Distinguishing the Common from the Different: Self-Improvement of Humanity (Volume 16 of the Peking University Academic Lecture Series)

Author: Ryan (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-08-01
Features: In the unstoppable tide of economic globalization, can the cultural diversity created by humanity over thousands of years be preserved in the long term, and how can it be preserved and developed? Some believe that the Western-constructed liberal democracy is a universal value, with its universality and superiority sufficient to become a common model for various cultures in the world. Others doubt: then, what about our own national culture? Will it gradually fade and eventually disappear, becoming at most a tourist commodity and advertisement, integrated into this common model? Emphasizing universality might lead to cultural hegemony, while emphasizing uniqueness might prevent communication, ultimately leading to disintegration. These are the issues we are now concerned about. This book represents the author's youthful desire since young: to repropose certain specific Western traditions while, to the best of their ability, rethinking and supplementing them in the face of the shrinking world. As for addressing the issue of global integration and diversity, the method used in this book is different from the current mainstream methods in the Western world. In my view, to maintain good relationships between different cultures, nations, and individuals, it is necessary to resist moral and cultural relativism and nihilism.