Aesthetic Dimension: Fantasy, Desire and Reality (A Contemplation on Marcuse's Aesthetics)

In his sociology of art, Marcuse seeks to provide a theoretical answer to Freud's transhistorical hypothesis of the rational refusal to form a non-repressive civilization; a hypothesis according to which, domination of the principle of reality over the realm of desire in general, is an unchangeable destiny in the processes of civilization. Marcuse, however, tries to show that the antagonistic relationship between desire and reality is not a definite thing, but merely a changeable historical situation. By relativizing Freudian assumptions, he visualizes the beginning of a historical transformation dominated by the principle of performance in contemporary civilization, in which alienated work can be replaced by an alternative form of work, aesthetic work; A procedure that, in turn, can transform the established principle of reality (the principle of performance) in favor of an alternative form of the principle of reality. Marcuse believes that art is a factor that can revolutionize the relationship between desire and reality. This revolutionary power of art is embedded in its aesthetic dimension (formatted content); a dimension itself is the product of the fantastic and imaginative knowledge of the work of art. In this way, Marcuse introduces the concept of psychoanalytic fantasy into his theory as a liberating element; A mechanism that, by its nature of performance, is able to reconcile desire and reality and reshape their relationship under an erotic principle of reality.