Abstract
Wang Guowei's early translation and application of western aesthetic and moral conceptualizations by such philosophers as Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schiller, and Arthur Schopenhauer were characterized by his subjective preferences. These preferences are mainly represented in his strong care for the morality of the lower class, his suspension of the concept of God in western ethics, his political moralization of the subject’s practical rationality, and his hierarchization of morality and intellectual character. In Wang Guowei's non-utilitarian and non-political aestheticism, there is a latent admiration and enthusiasm for traditional Chinese political morality. This differs fundamentally from Schiller’s idea about aesthetic enlightenment, and also reflects the consistency and integrity in Wang Guowei’s thoughts despite the seemingly split between his early and later academic life.
Keywords
Wang Guowei, Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Schiller, aestheticism, political morality
First Page
166
Last Page
174
Recommended Citation
Jiang, Haowei. 2022. "The Political Ethics of Aestheticism: “Beauty” and “Virtue” in Wang Guowei’s Early Poetics and Thoughts." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 42, (2): pp.166-174. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol42/iss2/17
