Introduction to Philosophy

Author: Zhang Shiyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Traditional Chinese philosophy discusses the aspects of the Way of Heaven (Tian Dao) and human nature (Xing Ming) more frequently. The discussion of the Way of Heaven is roughly equivalent to ontology in the history of Western philosophy, while the discussion of human nature is roughly equivalent to axiology in the history of Western philosophy. In contrast, the content of traditional Chinese philosophy that corresponds to epistemology in Western philosophy is relatively less. This book, Introduction to Philosophy, is divided into five parts, with detailed explanations provided for each part.
This Introduction to Philosophy is divided into five parts:
Part "Ontology and Epistemology" will explore the concept of the unity of all things from the perspectives of ontology and epistemology, presenting the direct transcendence of the subject-object relationship and the poetic realm of understanding the unity of all things, as well as the spirit of caring for others as one's own kin and for all things as one's own.
Part "Aesthetics" will discuss how the unity of all things is not only truth but also the source of beauty, and that the understanding of the unity of all things is a realm of beauty.
Part "Ethics" will explain that the unity of all things is the source of goodness, and that the understanding of the unity of all things is also a moral realm.
Part "Historical View": The unity of all things is manifested in the concrete history of human society as a historical unity that integrates the ancient and the modern, tradition and the present, continuity and discontinuity. The philosophy of the unity of all things will guide us to view the development of history from the perspective of the fusion of the ancient and the modern and the ever-changing present.
The two chapters in the fifth part briefly introduce the history of Chinese philosophy and the history of Western philosophy, respectively, to illustrate the specific embodiment of the fundamental ideas and basic viewpoints of philosophy discussed in this Introduction to Philosophy in the development of Chinese and Western philosophy.