Please wait a minute...
Frontiers of Philosophy in China

ISSN 1673-3436

ISSN 1673-355X(Online)

CN 11-5743/B

邮发代号 80-983

Frontiers of Philosophy in China  2009, Vol. 4 Issue (1): 116-129   https://doi.org/10.1007/s11466-009-0007-4
  research-article 本期目录
A defense of universalism: With a critique of particularism in Chinese culture
A defense of universalism: With a critique of particularism in Chinese culture
ZHAO Dunhua()
Department of Philosophy, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
 全文: PDF(387 KB)   HTML
Abstract

Universalism can be defined as the belief in the universal application of certain knowledge, world-views and value-views. Universalism has often been confused with Occident-centrism, due to the fact that the latter was used to justify the former, which confused the content of a thought with the social condition that gave rise to the thought. For many years, clarifications of this confusion have been made in sociology of knowledge, relativism and skepticism. Yet, the particularistic conclusion thus reached has led to more confusion, namely, that between the intrinsic criterion for truth and the practical application of thought. China, with its long tradition of Sino-centrism, has recently shown a movement towards particularism, characterized by a search for national and cultural superiority by “returning to the source”. In today’s academic circles, some particularist themes are taken for granted, and believed to be true, but cannot be proved with rational examination. The particularistic claims to the “self grounded”, “self-featured” and “self-located” tradition of Chinese culture jointed with the post-modernism, neo-leftist movement of anti-globalization in the West, are not only harmful in practice, but also impotent in theory. The propaganda against the hegemony of Western discourse should be analyzed with questioning which hegemony and whose discourse.

Key wordsOccident-centralism    Sino-centralism    essentialism    universalism    particularism    cultural chauvinism    globalization
出版日期: 2009-03-05
Corresponding Author(s): ZHAO Dunhua,Email:zhaodh@phil.pku.edu.cn   
 引用本文:   
. A defense of universalism: With a critique of particularism in Chinese culture[J]. Frontiers of Philosophy in China, 2009, 4(1): 116-129.
ZHAO Dunhua. A defense of universalism: With a critique of particularism in Chinese culture. Front Phil Chin, 2009, 4(1): 116-129.
 链接本文:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fpc/CN/10.1007/s11466-009-0007-4
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fpc/CN/Y2009/V4/I1/116
Viewed
Full text


Abstract

Cited

  Shared   
  Discussed