Critique and Introduction to Contemporary Western Thought

Author: Wang Min
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: ig">The "Contemporary Western Thoughts and Doctrines" discussed in this course refer to the philosophical, political, legal, and sociological trends that prevailed in Western countries from the second half of the 19th century to the entire 20th century. Contemporary Western thoughts and doctrines were formed on the basis of a comprehensive critique of traditional Western thought, serving as a summary and conclusion of contemporary scientific development and a product of the historical conditions of contemporary capitalist society. The contemporary Western trends introduced in this course cover a broad scope. Generally speaking, we can only explain some basic knowledge to students in teaching. However, in terms of the basic trends of contemporary Western thoughts, the philosophical theories, political theories, legal theories, and sociological theories of contemporary Western society are all highly concerned with real-life social issues, some of which can even be said to be closely connected to real life. This greatly enhances the sense of reality in contemporary Western thoughts. Additionally, contemporary thinkers, on one hand, emphasize the breadth and depth of theory; on the other hand, they also place great importance on the use of empirical analytical methods, elevating the level of contemporary Western theoretical research to a new height. This book primarily introduces the philosophical trend of humanism. This is partly because university students are mainly concerned with and exposed to the contemporary Western philosophical thought within this trend during their time at university. The "Sartre craze," "Nietzsche craze," "Freud craze," and "Western Marxism craze" over the past two decades illustrate this point. On the other hand, correctly evaluating and critiquing the humanist trend may be even more important for the formation and development of university students' worldview, life philosophy, and methodology.