Abstract: The groundbreaking achievements of nineteenth-century Western natural science transformed not only people's understanding of the self and the world, but also reshaped writers' worldviews, values, and literary perspectives. The depiction of the relationship between soul and body in Western literature shifts from traditional dualism to monism, marking a modern transformation in its humanistic concept of humanity. Whether in Romanticism, Modern Realism, or Naturalism, the mechanisms of human spirit and emotion are invariably linked to biological and physiological functions. Human behavior is not merely an external manifestation of metaphysical ideas, but also embodies sensual desires, vital energies, and the consciousness of life that arises from the body. The human spirit and emotion are rooted in the corporeal being, and the soul was a spiritual manifestation of the body—a splendid flower blossoming in the flesh. As natural science plays a crucial role in facilitating the modern transformation of humanistic and aesthetic concepts in Western literature, Modernism in the twentieth century inherits an intrinsic continuity with Romanticism, Modern Realism, and Naturalism.

Key words: natural sciences, 19th-century Western literature, soul and flesh, humanistic concept, modern transformation

摘要： 19世纪西方自然科学的突破性成就,改变了人们对自我与世界的认知,也改变了作家的世界观、价值观与文学观。西方文学对人的灵与肉关系的描写从传统的二元论转变为一元论,这标示了其人学观念的现代转型。无论是浪漫主义还是现代现实主义和自然主义,其人的精神-情感机制无不连接着生物和生理的机能,人的行为也不仅仅是形而上之思想观念的外化,同时还潜藏着生发于肉体的感性欲望、生物能量与生命意识;人的精神-情感根植于肉体,灵魂则是肉体在精神层面的一种存在形态,是肉体中绽放的绚丽花朵。自然科学是促成西方文学人学观念及审美观念现代转型的重要缘由。20世纪现代主义与浪漫主义、现代现实主义和自然主义有一脉相承之处。

关键词: 自然科学, 19世纪西方文学, 灵与肉, 人学观念, 现代转型