Reflection on Europe -- New Perspectives on French Thinkers

Author: [French] Moran / Kang Zheng / Qi Xiaoman
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: On one hand, humanism is a universal principle applicable to all humanity, a principle that holds true everywhere. On the other hand, it is in fact an extreme Eurocentrism. To avoid this contradiction, humanism must view Europeans as a mature and complete race, distinct from other "backward" or "primitive" races with incomplete civilizations. Only in this way can humanism justify colonial rule and the destruction of other millennia-old civilizations, explaining them as the necessary elimination of errors, biases, and superstitions in the introduction of a superior civilization. Some Europeans realized that their humanism concealed and protected a terrible inhuman tragedy. They also discovered that what they believed to be the only culture was merely a branch of world culture, and that their own culture had once claimed the right to look down on and destroy other cultures. This is a unique work on Europe to date. The author provides a sweeping overview of the formation and evolution of European culture from the perspectives of geography, culture, politics, and thought. Moran discusses the development of European intellectual culture from both the concept of Europe and cultural information, conveying to us the spirit of cultural self-criticism in Europe. Moran is not concerned with the classification of schools or even the general progression of thought. Moran focuses on the grand shifts in the history of thought; the twists and turns, the rebirth after the clash of ideas; the sparks flying when the currents of thought collide; the silence and emptiness during the transition between old and new theories; and the persistent spiritual pulse in the interplay of yin and yang. In Moran's incisive, dialectical, and tension-filled prose, European culture resembles a modern watercolor with strong contrasts in light and color—diverse yet unified, contradictory yet complementary, conflicting yet interdependent. What are the characteristics of Europe? Moran discusses multiple aspects of European culture in this book, including its polytheism, integration, spirit of exploration, identity tensions, and vulnerability, among others. The author hopes to focus on two perspectives to discuss the characteristics of Europe, following Moran's line of thought.