Globalization and Existential Differences

Author: Zou Shipeng, George MacLean
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Globalization requires appealing to human creativity and the existential concept of constructing human freedom. The author distinguishes three levels of freedom: the first level is Lockean, empiricist freedom of choice among objects; the second level is Kantian formal freedom as something individuals should choose; the third level is existential freedom of self-construction and free decision-making in practice. The third level of freedom encompasses the appropriate and creative dimensions of human existence. An analysis of the new landscape of cultural consciousness, as well as the challenges faced by human communication and interaction in the global era, must call for adjustments and transformations in existential concepts. The author places greater emphasis on the specific conditions and circumstances of existence, thus developing a perspective rooted in non-Western, particularly Chinese, historical experiences. The author emphasizes that the existential turn is not merely a shift in Western philosophical traditions but rather an adjustment in the way humanity exists and its existential outlook. Consequently, the existential turn necessarily embodies and implements the purpose of cultural anthropology, fostering a high degree of self-awareness in human existence. This enables transcendence of the dilemmas of scientism, Western centrism, and postmodern relativism, thereby promoting the revival of contemporary spirit.