chinese philosophers
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2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-356
Author(s):  
Lauren F. Pfister

Abstract In light of developments in Chung-ying Cheng’s (1935-) onto-hermeneutic philosophy during the years after his dialogue with Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900–2002) took place in Heidelberg in May 2000, I explore several new issues related to Cheng’s understanding of Gadamer’s hermeneutic philosophy. First of all, I argue that Cheng has not addressed the vital concept of the “inner word” in Gadamer’s Truth and Method, and point toward some of its fecund hermeneutic significance, especially with regard to its characterization of Sprache/Language and its dynamics within human understanding. Secondly, I underscore the fact that Cheng (and the majority of other contemporary Chinese philosophers) have not understood the profound impact of Christian philosophical writings in Gadamer’s work, particularly in his claim that Christian ontology offers an alternative to ancient Greek ontologies that are “categorically significant.” Finally, I describe and analyze the development of a new theistic understanding of reality within Cheng’s post-dialogue publications, suggesting ways of critically advancing his claims in the light of Gadamer’s account of the “inner word” and the Christian ontological claims grounded in the logos-theology as presented in the prologue to the Gospel of John.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 704-719
Author(s):  
Maria Vladimirovna Rubets

The article is a study on Zhang Dongsun’s “theory of epistemological pluralism” based on his book called “The Theory of Knowledge” (认识论). Zhang Dongsun was one of the first Chinese philosophers of the 20th century to create a holistic epistemological theory, and also one of the first intercultural philosophers. In the Russian scholarly literature, Zhang Dongsun’s “theory of epistemological pluralism” is under-researched. The article aims to give a detailed account of the epistemological theory of Zhang Dongsun as comes from his book “The Theory of Knowledge”. The article, which uses comparative and systematic approaches is also supported by a significant number of specialist works written both by Russian and foreign scholars. The author outlines the Zhang Dongsun theory regarding epistemological pluralism and his views on cosmology and the evolution theory. Equally, she presents the Zhang Dongsun views on the impact of culture on the phenomenon of knowledge. The author also considers the Western philosophical categories, which could have influenced the formation of Zhang Dongsun’s theory of epistemological pluralism.


Author(s):  
Mercedes Valmisa

Philosophy of action in the context of Classical China is radically different from its counterpart in the contemporary Western philosophical narrative. Classical Chinese philosophers began from the assumption that relations are primary to the constitution of the person, hence acting in the early Chinese context necessarily is interacting and co-acting along with others—human and nonhuman actors. This book is the first monograph dedicated to the exploration and rigorous reconstruction of an extraordinary strategy for efficacious relational action devised by Classical Chinese philosophers in order to account for the interdependent and embedded character of human agency—what the author has denominated “adapting” or “adaptive agency” (yin因‎). As opposed to more unilateral approaches to action also conceptualized in the Classical Chinese corpus, such as forceful and prescriptive agency, adapting requires great capacity of self- and other-awareness, equanimity, flexibility, creativity, and response, which allows the agent to co-raise courses of action ad hoc: unique and temporary solutions to specific, nonpermanent, and nongeneralizable life problems. Adapting is one of the world’s oldest philosophies of action, and yet it is shockingly new for contemporary audiences, who will find in it an unlikely source of inspiration to deal with our current global problems. This book explores the core conception of adapting both on autochthonous terms and by cross-cultural comparison, drawing on the European and Analytic philosophical traditions as well as on scholarship from other disciplines, thus opening a brand new topic in Chinese and comparative philosophy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-399
Author(s):  
Zhong Chen ◽  
Tingting Yao

Abstract The cognitive paradigm of symbols in ancient Chinese philosophy is quite distinct from that of Western semiotic circles. Chuang Tzu, one of the most influential ancient Chinese philosophers, concentrates his study on exploring the state of the subject’s selflessness and establishes his own cognitive paradigm of jingshen. This paper uses his statements of “I lost myself” and “The Perfect Man uses his mind like a mirror” in The adjustment of controversies of The Chuang Tzu, to investigate the ideal selfless mind-state and selflessness. It attempts to transfer the relationship between subject and object in symbolic cognition into the connection of intersubjectivity to construct jingshen’s cognitive paradigm of releasing symbolic meaning. The task of this research is to overcome the limitation created by the subject–object relation and finally to be “the Perfect Man” who can know the Dao.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-121
Author(s):  
Jana S. Rošker

Li Zehou belongs to the most influential Chinese philosophers of our time. This paper will present a critical introduction of his theory regarding the consolidation of the specific Confucian system of kinship relations, which for him forms a crucial foundation of traditional Chinese social order. In Confucianism, the inter-familial relations form a basis of the social system, in which interpersonal relations are of utmost importance and which Li therefore denotes as “relationalism”. According to him, this kinship-based Confucian model originates in shamanistic rituality performed by Neolithic humans living in the land occupied by modern-day China. These Neolithic cultures were rather advanced and based their societies on small-scale semi-agricultural production, in which communities were mainly constructed through kinship relationships. Shamanistic ceremonies were enhancing and strengthening the awareness of such social unities. These early collective rites, especially those that include music and dance, had a powerful effect on early humans, creating intense feelings of respect, love and loyalty, and thus forming a basis for the Confucian social order based upon kinship relations, and the Confucian ethics, rooted in interpersonal humanness. Li’s theory of the shamanist origins of Confucian relationalism will be critically illuminated through the lens of current historical and anthropological scholarship on shamanist rituality and their function within the corresponding cultural orders. 


Author(s):  
Chuang Dai

  This article is dedicated to examination of the philosophical-aesthetic reflection in China in the XX century, and the impact of European aesthetics upon the development and transformation of the traditional Chinese aesthetics. The article employs the method of historical and cultural with elements of structural analysis of aesthetic text of the modern Chinese philosophers. In the XX century, a number of Chinese thinkers made attempts of reforming the traditional Chinese aesthetics, complementing it with the viewpoint of European philosophy. The article examines the paramount aesthetic thoughts of the modern Chinese philosophers Wang Guowei and Zong Baihua, and determines the impact of European philosophy upon them. The scientific novelty of this study lies in assessing the impact of the concepts of European aesthetics upon self-reflection and development of Chinese aesthetics in the context of cross-cultural problematic. It is demonstrated that Chinese modern aesthetics in many ways retains its connection with the tradition, which determines its specificity and imparts peculiar semantic symbolism. The conclusion is made that in the XX century, Chinese philosophers sought to complement the existing traditional Chinese reflection on art, which is based mostly on the ideas of Taoism and Buddhism, with what can be referred to as the Western viewpoint, associated with a scientific approach and scientific interpretation. Another vector in the area of humanistic understanding of the phenomenon of art was related to the attempts of interpretation of the European aesthetic thought from through the prism of Chinese traditional philosophy. The philosopher Wang Guowei tried to incorporate the European aesthetics into the scientific problematic of China. The philosopher Zong Baihua wanted to synthesize the Chinese and European aesthetic theories, and create what he believed is the modern Chinese aesthetics.  


Asian Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-160
Author(s):  
Jana S. Rošker

Fang Dongmei (1899–1977) is among the most influential Chinese philosophers who lived and worked in Taiwan during the second half of the 20th century. The present article aims to clarify his view on the basic nature of the human Self. This assessment is more multifaceted than it seems at a first glimpse, for Fang’s philosophy is also more complex than it seems. As a member of the so-called neo-conservative streams of thought, he criticized the Western-type modernization and aimed to revive the holistic onto-epistemology of classical Confucianism. On the other hand, he highlighted the importance of its basic paradigm which underlay the Confucian discourses from their very beginning, i.e. since the Book of Changes, namely the principle of creative creativity (shengshengbuxi 生生不息). The alleged contradiction between his advocating of holism and creativity, has been reflected in the apparent dichotomy between the social and relational essence of the Confucian Moral Self on the one side, and individual uniqueness on the other. The paper aims to show that both seeming contradictions are actually parts of the same theoretical principle defining the complementary interactions of binary oppositions.


Asian Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-310
Author(s):  
Margus Ott

I propose an interpretation of Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200) seen through the ontology of Gilles Deleuze. Zhu Xi is one of the most prominent Chinese philosophers, the figurehead of the so-called Neo-Confucian school, and Deleuze is arguably one of the most important Western philosophers of the twentieth century. Both philosophers presented an ontology of differentiation, whose main aspects or stages I try to analyse in the paper: Deleuze’s notions of the virtual, dark precursor, field of individuation, intensities and the actual; and parallel to these, Zhu Xi’s notions of the veins (li 理), supreme ultimate (taiji 太極), energy (qi 氣), and things (wu 物). It is argued that a Deleuzian (re)interpretation of Zhu Xi is possible and that it may open new tools of analysis for studying Chinese philosophy as well as create a conceptual space that can bring together concepts and practices from different traditions.


Asian Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Makeham

Consistent with its growing economic, political and military might, China wants due recognition by and engagement with the global community of nations. This aspiration is complicated by the fact that Chinese political leaders and intellectuals continue to struggle with how “Chinese values” fit with “universal values”, and whether there is a single global modernity or whether there are multiple modernities and multiple—perhaps competing—universal values. In this paper I examine how some prominent Chinese philosophers are engaging with these issues, despite the fact that in 2013 the topic of “universal values” was prohibited as a discussion topic in universities on the mainland.


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