Xuelin Essays | Chinese Philosophy Consciously Participates in "Global Hundred Schools of Thought"
2023 marks the 40th anniversary of the official publication of the representative work of philosopher Jin Yuelin, "Theory of Knowledge.". According to the author's self description, "The Theory of Knowledge" is a book full of disasters and difficulties, and it is the book that "spends the most energy and time". The manuscript of the book was completed in 1942, but was accidentally lost during an air raid warning and had to be rewritten. It was not until December 1948 that it was completed, and its official publication was not until 1983.
In the history of Chinese philosophy, "The Theory of Knowledge" has extraordinary significance. It is a great effort by Chinese philosophers to construct a systematic epistemological system, as well as an active attempt to sinicize Western philosophy, and has played an important role in the transformation of Chinese philosophy from tradition to modern times.
The first value lies in making epistemology and epistemology an important component of modern Chinese philosophy.
The focus on theoretical issues of knowledge is the main symbol of the transformation of Chinese philosophy from tradition to modern times. It is generally believed that one of the characteristics of traditional Chinese philosophy is the underdevelopment of epistemological consciousness or the lack of emphasis on the discussion of knowledge itself. Traditional Chinese philosophy has rich knowledge content, but it has not formed a complete epistemological system like Western philosophy. Jin Yuelin elaborated on this characteristic of traditional Chinese philosophy in his article "Chinese Philosophy". He hopes to change the underdeveloped state of logic and epistemology by constructing a system of epistemology, making Chinese philosophical concepts clear and deterministic, and making Chinese philosophical research systematic and scientific.
Jin Yuelin continued the tradition of Western modern philosophical epistemology, criticizing and inheriting the ideas of philosophers such as Hume, Kant, Moore, Russell, and Lewis. He extensively discussed and analyzed important issues in epistemology such as sensory theory, conceptual theory, causal problem, relational problem, inductive principle, and truth theory, constructing a vast and profound epistemological system. As a result, the book "Theory of Knowledge" made Jin Yuelin a pioneer in the field of Chinese epistemology.
The second value lies in the logical analysis methods used throughout the entire book.
Jin Yuelin fully demonstrated the application of logical analysis methods in "On Knowledge", always analyzing and elaborating on each chapter and question, achieving the accuracy of concepts and the verifiability of propositions.
Jin Yuelin believes that studying philosophy does not necessarily require studying major philosophical issues, and a detailed analysis of everyday concepts also belongs to philosophy. In his other representative work, "The Analects of Dao," he used logical analysis methods to complete a profound and logically rigorous conceptual structure and system of Dao, establishing the metaphysics of Dao.
It is generally believed that traditional Chinese philosophy emphasizes personal intuition over logical reasoning, and emphasizes comprehension over conceptual analysis. Learning and borrowing from the logical analysis methods of Western philosophy has innovative significance for the research methods of traditional Chinese philosophy.
The third value lies in the issues it discusses and the heights it reaches, enabling Chinese philosophy to participate in the global Hundred Schools of Thought.
Since modern times, with the process of Western learning spreading eastward, Chinese philosophy has always faced the task of absorbing and surpassing Western philosophy. Especially after the debate between science and metaphysics, the issues discussed in Chinese philosophy began to go beyond the traditional scope and gradually took on a global significance. Jin Yuelin's "Theory of Knowledge" is a model of Chinese philosophy's conscious participation in the "global Hundred Schools of Thought".
For example, in the first chapter of "Theory of Knowledge", Jin Yuelin systematically criticized the "subjective starting method" of Western epistemology since modern times. He pointed out that including Hume, Kant, Russell, and even the Viennese School, their epistemology always starts from the sensory phenomenon of the moment and the place, and therefore all derive objectivity from subjectivity. The knowledge theory formed in this way cannot guarantee its objective universal inevitability.
This critical inheritance and transcendence of Western philosophy indicates that Chinese philosophers can step onto the stage of world philosophy to explore common issues and provide different ideas and inspirations.
