Is there a common worldview between China and Europe? （Zhou Hong）Is there a common worldview between China and Europe? （Zhou Hong）
What I am going to talk about today is a topic that, whether there is common worldview between
1. Similarities and Differences in Way of Thinking between China and Europe
The idea about the world is always closely related to the idea about people, even in the mind of the abstract master Hegel, called by Karl Marx as “putting the cart before the horse”, insists that the Weltgeist coexists with the Volksgeist. However, from Hegel's perspective, the Weltgeist is a priori, abstract, integral and superordinate, while people of various countries can only display each part of such absolute spirit through their individual characteristics. Many other philosophers and political philosophers also make comparison for the people and the world to make investigation, but such kind of investigation is from the angles of nature, experience and history, not the absolute spirit. Such as Montesquieu is of the view that, people's worldviews come from their unique life experience and affected by various natural elements including climate, religions, laws, government guidelines, precedents, moralities and customs. The Volksgeist has objective source and can be traced. Based on this judgment, the Weltgeist should be the integration of the Volksgeist, not the will of God.
A long time ago, Chinese ancient philosophers discussed the relationship of the world and the people, but the world (“Tianxia”) that can be seen by the Chinese at that time was the places where their eyesight could reach, not the globe nowadays. Chuang Tzu says in the Chapter Tianxia: “The Deity has its origin, the Kingdom has its cause of formation, which are all originated from one”. Taoism is a general knowledge, which can only be mastered by immortal, saint, God-man and lofty man. Scholarism is the specific knowledge of various schools, which is one-sided learning. However, in Chuang Tzu's mind, the source of Taosim and Scholarism is not the God, but one. Another Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu (about 600BC-500BC) thinks that: “The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing. He who would so win it destroys it; he who would hold it in his grasp loses it.” Thus, Chinese philosophers left the “Happy Mean” (Confucius's wording), making greater efforts in researching the social philosophy, discussing the relationship between people.
In modern times, there are still some Europeans paying attention to the phenomena in real life, and they think that, if a group of communicators, a class or a nation and even the entire human race communicate information, ideas and understanding over the years, they will “make judgment without thinking” , forming the so-called “common sense”. Even there are persons with the view that, if it is possible to plot a worldview map, it may very likely be coinciding with the language family map ,because people always observe the world beyond themselves starting from their own experience, so they print the territory they live at the central position of the world. The influence of living environment on the worldview of people is primarily reflected in the understanding of Zeitgeist by the
From above introduction we can see that, there is similarity for the understanding of the world by Chinese people and Europeans in terms of basic method, they both ever divided the world into known and unknown, this shore and the other shore. The difference between
China's social philosophy is a huge system which is originated from the judgment on good nature of people, and such doctrine of good nature is again used in the judgment on the rules of “World”, such as the Mo Tzu (about 479BC-381BC) ever said that: “The wise man who has charge of governing the empire should know the cause of disorder before he can put it in order. Suppose we try to locate the cause of disorder, we shall find it lies in the want of mutual love”. He advocates that “Everybody in the world loves universally, loving others as one's self.” This idea was used by Lao Tzu in relationship between countries, becoming a concept that big countries and small countries should treat each other courteously: “Big countries treat small countries courteously, big countries will be respected; small countries treat big countries courteously, small countries will be helped”. Aside from that, China's social ideal also contain the rules of mutual love and respect, such as the Hsun Tzu (313BC-238BC) says that, when governing a country, “faith and justice help one get power and trickery leads to death” ; While The Great Together (From the Chapter Li Ji) that mostly reflects China's social ideal has told us that “When the Great Dao (Tao, perfect order) prevails, the world is like a Commonwealth State shared by all, not a dictatorship. Virtuous, worthy, wise and capable people are chosen as leaders. Honesty and trust are promoted, and good neighborliness cultivated.
All people respect and love their own parents and children, as well as the parents and children of others. The aged are cared for until death; adults are employed in jobs that make full use of their abilities; and children are nourished, educated, and fostered. Widows and widowers, orphans and the old without children, the disabled and the diseased are all well taken care of. Every man and woman has an appropriate role to play in society and in the family. They hate to see resources lying idle or cast away, yet they do not necessarily keep them for themselves. They hate not to make use of their abilities, yet they do not necessarily work for their own self-interest. Thus intrigues and conspiracies do not arise, and thievery and robbery do not occur; therefore doors need never be locked. This is the ideal world %u
The situation in
According to Europeans, the status naturalis between people is not peace , but war, and the peace needs additional efforts to be established . And according to Chinese people's idea.
There are all wild areas beyond China, the sky is round and the earth is square, the Chinese Kindom is the center, if only the sky does not change, the situation of the Kindom will not change. Until modern times, the “World” in the mind of Chinese people was attached by external forces and cultures, and
3. Reasoning
From the above, the method used by Chinese people for observing the world has common place with the method used by Europeans. Both Chinese people and Europeans believe that, the myth of the world has not been or can not be totally known, and that the cognitive ability to the world has a hierarchy. In the
However, affected by respective historical development progress, the scope and sphere for Chinese people and Europeans to observe the world become different, Europeans pay more attention to the relationship between people and the God and Chinese people only pay attention to the relationsip between people. Europeans demonstrate the reality through God or abstract ideas, while Chinese people find rules through reality. Europeans went through wars and hope to have peace, and Chinese people seek social faireness and harmony in a relatively peace environment. Europeans were earlier than Chinese people to enlarge the vision to the globe, while the Chinese people were forced to change the concept of
When both Europeans and Chinese people jointly face the same one world, their common places and discrepancies are shown. Europeans look at issues from the rules granted by the God, and Chinese people look at issues from the rules of harmonious society. However, no matter Europeans or Chinese people, they will not deny their common and similar pursuit, that is: peace and wellness. But due to the fact that they are in different social and historical development stages, they can only realize their common ideal through different ways and methods, Just as the ancient Chinese book Zhouyi xi ci xia wrote 3000 years ago, “the aim of the world is the same but with different ways and considerations”. That is to say, there are different ways to reach the same destination.
Because the ultimate goals are the same, common interests come into being, because the development ways are different, there is need for forgiveness and communication. In a long period of time, the difference in objective conditions will continue to decide the diversity of ways of realizing the ideal by human race. However, those elements forming the “Volksgeist” including the language communication, information communication, and understanding begin acting on the entire human race under the conditions of globalization, this make their pursuits increasingly close, and this may also be the Zeitgeist in the age in which we live.
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