Introduction

This section discusses Snow's views on the separation of the two cultures—natural sciences and arts/humanities—and how "physician-poets" in continental Europe, particularly in Germany, attempted to bridge this divide. Special mention is made of the German poet Benn, who, as a representative of expressionism and a pillar of post-war literature, showcased the tension between natural sciences and arts/humanities in his works. Benn's creative history reflects Germany's modernization, blending scientific terminology and思维方式 to explore the relationship between reality and art. While existing research often fails to move beyond binary oppositions, neglecting the "constants" in Benn's thought, this article proposes the concept of "Bildung" (self-cultivation) as a theoretical anchor for understanding his works, emphasizing individual self-development and holistic growth. Benn's "great art" philosophy merges natural sciences and arts/humanities to advance human cultivation and evolution. The article chronologically analyzes Benn's "great art" philosophy, examining its connection to his early education and its influence on his literary practice.

I. The Learning Years: Artistic Thought and the Tradition of Bildung

Influenced by his Protestant pastor family, Benn was well-versed in the Bible, and his artistic thought was shaped by Western humanist traditions. At the University of Marburg, he studied philosophy, philology, and other disciplines, delving into classical philology, theology, and psychology while engaging in sports and developing an interest in music. This period profoundly shaped his reading habits, creative vocabulary, and artistic inclinations. Benn's artistic philosophy drew from the Western liberal arts tradition, advocating for the integration of knowledge to achieve the "wholeness" of humanity as the highest ideal. He emphasized breaking down disciplinary barriers, synthesizing knowledge into a "harmonious whole" to attain freedom—a hallmark of artistic maturity. This eclectic "great art" concept began to take root during his formative years.

II. Pre-World War II: Evolutionary Myths and Literary Practice

Benn's literary career began after switching to medicine, aiming to bridge natural sciences and arts/humanities to address the alienation of humanity in academia and society. In the 1910s, he experimented with literature, attempting to merge art and politics to realize his Bildung ideal. At the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, Benn studied medicine and biology, encountering evolutionary theory but focusing more on experimental psychology to explore the "body-mind" duality. His artistic theory was rooted in the Enlightenment tradition of general education, inheriting Kant's views on the roles of natural sciences and arts/humanities, and influenced by Goethe. Benn observed that natural sciences were becoming increasingly positivist and specialized, alienating humans from the world, leading him to abandon academia in 1913. The trauma of lost faith became a central theme in his works. His shift from natural sciences to art reflected a self-adjustment amid the矛盾 between Bildung ideals and societal realities, foreshadowing the direction of his later artistic thought.

Before the mid-1920s, Benn remained apolitical, but the turmoil in Germany in late 1918 prompted deeper reflection on Bildung and the roles of natural sciences and arts/humanities. His critiques of education policies and research institutions grew sharper, and his stylistic choices became more radical. His views displayed duality: while advocating for art and criticizing natural sciences, evolutionary theory began to play a significant role in his works. Using Hölderlin's rhetoric, Benn divided history into "three days and two nights," urging humans to reconnect with the cosmos through the body, reevaluate values for freedom, and embrace the "third day." Art became his escape from societal discipline, serving as the highest law of the "third day," surpassing theology and natural sciences. Benn saw artistic genius as the most extreme form of value reevaluation, tasked with exploring humanity's direction and mission, sharing insights through poetry to advance societal and human evolution.

To meet society's need for "guides" in evolutionary development, Benn did not reject natural sciences but incorporated their findings, aiming to nurture artistic genius—a key reason for his collaboration with the Nazi regime. His artistic philosophy aligned with Nietzsche's Übermensch, viewing art as closer to truth while still valuing natural sciences. Benn accepted positivist scientific experiments as vital for uncovering truth. He critiqued not progressivism itself but how "progress" was defined by educational systems. His view of natural sciences emphasized creativity, with arts/humanities also serving truth-seeking functions. He saw natural sciences and arts/humanities as complementary, with both aiding humanity's escape from alienation and pursuit of wholeness. Though he had yet to propose a concrete plan for their integration, his "great art" vision, rooted in Bildung and societal development, was clearly emerging.

III. "Great Art": Post-War Art and Reality

This chapter explores Benn's post-war views on art and reality and the evolution of his artistic philosophy. Suppressed by the Nazi regime, Benn abandoned political means to achieve Bildung, returning to his identity as an artistic elite while maintaining distance from reality. He proposed his "great art" concept, emphasizing the separation of artistic space from the everyday world, with artistic beauty as the supreme criterion. Though his Bildung ideal remained unchanged, Benn grew pessimistic about collective societal progress, believing true art alone could help humanity break historical cycles. He stressed the craftsmanship and technicality of art, asserting that only fully self-sufficient art could overcome nationalism, racism, and historical determinism. Benn's late-period philosophy focused on cultivating and becoming artists, who should isolate themselves in artistic reverie. Yet, he did not fully withdraw from society, widely disseminating his ideas and engaging with academia. His later poetry adopted simpler forms, using folk-song stanzas and colloquial styles. Benn viewed art as integral to human spiritual development, with poetic craftsmanship requiring vast vocabulary and the ability to transcend existing subjective frameworks. His proposed "future style" resembled Enlightenment-era general education, aiming to encompass all human knowledge to create new cognitive paradigms and knowledge models, breaking the cage of alienation and restoring humanity's connection to the world. For Benn, art and reality shared a dialectical relationship: art originated from yet transcended reality, with artists as "survivors" or sages forging paths in darkness to answer the world's questions.

Conclusion

Benn saw the primary distinction between modernity and antiquity as the intensification of alienation. Since the 15th century, accelerated knowledge production had transformed Western society, marginalizing the concept of "humanity" post-18th century. The specialization of natural sciences stripped literature and philosophy of their authority to interpret the world, leading to modern maladies and alienation. Artists and educational institutions bore the responsibility of helping humanity escape this fate. Benn's career can be summarized by three "shifts" and two "constants" in the relationship between natural sciences and art. The three shifts correspond to the evolving prominence of these fields in his works across three phases: the early 20th century marked the germination of his "great art" philosophy, where he sought to bridge spirit and matter through psychology and medicine; from 1910 to the early 1930s, he attempted societal reform through art; in the final phase, he fused natural sciences with traditional art to envision a new artistic blueprint. The two constants were that natural sciences and art were never binary opposites, and Benn's commitment to Bildung remained unwavering, always seeking connections between scientific and artistic worlds. Benn's artistic philosophy emphasized cultivating holistic personalities to advance human dignity and freedom, aligning with Goethe and Humboldt's Bildung ideals and opposing the "instrumental rationality" of educational institutions. His ideas resonated with mid-20th-century German scientific debates on education and align with today's "new humanities" demands. Though Benn himself once strayed, his vision for artistic reform remains groundbreaking.