Scheller Selected Works (Volume 1 and 2 · Hardcover)

Author: [German] Scheler
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Over the past century, Chinese intellectual and academic traditions have been greatly affected by the impact of Western thought and the reform and transformation of Chinese society. One manifestation of this is the separation between thought and academia: thought tends to become empty and speculative, while academia falls into a state of disparity between the real and the unreal. The original ancestor of Chinese thought, Confucius, once said, "I have not eaten for a whole day, nor slept for a whole night, thinking, but to no avail. It is better to learn." Confucius warned, "To learn without thinking is to be lost; to think without learning is perilous." Academia and thought should mutually promote each other in depth and caution. The great thinkers of the late Qing Dynasty (Kang Youwei, Zhang Junmai, Liang Qichao) were all deeply versed in and made advancements in specific academic fields. The May Fourth New Culture Movement thinkers, in their debates over "ideology," encouraged a speculative and unfounded intellectual and academic trend. The situation of thought and academia in the 20th century was particularly challenging. This was not unique to Chinese thought; Western thought also faced numerous reform difficulties. However, the great Western thinkers of this century were all deeply versed in and made concrete advancements in specific academic fields. Thoughtful scholars and thinkers emerged, using practical knowledge to address the modern dilemmas of society and thought. The brilliance of their intellectual and academic achievements was not something that mere obscurity could disrupt. The academic landscape of Western thought in the 20th century was dominated by social theory and emerging disciplines. In the past, the Chinese academic world has focused more on philosophers and thinkers, neglecting political, economic, historical, linguistic, and anthropological thinkers. As a result, the understanding of Western thought and academia in this century has remained limited. The translation of Western classics into Chinese, pioneered by intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty, remains an unfinished task for the Chinese academic world over the past century. At the turn of the 20th century, the translation of Western studies into Chinese should particularly emphasize the accumulation of social thought over this century. The intellectual and academic traditions of the 20th century bear the burden of harmonizing and reconciling: first, the tension between technical knowledge, empirical knowledge, metaphysical knowledge, and religious knowledge; second, the tension between classical knowledge and modern knowledge. For Chinese academia, there is also the need to harmonize the tension between Chinese and Western intellectual traditions. However, the relationship between Chinese and Western thought is fundamentally not one of national competition but of a shared fate in the modern context. Intellectual and academic traditions advancing in these two linguistic spheres face fundamental modern dilemmas: the re-justification of the legitimacy of social and human orders. Therefore, the establishment of the "20th Century Thinkers Library" is of great significance. How can academic achievements accumulate over a century without yielding results in a single day? The works of Western thought and academia in this century are vast, filling libraries. The future of Chinese thought and academia should be nurtured by the great achievements of Western academic thought in the 20th century.