Chapter 3 The Background: The Chaotic Dichotomous World in White Noise.......... 29
3.1 “Ideologicalization” of the Systematic World: the Crisis of Rationality under the Ideological Clampdown ........................ 29
3.1.1 Technical Landscape .................. 30
3.1.2 Carnival of Consumption ............................... 32
Chapter 4 Struggling: The Dilemma of Communication in Technological Intrusion in White Noise ........... 45
4.1 Communicative Alienation within Consanguineous Group ............. 46
4.1.1 Conjugal Relationship ...................... 47
4.1.2 Parent-Child Relationship.......................... 50
Chapter 4 Struggling: The Dilemma of Communication in Technological Intrusion in White Noise .................... 45
4.1 Communicative Alienation within Consanguineous Group ................... 46
4.1.1 Conjugal Relationship .............................. 47
4.1.2 Parent-Child Relationship.................................... 50
Chapter 5 Awakening and Reconstruction: The Spiritual Demystification of Grotesque Interaction in White Nois
5.1 A Creative Restoration to Communicative Rationality
5.1.1 An Awakening to Transcendental Rationality
Modern Western philosophy underwent an epistemological turn concerning the subjectivity of man, culminating in the refinement of classical German philosophy, which was initiated by Kant’s transcendental philosophy. It is a way out that Kant sought for metaphysics by abandoning his earlier empirical analysis, thus ensuring the legitimacy of metaphysics.
The ‘transcendental’ in Kant’s philosophy refers to what precede experience and is related to the formation of empirical knowledge; although ‘a priori’ likewise refers to what precedes experience, it has nothing to do with experience. Thus ‘a priori’ can be seen as an innate condition for examining how experience is possible. (Delillo, 1986: 28)
Kant’s “transcendental ego” is the precondition for understanding experience, which makes it possible to obtain rationality and knowledge by the joint action of sensibility and intellectuality, and further obtain the “genuine knowledge”. At the same time, it endows self-consciousness with initiative and make it have the ability to understand things. “If people want to form knowledge of the objects of reason, like mind, idea and God, they must use the rational faculty of the transcendental ego” (Zhang, 2005: 53), which is a prerequisite for human freedom.
Chapter 6 Conclusion
In the light of the above discussion, it can be concluded that restoring interpersonal rational communicative action is an effective way to deal with the modern crisis. As a modern media phenomenon, “white noise” plays a role in constructing a space of concentration by shielding other noises, which is used by Delillo to refer to the widespread mental symptom in modern times. It is like a layer of artificial glass, which isolates modern people on a psychological level and immerses them in a certain atmosphere. Death, fear and loneliness are the “white noise” created by the writer in the novel White Noise, in which the alienated communicative action and spiritual imbalance of people are presented. At the meantime, the root of the permanent fear of the characters in the novel is also revealed, which is caused by the alienation of the communicative action of people. Delillo’s profound exploration of post-modern society and human beings pinpoints the problems urgently to be solved in post-modern America: the prudent supervision of power institutions, rational application of science and technology, and judicious usage of mass media. With the help of White Noise, Delillo makes us realize that there are still colorful lights of hope under the paralyzing daily “white noise”, and as long as they are noticed, individuals will not perish in this white noise. Cutting off the collusion between consumerism and mass media, reco
