1, representative theory
This is the oldest theory about the origin of art, which originated from ancient Greek philosophers. According to this theory, imitation is the innate nature and instinct of human beings, and art originates from human imitation of nature. In the eyes of ancient Greek philosophers, all art is the product of imitation, and so is art. Aristotle believes that "the object of artistic imitation is the real world, and art not only reflects the external form of things, but also reflects the internal laws and essence of things, and artistic creation depends on imitation ability."
Finch, French enlightenment thinker Diderot, Russian writer Chernyshevski and others all inherited and developed this theory to varying degrees, and it still had great influence until the end of19th century.
Today, there are not many aestheticians who use the representative theory as the driving force of the origin of art, because in fact, there are many phenomena, such as human prehistoric cave murals, which are difficult to explain with the impulse of imitation. However, the representative theory still has some value. It reveals a relatively primitive psychological tendency of human beings, which is connected with art. On the one hand, imitating objective things is also a way to grasp things, from which we can see human wisdom and ability. So people are happy and satisfied psychologically. On the other hand, no matter why primitive people created and produced primitive art, these primitive arts themselves (such as animal outlines on prehistoric cave murals) are undoubtedly derived from imitation, that is, imitation is at least an indispensable means, if not a motive. It is precisely because prehistoric plastic arts are based on imitation that we can realize what animals these images imitate. From the original works of art discovered today, it is not difficult to see that imitation is the main method of creation and production of most original works of art. Other methods, such as expression and symbol, also evolved from imitation.
2. Game theory
Game theory holds that art originated from games, which is an influential theory in the theory of art occurrence, including art. Its representatives are Schiller, a famous German aesthete, and Spencer, a British scholar, so people call game theory "Schiller-Spencer Theory". Schiller put forward the view that art originated from games for the first time through the comparative study of the relationship between games and aesthetic freedom in Education Letters. It is believed that art is a game of aesthetic freedom, and its purpose is to create a formal appearance. "Freedom" is the essence of artistic activities, which is not limited by any utilitarian purpose. Only in a brain game can people completely get rid of the bondage of practicality and utility, thus gaining real freedom. Game theory also believes that people's aesthetic activities, like games, are the use of excess energy, and the remaining energy is the driving force for people to play this mental game of art, and people are higher animals. It doesn't need all its energy to engage in material activities to maintain and prolong its life, so it has extra energy, which is reflected in free imitation activities, games and artistic activities. Spencer, like Schiller, also thinks that games are the vent of excess energy. Although it has no direct practical value, it helps players to cultivate their organs, so it has biological significance and is conducive to the survival of individuals and the whole nation.
Game theory emphasizes the important relationship among game impulse, aesthetic freedom and human perfection, which is of great value for us to understand the occurrence of art in aesthetics. It reveals some necessary biological and psychological conditions for the occurrence of art, such as surplus energy is an important condition for artistic activities, artistic entertainment and artistic aesthetics, and reveals that spiritual freedom is the core of artistic creation. It is enlightening for us to understand the essence of art, but it regards art as an absolutely free and pure entertainment activity divorced from social practice, emphasizes the origin of art in the biological sense, and overemphasizes the opposition between art and utility, which has absolute and one-sided disadvantages.
3. Performance theory
This theory holds that art originated from the need of human beings to express and communicate their feelings. Emotional expression is the most important function of art, and it is also the main motivation for the occurrence of art. This theory is mainly held by British poet Shelley, Russian writer Tolstoy and some modern and contemporary aestheticians in Europe and America. According to this theory, all the arts of primitive people have only one main driving force, that is, they express their feelings through various arts. Thus contributed to the occurrence and development of art, for example, Tolstoy thought: "Art originated from a person in order to convey his feelings to others, so he revived these feelings in his own mind and expressed them with some external symbols." These external symbols are artistic images expressed through actions, lines, colors, sounds, words, etc. Through these symbols, others can also feel the same feelings. In this way, the feelings experienced by the author infected the audience.
If human science is mainly related to reason and cognition, then human art is more related to sensibility and emotion. Expressing and communicating emotions is indeed an important feature of art, so expressing emotions is also an important psychological motivation to promote the occurrence and development of art. However, there are various ways for human beings to express emotions, and both language and emotion can express emotions. Art is not just a tool to express emotions, so this theory cannot fully explain all the reasons for the origin of art. 。
4. Witchcraft theory
Witchcraft theory is the most influential and powerful view in the western theory of the origin of art, which was put forward on the basis of directly studying the relationship between primitive works of art and primitive religious witchcraft activities, and was first put forward by Taylor, a famous British anthropologist, in his book Primitive Culture. This view explains the origin of art with practicality, and holds that primitive art has great practical and utilitarian value in the minds of primitive people. According to this theory, although there are many beautiful animal images in prehistoric cave murals depicted by primitive people today, they are inspired by a motive unrelated to aesthetics, namely witchcraft. For example, many cave murals and sculptures in the late Paleolithic period are often made in the darkest and inaccessible places of caves, which are obviously not for appreciation. But prehistoric humans tried to use witchcraft as a means to ensure their success in dabbling. Some animals are painted or engraved with marks of being stabbed and beaten by spears or sticks. According to witchcraft, this is because there is a kind of sympathetic witchcraft in primitive tribes. Primitive people think that the image of anything has a real connection with actual things. If they affect the image of something, they actually affect it. Painting scars on animals means that they can successfully hit their prey in actual hunting. The animal images with stab wounds or wound marks in these primitive murals have become strong evidence to support the emergence of art from witchcraft theory.
Witchcraft theory is of great significance for us to understand primitive art, especially its motive force, and its non-aesthetic nature at that time. Witchcraft theory regards spiritual motivation as the only motivation of primitive art, ignoring the motivation behind spiritual motivation, that is, human material production activities, so it can not fully explain the true origin of primitive art.
5, labor theory
The mainstream theory of China's literary theory is that art originates from productive labor. Since the end of 19, many ethnologists and art historians in the European continent have widely circulated the view that art originated from "labor".
Hill once listed a chapter in The Origin of Art to discuss the relationship between art and labor. Russian plekhanov systematically discussed the origin and development of art through the analysis of original music, original songs and dances and original paintings, and proved it through a large number of ethnology, ethnology, anthropology and folklore documents, and obtained the view that art occurs in labor. Engels pointed out, "First, labor, and then language and labor together, become the two most important driving forces. Under their influence, animals,