What is the function of literature?

What is the function of literature? You may think that literature is far away from us, because literature is a very abstract thing. Maybe many people don't know what literature is and what its specific function is. Let's see what the function of literature is.

What is the function of literature? 1 the function of literature

I. Preface:

I recently read an article "I suggest you read less of this kind of book" in Zhihu. The author criticizes the utility of pure literature and draws the conclusion that literary books should be read less through unconditional logical deduction.

Here, I put forward my personal opinion: from a pragmatic point of view, literature is certainly not as good as professional books, because professional books are the systematization of knowledge. However, if the author wants to advocate that literature is useless and purely recreational, this cognitive defect is too pitiful. This is a kind of stupidity. Socrates said: Ignorance is evil. The author's ignorance hurts too many people. Is literature useful? What is the function of literature? This is what I'm going to talk about next.

Second, the positive role of literature

(1) The social cognitive function of literature;

First, literature is intellectual.

Literature can describe social life in various periods, nationalities and fields. So is literature.

One of the ways for human beings to acquire knowledge, such as Qu Yuan's Lisao in our junior middle school Chinese textbook, is followed by various plants, animals and birds. There are all kinds of plants, such as Mulan, Qiu Lan, Lippi and vanilla.

I am not only nine flowers of Zilan, but also a hundred-acre tree.

Stay abroad, expose the car, Du Heng and local chronicles are mixed.

The root of the tree (the first sound of money) is knotted (the third sound of firewood), which runs through the core of Ficus pumila.

You don't know what to write unless you look up Ci Hai. Ficus pumila is a kind of plant, also called Manglietia, which is an evergreen vine with oval leaves and small flowers. It can be used to make bean jelly and relieve summer heat. Hong is a vanilla name written in ancient books.

Therefore, literature is also of great significance to our understanding.

Second, literature has cognitive sociality.

From literary works, we can also learn life experiences, historical events and social common sense from historical works.

For example, Cao Xueqin's Dream of Red Mansions, with the rise and fall of the four families of Xue, Jia, Shi and Wang in the late feudal period as the background, profoundly reveals the crisis of the end of feudalism through family tragedy, daughter tragedy and the protagonist's life tragedy. Known as the "encyclopedia of feudal society in China". Zhou, a famous red scientist, said: "A Dream of Red Mansions is a unique' cultural novel' of our Chinese nation through the ages. If you want to understand the cultural characteristics of the Chinese nation, the best-both the most interesting and the most convenient (concrete, true and vivid) way is to read A Dream of Red Mansions. "

Confucius said that poetry can "excite, observe, group and complain." . Among them, "view" is the cognitive function of understanding society, and some essential characteristics of reality can be revealed in good serious literary works. For example, the famous Stendhal's Red and Black, by describing Julien's tragedy, profoundly shows the social reality after the failure of the French bourgeois revolution led by Napoleon. It shows the great face of social life. It has a clear cognitive function. It also profoundly lashed the darkness of the Restoration Dynasty. Stendhal deliberately used "red and black" to symbolize the creative background of his works: "red" symbolizes the blood and revolution during the French Revolution; And "black" means monk's robe, which symbolizes the feudal restoration dynasty with rampant church power.

Third, literature has self-awareness.

When reading literary works, we can often find our own shadow. Literature provides a place to describe the psychological activities of characters and let us know them. The dark psychology of characters is undoubtedly manifested in literary works. So that we can reflect deeply. Why do characters do this? Turn external knowledge into internal experience, so as to deeply understand human nature. Fully understand the literary image and yourself. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is also regarded as a guide book for shopping malls and officialdom.

Reading Dostoevsky's brothers karamazov can also help us understand the dark side of human nature. So as to remind us of our own evil at all times. Lu Xun's The True Story of Ah Q is even more classic. By describing the law of spiritual victory, we can clearly understand the national character. (The method of spiritual victory is more common now). Let's be vigilant and help ourselves through self-criticism.

(2) the educational function of literature

Many moral concepts of China people come from literary works. Bao Gong's integrity and selflessness, Qin Gui's viciousness and Yue Fei's loyalty and patriotism are all manifested in literary works, thus being influenced by moral values and cultivating a clear concept of value judgment. However, we should know that the educational function of literature is also limited. After all, literature is not as refreshing as law. Sentence directly and punish the people. Teach you not to commit crimes, which will be unforgettable for a long time.

(3) The role of literature in intervening in reality.

Revolutionary writers, writers who have deep sympathy for the sufferings of the masses, will unconsciously embark on the road of criticizing reality. They are full of passion, actively change society and accuse the darkness. Achieve the purpose of exposure through literary works. Their weapons are not assault guns, swords or cannons. It's just a pen. A pen to accuse the darkness, a pen to fight, a pen full of blood.

Lu Xun's life is the best example. China literature has formed a revolutionary literary tradition. The medium through which literature intervenes in reality is our mind, which affects your personality through your emotional experience.

Most of the works that have a direct impact on reality are serious literary works. There are three types of literature: popular literature, pure literature and serious literature. )

(4) the function of literary aesthetic education (aesthetic education)

The highest purpose of aesthetic education is to cultivate an aesthetic person. Among the three eternal values of human beings-truth, goodness and beauty, literature has played a positive role in aesthetic education. Truth, goodness and beauty are the foundation of beauty, and beauty can actively guide people to be good. They are interrelated.

Aesthetic education of literature is personality education, which is irreplaceable for knowledge education (intellectual education), moral education (moral education) and physical education. The aesthetic education of literature lies in the ability to fully develop free personality. In the words of Marx, it is to cultivate a "free and all-round development person". The aesthetic education of literature also lies in improving people's ideological realm and enriching people's emotions. Fan Zhongyan's "The Story of Yueyang Tower", with the great feeling of "worrying about the world first, and enjoying the world later", has moved us so far. Isn't it? The wonderful fairy tales written by Cao Wenxuan, the winner of the International Andersen Prize, fascinate us even more.

The aesthetic function of literature is useless, but it does not mean that it is ineffective. Of course, it can't bring any practical effect. We can say that the aesthetic essence of literature determines that literature is doomed to be useless. It has no real utility.

(5) The entertainment function of literature.

The entertainment function of literature is embodied in the venting and sublimation of primitive desires and the elimination of psychological pressure. This role of literature is more reflected in popular literary works, such as martial arts and police bandits.

(6) The ultimate concern of literature.

Man is the unity of spirit and material, and literature can be both a spiritual need and an ideal way of life. The ultimate concern of literature is to give people poetry, warmth and hope. In the reading experience, feel the emotions of the characters and get spiritual comfort. It has the function of transcending reality and caring for people's living conditions, and it is the unity of limited utility and infinite super-utility.

Some good literary works can go deep into the philosophical level, explore the problem of human existence, and reach the height of philosophy. Only in this way can we think about the meaning of human existence. Existentialist literary works such as Imprisonment by Nobel Prize in Literature winner and philosopher Sartre, The Myth of Sisyphus by Camus and The Outsider undoubtedly reveal the absurdity of modern civilization. It shows the theme of human alienation. Inspire people to think and explore the relationship between people.

Sartre's existential philosophy embodies the ultimate concern for human beings in a society full of death and terror after World War I, and puts forward the concept of "existence precedes essence" and actively promotes human values. Existentialism is human-centered and respects human personality and freedom.

Third, the negative effects of literature.

The negative effect of literature is reflected in the perceptual description in literature. Especially when it comes to sex and violence, it is easy to stimulate sexual desire. If it is a teenager, the consequences are simply unimaginable. It is easy to be instigated and "brainwashed", thus embarking on the criminal road of rape and murder. This is why our country has always insisted on cracking down on pornography and gambling. When it flows into the eyes of teenagers, those works that exaggerate pornography and even break through the boundaries of ethics and morality incite the fire of low-level desires, which is simply a cancer of society! It's a social bomb! Endanger the physical and mental health of teenagers. In this way, the flowers of the motherland were destroyed, depressed, depressed, blurred and incorrect. What about studying? What did you say about rejuvenating the country? Healthy life will be swallowed up! The naked description of sex in Jin Ping Mei is simply unsightly.

Therefore, we should resolutely guard against the negative effects of literature and grasp two standards: first, moral standards, and avoid excessive exaggeration if immoral. If it is the need of artistic creation, there is no need to interfere. For readers, don't criticize immorality at will. The second is the standard of beauty. In fact, the description of sex can be beautiful. For example, the sexual descriptions of Zhang Sheng and Cui Yingying in The West Chamber are very implicit. Jia Baoyu's description of spring dreams in A Dream of Red Mansions is also beautiful.

In a word, whether the description of literature is appropriate depends on whether it conforms to aesthetic standards, moral standards, literary image building and other factors. The three principles of literary criticism are truth, goodness and beauty. Authenticity, that is, the authenticity of literature, refers to whether the work correctly reflects the essence of life and whether the author has a correct feeling and understanding of the life reflected. Goodness is the tendency of literature, that is, what significance and influence the images portrayed in the works have on society. Beauty, that is, the perfection of literature, refers to whether the form and content of a work are harmonious and unified, whether there is artistic individuality and whether there is innovation and development.

What is the function of literature? 2 From the perspective of the purpose of literature (it is also a function)

Literature itself is not utilitarian. In literary activities, whether writers or readers, their creation or appreciation has no direct practical purpose, and they do not seek direct practical interests, but only aesthetic experience. -but indirectly, it still has profound social utility, which is manifested in the deep purpose of mastering the world aesthetically. Direct utilitarianism is to realize indirect utilitarianism. The utility of literature lies in that it only regards aesthetic utility as a special means to realize the utilitarian purpose of reproducing social life. Because literature shows rich and profound changes in social relations in its discourse structure, it indirectly reflects the utilitarian intention of mastering society.

For example, Balzac's "Human Comedy" aims to "provide the outstanding realistic history of French society, especially the" upper class "in Paris".