Epistemological Theory in Classical Chinese Philosophy (2024)

Epistemological Issues in Classical Chinese Philosophy (Review)

China Review International, 1994

The stated intent of the volume is "to broaden the exposure of Chinese Studies outside America and Great Britain" (p. vii). In this respect, the book succeeds admirably, as one of its distinctive features is the introduction of German scholarly approaches to an Anglo-American audience. As this fills a lacuna in Chinese studies, this volume is to be welcomed.

New Approaches to the Concept of the Knowledge in Chinese Philosophy of the second Half of the Twentieth Century

This article examines the new approaches to the concept of knowledge in modern Chinese philosophy. Upon acquaintance with Western philosophy, Chinese thinkers began to use Western methodological concepts to interpret classical ideas of Chinese thought. One of the striking example of such synthesis is the philosophy of Boston Confucianism, which rethinks Confucian concept of knowledge by using pragmatic and semiotic tools.

chinese epistemology

In current research, the debate on the epistemological dimensions of Chinese texts and their role in the context of Chinese thought has been developed increasingly successfully under the aegis of rediscovering and applying specific traditional Chinese methodological approaches and categories (Lenk and Paul 1993). Chinese epistemology deals with problems such as the possibility of attaining correct knowledge of a given object—and thus the possibility of attaining a complete understanding of the Way (dao 道); the relationship between this knowledge and wisdom on one hand and morality on the other; the possibility of language to function as a conveyer of knowledge; and the relationship between knowledge (zhi 知) and action (xing 行). According to the prevailing traditional European epistemologies, knowledge has mainly been gained through observation and reasoning. However, in traditional Chinese thought, knowledge has been understood in a much broader sense, namely as something which also (or primarily) stems from moral contents and which cannot be separated from (social) practice. The method which determined most of the epistemological teachings found in the Chinese classics was based on a holistic world view, and was directed towards a comprehension which could be achieved through education and learning. The basic contents of these teachings were rooted in the premises of pragmatic and utilitarian ethics. Chinese epistemology was relational (Rošker 2012), meaning that it understood the external world to be ordered structurally, while the human mind was also structured in accordance with its all-embracing but open, organic system (li 理). The relational correspondence between the cosmic and mental structures thus represents the basic precondition of human perception and comprehension. This article will provide a systematic overview of the special features, the central methods and the main developmental streams of classical Chinese epistemological discourses that were based on a structurally ordered holistic worldview and rooted in axiological premises.

Conceptions of Knowledge in Ancient China(1993)

ed. Hans Lenk and Gregor Paul, eds., Epistemological Issues in Classical Chinese Philosophy, SUNY Press 1993

An introduction to Chinese philosophy

2006

A Chinese Philosopher's Theory of Knowledge

Searching for the Way - Theory of Knowledge in pre-Modern and Modern China

Brook Ziporyn, Ironies of Oneness and Difference: Coherence in Early Chinese Thought; Prolegomena to the Study of Li

Frontiers of Philosophy in China, 2014

History of Chinese Philosophy Through its Key Terms. Edited by Yueqing Wang, Qinggang Bao, and Guoxing Guan and translated by Shuchen Xiang. Singapore

Philosophy East and West 72/2, 2022

Recent anglophone scholarship on Chinese philosophy provides students and scholars with a great variety of introductory materials, especially when it comes to encyclopedias and manuals on the history of Chinese philosophical traditions. It is therefore increasingly difficult for scholars to produce innovative studies on the subject that can provide a significant and original contribution to the field, especially when addressing both specialists and enthusiasts. In this context, The History of Chinese Philosophy Through its Key Terms by Nanjing University’s Wang Yueqing 王月清, Bao Qinggang 暴庆刚, and Guan Guoxing 管国兴 certainly represents a valuable and innovative contribution. Instead of presenting the history of Chinese thought by sectioning it in terms of thinkers or schools of thought, as it is traditionally done in encyclopedic works, the book considers the historical and conceptual evolution of specific key terms which characterize the evolution of those philosophical traditions which form the broad and diversified framework of Chinese philosophy. The book is composed of thirty-seven chapters (varying from 8 to 18 pages in length), each of which is devoted to a detailed discussion of a specific key term in both its historical and conceptual evolution. The great majority of chapters discuss the evolution of terms within the broad historical framework ranging from classical thought to the end of the Qing dynasty.

BOOK REVIEW ON NEW FRONTIERS OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHY

Whenever sinologists speak of Chinese philosophy, we are unavoidably confronted with the question of the suitability of this term. Scholars trained in Western philosophy, on the other hand, have only limited access to the general theory and genuine philosophical aspects of Chinese thought. Hence, for the majority of them, these features of classical Chinese discourses continue to appear obscure, unsystematic and therefore lacking any theoretical reliability. Consequently, we must inspect the basic dilemma or question of whether it is possible at all to declare that certain discourses of traditional Chinese thought are philosophy. This question becomes increasingly significant, for especially in our present, inter-connected and globalized world, efforts to obtain a cross-cultural understanding of reality are more essential than ever. However, attempts to gain an insight into the modes of such comprehension without considering the philosophical perspective of others seem to be not only arrogant, but also—to put it mildly—quite naïve. The present book was created in a sincere effort to overcome bigotries and prejudices which can lead to such self-centered Eurocentric attitudes. This is one of the main reasons because of which this work is of utmost significance for any form of truly intercultural dialogue between Europe and Eastern Asia.