Social Sciences in China, 2023

Vol. 44 , No. 3, 2023

Variables and Constants in Literature: A Discussion of “Extrinsic Research” and “Intrinsic Research”

Abstract：The variables and constants in literature are as difficult to separate and understand as the intricacies of quantum physics. This is the basic mode of literary existence and also an important precondition for the longevity of literary classics. However, since the late 19th century, literary currents have been turbulent, and wave upon wave of critical theory has evinced a discord between “the intrinsic and the extrinsic,” even amounting to mutual exclusion, with the result that literary constants or common sense have been intentionally or unintentionally ignored. This is not only clear evidence of the accelerated development of human society, but also the result of the interaction of many complex factors. For this reason, a dialectical analysis of the relationship between variables and constants or “extrinsic research” and “intrinsic research” has long been a major issue not easily avoided.

Keywords: literary principle, variables, constants, extrinsic research, intrinsic research