "intuitively" see their wisdom, strength, skills and dexterity from the humanized object, that is, the world they create, so as to feel aesthetic pleasure and * * *. Therefore, Marx said, "Labor creates beauty."

(Lu Guishan)

△ Marx's Important Thought in 1844 Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts. Marx pointed out: "through practice, that is, the processing and transformation of inorganic nature, an object world is created, which proves that man is conscious of the existence of species, that is, man regards species as his own existence, or regards himself as a species." Of course, animals also produce. They build nests for themselves, such as bees, beavers and ants. But animals only directly produce what they or their offspring need, and only unilaterally, while people generally (or comprehensively) produce; Animals can only be produced under the direct control of physical needs, while people can also produce when they are not controlled by physical needs. Only when they are not controlled by physical needs can people really produce. Animals only produce animals, but people are free to treat their products. Animals are only manufactured according to the standards and needs of their species, while people know how to produce according to the standards of each species and how to apply their own inherent (or inherent) standards to objects at any time. Therefore, people still make it according to the laws of beauty. " In the field of China's aesthetics, different schools have different understandings of the "law of beauty" mentioned by Marx in this passage.

Zhu Guangqian believes that the "law of beauty" mentioned here is of great significance to aesthetics and literary creation. The law of beauty is very extensive, and it can also be said that it is the research object of aesthetics itself. In Zhu Guangqian's view, when Marx talked about "the law of beauty", he said: First, man created an object world through practice, that is, processing and transforming inorganic nature. This principle applies not only to material production including industry and agriculture, but also to spiritual production including philosophy and literature and art, both of which are based on nature and process and transform nature. Here we can see the consistency between material production and spiritual production. Secondly, the two kinds of production mentioned above have confirmed that people are conscious species. People realize that individuals and human species are equal, and produce according to this understanding, which is not based on the direct needs of individuals' bodies, but on the far-reaching needs of the whole species.

Marx said: "Man still produces according to the law of beauty", which shows that man's labor, whether material or spiritual, is related to beauty, and beauty also has its law. To understand what is the "law of beauty", we must understand the following two points: the first point is that people know "how to produce according to the standards of each species"; The second point is that people know how to apply their own inherent (internal) standards to the objects to be manufactured. There are differences between the two standards mentioned, namely "the standard of each species" and "the inherent (internal) standard". The difference is that the first point refers to the standard with each species as the main body. Of course, different species have different needs. For example, artificial dwellings and bee nests have their own needs, and their standards, that is, scales, cannot be the same. Bees only know the needs and standards of their own species, and the universality and freedom of human beings lies in that people not only know how to build tall buildings according to the needs and standards of their own species, but also know how to imitate beehives according to the needs and standards of bees. The second point is that the intrinsic standard of the object itself is higher and more complicated, which is the inherent objective law of various objects, that is, Engels mentioned the "natural law" in the article "The role of labor in the transformation from apes to humans". From a practical point of view, this means that people use their creative ability in practical activities and apply "the inherent objective laws of various objects themselves" to objects. People process and transform nature in productive labor, and the result is to create an object world including material wealth and spiritual wealth; The content of this result not only reflects nature, but also reproduces human itself, which has the subject and human spirit. This object world is related to "beauty". To sum up, "the law of beauty" is the law of dialectical unity of subjective and objective in practice, that is, the law of people's practical transformation activities. Zhu Guangqian further believes that this law mentioned by Marx involves various factors in literary and artistic creation, such as creative materials, creative methods, creative media, the relationship between writers and works, the relationship between creation and the times and social types, and the relationship between creation and cultural education and inheritance. Everyone has their own internal laws and should be used in the right place. This is in line with Marx's saying that "people know how to apply their own inherent standards to objects everywhere to make them", thus creating a beautiful object world.

(Editor Hong)

△ Important propositions and fundamental arguments of aesthetic science. "The Law of Beauty" was put forward by Marx in 1844 "Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts". Because Marx's exposition of "the law of beauty" is based on the solid foundation of materialist epistemology, it not only inherits and absorbs the reasonable and valuable theoretical heritage in the history of aesthetics, but also criticizes and abandons the errors and dross of idealism and metaphysics, thus pushing human's discussion on the basic problems of aesthetics to a new theoretical height, which is of epoch-making significance in the history of aesthetic thought.

Marx's exposition on "the law of beauty" profoundly affirmed the objective existence of beauty from the theoretical principle. The so-called law refers to the essential and inevitable relationship inherent in the objective thing itself, which is independent of any subjective spirit and concept. Law will always exist objectively, and it can neither be created by anyone nor destroyed at will. So the "law of beauty" was put forward, which first affirmed why the law of beauty of things, like all laws, is owned by things themselves, so the beauty of anything can only be owned by things themselves, and beauty must be objective.

Marx's demonstration of "the law of beauty". It is also different from the view that the essence of beauty is simply and unilaterally attributed to the physical, chemical and biological nature of things or the social nature of things. The essential attribute of beauty is related to the natural attribute or social attribute of things, but it cannot be simply equated. Beauty can indeed be regarded as a special attribute of objective things, but this attribute refers neither to the individual natural attribute of things nor to the individual social attribute of things, but to a special essential relationship that determines the beauty of things. This essential relationship is the law of beauty.

The specific provisions of Marx's "law of beauty" are obviously related to his "species scale" and "internal scale". The so-called "scale" refers to the quantitative boundary where things maintain their own quality, and can also be broadly understood as the characteristics or essence of things. "The scale of species" refers to the boundary that a certain kind of thing keeps its own quality and quantity, that is, the essential characteristics or universality of things. Because the quantitative boundary of quality includes primary quality and secondary quality, fundamental quality and non-fundamental quality, and the essential characteristics of things are also divided into levels and grades, the so-called "internal scale" is to further express the internal, profound and fundamental essential characteristics of things. Therefore, Marx said: "people know how to produce according to the scale of any species, and they can measure objects with their own scales at any time and place;" So people also shape objects according to the laws of beauty. " Here, Marx clearly linked the law of beauty with the essence of things, especially its inner essence. This insight is very profound.

There is a view that "internal scale" is understood as human purpose, and thus "the law of beauty" is understood as the unity of subjective and objective. This is not in line with Marx's original intention. Because, since the "law of beauty" is a law, like all laws, it can only be objective, not the unity of subjective and objective. As Marx said, people can produce according to the laws of beauty, but they can't make laws and change them. Therefore, the two scales related to the law of beauty can only be understood from the perspective of objective things, not from the perspective of human consciousness, will and purpose.

In 1844' s Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts, Marx only incidentally put forward the "law of beauty" and made the most important prompt without elaborating. In order to understand the law of beauty correctly and comprehensively, it is necessary to explain that anything beautiful not only has its inherent essential characteristics, but also cannot lack external phenomena to express its essential characteristics. Therefore, it requires both the universality of internal essence and the distinctive personality of external form. The law of beauty should be understood from the special unified relationship between essence and phenomenon, universality and individuality. Although general things are the unity of essence and phenomenon, they may not all have their own profound and inherent essential characteristics; Even if there are such essential features, they are not necessarily fully expressed through vivid and rich phenomena, so they are not necessarily beautiful. It is the special relationship between phenomenon and essence, personality and universality in the law of beauty to clearly and fully show the inherent essence or universality with vivid and prominent appearance or personality. This relationship determines the essence of beauty. This relationship is the law of beauty, which is also a typical law.

(Yan) according to

△ Marx said in the Economic Philosophy Manuscript of 1844: "Animals are only shaped according to the scale and needs of the species they belong to, while humans are produced according to the scale of any species, and can apply the internal scale to objects everywhere; Therefore, human beings are also shaped according to the laws of beauty. " Li Zehou believes that this passage of Marx shows that, first, we should explore the law of beauty from the essential difference between human production and animal production, that is, from the unique practice of transforming the world. Second, human beings are shaped according to the law of beauty, which is consistent with human beings producing according to the scale of any species and applying the internal scale to objects anywhere. The former is rooted in the latter. Third, beauty is the unity of truth, goodness and beauty, regularity and purpose. Human beings produce according to the scale of any species, that is, according to the laws of any natural objects; This kind of natural thing is an objective existence independent of people's subjective consciousness and has an objective inevitability independent of consciousness and will. This is "truth". "Intrinsic scale" is a scale put forward by people according to "intrinsic purpose" and applied to objects. It is in accordance with the "internal purpose" and "internal scale" that human beings transform the means of labor and give it a specific form. This purposeful human subject practice is "goodness". On the one hand, it has subjective form, on the other hand, it has external reality, that is, objectivity. In the social practice of transforming the objective world, "truth" is mastered by people and becomes subjective (humanized) "truth"; The "goodness" has been realized, and it has also become the "goodness" that has been realized. Humans produce according to the scale of any species, and apply the internal scale to objects everywhere. The unity of humanization "truth" and realization "goodness", regularity and purpose, is to shape according to the law of beauty; The existing form of this transformed objective world is beauty. It is the unity of truth and goodness, which is manifested in the form of objective perceptual freedom. Gracefulness is a state of relative harmony of contradictions in this unity, while sublimity is a state of contradiction and conflict in this unity.

Li Zehou said: "Marx linked" human beings can produce according to the scale of any species, and can apply the internal scale to objects anywhere "with" human beings are also shaped according to the laws of beauty ",which just illustrates the causal relationship between them, that is, because human subject practice with internal purpose scale can produce according to the laws of natural objects, human beings can transform the objective world according to the laws of the objective world itself to meet subjective needs. The objective existence form after this transformation is beauty, that is, it is shaped according to the law of beauty. Marx did not explain the law of beauty from aesthetics, consciousness, interest and artistic practice at all, but from human's basic practice-human's natural social production activities, profoundly expounded the essential meaning of the objectivity of beauty, and clarified that the inevitable existence of beauty did not come from "transcendental form", "appearance of ideas" and "perceptual meditation", but from human's objective social practice. The universal inevitability of beauty is its social objectivity.