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By applying Erich Fromm’s theory of alienation and psychological analysis, this thesis explores the idea of alienation and the cause of tragedy in Arthur Miller’s early plays, >All My Sons<, >Death of a Salesman<, and >A View from the Bridge<. The adoption of Erich Fromm’s theory of alienation is based on Miller’s concern with the phenomenon of alienation in American society. On the one hand, the thesis discusses how the symbiotic relationship between man and society is undermined by historical movement and as a consequence how it affects man’s idea of morality and sense of identity by reviewing the particular American history during the time of the Depression and the wars (particularly the Second World War and the Cold War). On the other hand, the thesis discusses how personal fantasy contributes to one’s destiny by making uncompromised commitment to private beliefs as a counterpart of reality.– First of all, the thesis reviews the historical events that shape American experiences of alienation. Economically, the Depression not only exemplifies that everyone is closely related with the society and other human beings, but also implies the illusion embedded in the American Dream. Economic development does not guarantee human beings freedom but conditions men in an alienated position because of its advocacy of liberalism and individualism. The perversion of work ethic, particularly, defines man and directs them to seek self-interest. Politically, the Second World War and the Cold War make man retreat into a world of containment, separating self from the other. Accordingly, in Arthur Miller’s dramatic world, characters attach more importance to family business and family welfare. Then the thesis discusses how human psyche is equal in importance in sealing one’s fate. Although the environment provides the physical basis for practice and action, personal fantasy has a life of its own and therefore becomes a scene for dramatic actions. The point is that neither social codes nor personal ideals ensure a secure sense of identity. In contrast, one-sided indulgence in psychological world alienates man further from society and others. Social sense of identity and personal sense of identity becomes oppositional. Finally, the thesis holds that Miller conveys a message of hope of reconciliation, i. e., man represented by secondary roles in the three plays have the strength and freedom to change the status quo.– This thesis differs from previous studies in the following aspects. First of all, this thesis does not limit the scope of alienation to economic and political field but extends to human psyche, revealing that both the private and the public contribute to Arthur Miller’s tragedy. Secondly, this thesis explores the symbiotic relationships between man and society, pointing out that socially individual experience is the shaping force of human history. In Arthur Miller’s plays, the major characters have certain fantasy with its own life that finally forms the circumference around which dramatic conflicts become possible. The transformational relationship between scene and agent vindicates the combining force of society and psychology to realize Miller’s tragedies. The thesis concludes that Miller indicates one possible way out from the present dilemma of alienation, a characteristic of Arthur Miller’s early period of writing, because the author shows strong faith in humanity by presenting the sympathetic, integral and forgiving secondary characters. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 4/2023]
In today’s society, sharing bicycle has rapidly penetrated into people’s social life and become a new way of travel because it solves the problem of >the last kilometer< for people to travel. With the share bicycle industry entering the second half of the competition, the industrial focus has returned from capital invest¬ment to product design. How to form a more user-friendly sharing bicycle interaction system and enhance user experience has become an important issue affecting the development of the share bicycle industry. At present, the research on shared bicycle human-computer interaction system is still in its infancy, mainly through regular user interviews and questionnaires. However, in traditional research, users can only describe their problems in the process of interaction sensitively, and may not be able to realize and express their deep needs. Therefore, it is very important to tap the deep needs of users in the interaction process and improve the user experience purposefully.– There are three main innovations in this paper: 1. Using innovative theoretical research methods, intro¬du¬cing psychological theory into design analysis, and based on Fromm psychology, we can get the charac¬teristic emotions of shared psychology. 2. Introducing emotional reporting method into experience evalu¬ation, and carrying out emotional quantification experiments based on the characteristic emotions of Fromm psychology. The experimental data analysis can accurately extract users’ deep interaction needs under the shared psychology. 3. Based on the deep interaction needs, the optimization design practice is finally com¬pleted. In the research process, based on the current research status of shared bicycle in academia, this study uses user interviews and other research methods to conduct in depth analysis and summary of the current shared bicycle interaction system; extracts characteristic emotions based on Fromm’s psychological theory, builds a reasonable emotional quantification experimental scheme and carries out experiments, processes and analyses the experimental data, and concludes that users are in common. In order to meet the deep demand of sharing bicycle interactive experience, the optimization design practice of new sharing bicycle interactive system is completed. The main achievements of this research include: under the gui¬dance of Fromm’s psychology theory, a method of extracting the require¬ments of shared bicycle human-computer interaction system design based on emotional quantification is proposed, and a new human-computer interaction experience model is established; a new process of deep demand mining for human-computer interaction system under shared psychology is formed; and the existing shared bicycle human-computer interaction interface is optimized. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 4/2023]
This thesis is an intellectual history of dialecticism and its use in the works of the Frankfurt School members, Erich Fromm and Herbert Marcuse. Famously, these two men had a ferocious and polemical debate in the pages of Dissent Magazine in 1955-56. The Fromm-Marcuse Debate has since become almost the sole lens in which the intellectual differences and similarities between these men are analyzed. Through a comparative and historical analysis of their individual work, largely removed from the Dissent Debate, I offer a new interpretation of their conflict, their personal relationship, and a new perspective on critical theory and its relationship to political action. I argue that Erich Fromm and Herbert Marcuse's intellectual ideas are better juxtaposed through their interpretation of dialectics, rather than psychoanalysis, and that through this, they present us with starkly different prescriptions for individual and collective political engagement. Thus, both Fromm and Marcuse are outliers within the field of critical theory, and certainly within the Frankfurt School, even as their ideas remain in firm conflict with one another.