#238 山崎正和『不機嫌の時代』
人間の精神は物質生活の反映であり、思想や文学はいはゆる社会の下部構造によって決定される、といふ理論もかつて流行した。逆に、人間の精神は完全に自由なものであり、思想は個人の独創から生まれ、それが時代と社会に影響を及ぼすのだといふ考へ方は、もっと古くから信じられてきた。だが、そのいづれにしても、反映とか影響といふ概念が曖昧であって、理論的に粗雑であるうへに、現実にも適合しない面が多すぎることは、すでに広く気づかれてゐる。
Vocabulary:
山崎正和 やまざきまさかず Yamazaki Masakazu (literary critic, 1934-2020)
物質生活 ぶっしつせいかつ material life
下部構造 かぶこうぞう base (as seen in Marxist theory)
独創 どくそう originality
曖昧 あいまい vague, ambivalent, opaque
粗雑 そざつ crude, lacking in nuance
適合する てきごうする to be compatible, to be applicable
Translation:
The theory that the human mind is a reflection of material life and that thought and literature are determined by the so-called base of society was once popular. Conversely, the idea that the human mind is something completely free and that thought is produced by an originality of the individual, and that this influences the times and society, has been believed much longer. However, in both cases, it has already been widely recognized that these concepts of reflection and influence are ambivalent, and in addition to lacking theoretical rigor, there are too many aspects that are incompatible with reality.
Link for the text I used:
this one is the hardest paragraph i have tried to read so far
いはゆる
いわゆる
所謂
so-called, so-to-speak