Title: The Usefulness and Limitations of Analytic Method in Chinese Philosophy
Abstract: I think the reasons for rejecting using methods and theories of analytic philosophy in dealing with problems and ideas in Chinese philosophy at least include the following three: (1) From the approach of intellectual history, such as Hu Shih's approach, analytic method cannot be used to analyze the complicated ideas in Chinese history. To understand Chinese thought, scholars with this approach think, historical cum philological method is the only reliable tool. (2) From the perspective of Western way of thinking, scholars who stress the incommensurability between Chinese and Western modes of thinking believe that the gap between the correlative mode of thinking in ancient Chinese philosophy and the analytic mode of thinking in the Western tradition cannot be bridged. (3) From the transcendental viewpoint of contemporary Confucianism, Chinese philosophy can be understood as a kind of transcendental philosophy and a learning of life which can only be grasped by moral practice and ascertained by a special kind of inner and transcendental experience. So, using analytic method would explain away the wisdom which can be entertained by moral practice. I don't think the reasons of rejecting to use analytic methods and theories in Chinese philosophy are well-formed in argument and also well-grounded on evidence. If there are theories in the history of Chinese philosophy which include views and problems, to use the method of conceptual analysis and the method of logical analysis is a necessity in understanding and interpreting them. However, analytic method has its own limitations though it is a necessary tool to understand philosophy, including Chinese philosophy. In this paper, I will provide cases in ancient Chinese philosophy some of them can be used to illustrate the usefulness of analytic method, while the other ca n be used to show the limitations.
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
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