The Realm Between Heaven and Humanity - Confusion and Choice in Chinese and Western Philosophy

Author: Zhang Shiyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1995-05-01
Features: The author believes that there are two fundamental attitudes or relationships between humans and the world: one is the subject-object dichotomy, and the other is the unity of heaven and man (meaning the indistinction between subject and object, and the fusion of matter and self). Traditional Chinese philosophy is dominated by the unity of heaven and man, while traditional Western philosophy is dominated by the subject-object dichotomy. This book takes this as its framework to discuss the development lines and respective characteristics of Chinese and Western philosophies. It places the ideological viewpoints of major schools of Chinese and Western philosophy in the same historical long river of human thought development for a vertical examination, and thereby focuses on two issues: where is Chinese philosophy heading? and what is the purpose of philosophy? The book is divided into three parts: "History," "Theory," and "Philosophy and Philosophers." The first and second parts directly address and reflect on these two issues, while the third part, "Philosophy and Philosophers," examines and comparatively studies important schools and philosophers in the history of Chinese and Western philosophy, primarily along the lines of the subject-object dichotomy and the unity of heaven and man, thereby providing concrete arguments for the aforementioned two issues. The author argues that Western contemporary philosophy, dissatisfied with the traditional subject-object dichotomy, has given rise to a trend similar to the Chinese unity of heaven and man, as well as the combination of philosophy and poetry. Meanwhile, Chinese philosophy, with a profound tradition of the unity of heaven and man, is calling for the subject-object dichotomy and the principle of subjectivity from the West, in order to develop science and promote democracy. Different ideological concepts are clashing between China and the West, and both Chinese and Western philosophies are in a state of confusion and choice. The author discusses the prospects and possibilities of the integration of Chinese and Western philosophies, as well as the combination of the unity of heaven and man and the subject-object dichotomy, based on the actual trends of historical development and philosophical theory. Additionally, the author proposes a vision for the ideal personality.