This book traces a most obscure and yet most intriguing theme concealed in Heidegger’s thinking and work, which has hitherto not yet been made the focus of a thorough and sustained investigation: that is, the emergence and course of Heidegger’s interest in East Asian thought and of his reflection on East-West dialogue. Lin Ma covers such complex issues as Heidegger’s thoughts on language, Being, technology, the other beginning, and the journey abroad, with a view to their implications for East-West dialogue. (...) It reveals the significance of his remarks on the early Greek’s confrontation with the Asiatic, and presents contextualized interpretations of his fleeting references to the topic of East-West dialogue and of his encounter with the Daodejing. Finally, it delves into "A dialogue on language" and exposes the strains and tensions that accompany Heidegger’s extension of dialogue and the Same, the two notions central to his thought, to the question of East-West dialogue. In the end, Lin Ma concludes that Heidegger’s fundamental concerns and philosophical orientations as articulated in terms of the history of Being and the other beginning have restricted him from engaging more seriously with the irresolvable and yet enduring issue of East-West dialogue. (shrink)

In this paper we extend Wittgenstein’s notion of family resemblance to translation, interpretation, and comparison across traditions. There is no need for universals. This holds for everyday concepts such as green and qing 青, philosophical concepts such as emotion and qing 情, as well as philosophical categories such as form of life and dao 道. These notions as well as all other concepts from whatever tradition are family resemblance concepts. We introduce the notion of quasi-universal, which connects family resemblance concepts (...) from a limited number of traditions. The possibility and necessity of extending family resemblance concepts across traditions dissolves the false antinomy of universalism versus relativism. (shrink)

Modern technology (Technik, la technique) has constituted the gears on which the wheels of the modern world keep turning. The later Heidegger devotes sustained reflection to this unprecedented phenomenon in human history. It is notable that, compared with other figures from twentieth-century continental philosophy, Heidegger has served as the most frequent reference point in current philosophy of technology (Technikphilosophie). This field of philosophy came into being after the so-called empirical turn of “Science and Technology Studies.” While relevant scholars focus mainly (...) on “Die Frage nach der Technik” of 1953, “Das Ge-stell” of 1949,1 and some other texts written in that period,2 the time span of Heidegger’s .. (shrink)

In this essay, we present a theory of intercultural philosophical dialogue and comparative philosophy, drawing on both hermeneutics and analytic philosophy. We advocate the approach of “de-essentialization” across the board. It is true that similarities and differences are always to be observed across languages and traditions, but there exist no immutable cores or essences. “De-essentialization” applies to all “levels” of concepts: everyday notions such as green and qing 青, philosophical concepts such as emotion(s) and qing 情, and philosophical categories such (...) as forms of life and dao 道. We argue that interpretation is a holistic multi-directional process constrained by the principle of mutual attunement. It is necessary to assume that “the other” is a human being, who, in most cases, is consistent and stating that which is true or right. This is the condition of possibility for intercultural philosophical dialogue and comparative philosophy. No more necessary conditions are needed. There is no need to presuppose concepts or categories that are universal for all humans and their languages (such as emotion(s) and qing 情). (shrink)

ABSTRACTConsulting Heidegger's other texts composed during 1936–1942, this article employs a principle of charity and constructs a consistent discourse about an inceptual negativity Heidegger articulates through a confrontation with Hegel in GA 68. Heidegger deliberately differentiates his use of denial that bears Being-historical significance from Hegel's Negation that allegedly aims at synthesis or elevation as a dialectical movement. Being unsatisfied with his approach that remains entangled with metaphysics in the Contributions, Heidegger attempts to transform the question of the Nothing from (...) a subsidiary question to Beyng to an abyssal question. One needs to go under toward the Nothing in its concealed, conjoined, and most intimate relation to Beyng. The movement of going under is fundamentally significant for transitions that could occur from out of the history of Beyng. Never being the fullness of essence, the Nothing places a limit on Beyng, constantly thwarts its unfolding, and maint... (shrink)

We argue that all general concepts are family resemblance concepts. These include concepts introduced by ostension, such as colour. Concepts of colour and of each of the specific colours are family resemblance concepts because similarities concerning an open-ended range of colour or of appearance features crop up and disappear. After discussing the notion of “same colour” and Wittgenstein's use of the phrase “our colours”, we suggest family resemblance concepts in one tradition can often be extended to family resemblance concepts in (...) another tradition, illustrated by Wittgenstein's use of the words Spiel and “game”. (shrink)

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd We argue that all general concepts are family resemblance concepts. These include concepts introduced by ostension, such as colour. Concepts of colour and of each of the specific colours are family resemblance concepts because similarities concerning an open-ended range of colour or of appearance features crop up and disappear. After discussing the notion of “same colour” and Wittgenstein's use of the phrase “our colours”, we suggest family resemblance concepts in one tradition can often (...) be extended to family resemblance concepts in another tradition, illustrated by Wittgenstein's use of the words Spiel and “game”. (shrink)

This paper carries out an intensive study of Heidegger's famous reflection on the word dao and of his citations from the Daodejing, with the purpose of elucidating his complex relation with Daoist thinking. First I examine whether dao could be said to be a guideword for Heidegger's path of thinking. Then I discuss Heidegger's citations, in six places of his writings, from five chapters of the Daodejing, by situating them in the immediate textual context as well as against the broad (...) background of the fundamental presuppositions and orientations of Heidegger and Laozi's thinking. My examination of Heidegger's citations from the Daodejing has for the first time gathered together all the relevant materials discovered so far. (shrink)

Ordovician fractured vuggy carbonate reservoirs, which are deeply buried in the Tazhong Shunnan area in China, are characterized by high heterogeneity. Meanwhile, there is no significant difference between the geophysical characteristics of the reservoirs and that of the surrounding rocks. We have introduced the multiscale stack random medium theory and built some theoretical seismic-geologic models for the fractured vuggy carbonate reservoirs. Furthermore, we obtained the seismic reflection characteristics corresponding to these models using finite-difference forward modeling. The small random vugs are (...) characterized by weak and chaotic reflections with high frequency, and the large vugs are characterized by strong and chaotic reflections with low frequency. The amplitude of the seismic reflections increases with the increasing vug density, and it decreases with the increasing roughness factor. Combining the synthetic reflection characteristics corresponding to the fractured vuggy carbonate reservoirs and the actual seismic reflections from the drilled reservoirs, we summarized the recognition patterns of the carbonate reservoirs. The predicted results found that the potential fractured vuggy reservoirs at the top of Yijianfang Formation are located in the southwest and northeast, in the vicinity of fault zones. The reservoirs in Peng-Laiba Formation are distributed in the northwest of the block. (shrink)

The primary purpose here is to ascertain what Heidegger's comportment toward East-West dialogue is most plausibly like in the light of his philosophical concerns and orientations. Considering that one should not uncritically take at face value occasional remarks by Heidegger that seem to suggest that he is preparing an East-West dialogue, we will proceed from Heidegger's own path of thinking and bring to light fundamental presuppositions in his thought and the response he may accordingly give to the issue of East-West (...) dialogue. (shrink)

Why should interpretation of conceptual schemes and practices across traditions work at all? In this paper we present the following necessary conditions of possibility for interpretation in comparative and Chinese philosophy: the interpreter must presuppose that there are mutually recognizable human practices; the interpreter must presuppose that “the other” is, on the whole, sincere, consistent, and right; the interpreter must be committed to certain epistemic virtues. Some of these necessary conditions are consistent with the fact that interpretation is not thwarted (...) by the “danger” of relativism or of incommensurability. Some other conditions are suggestive of reorientations of methodologies of comparative and Chinese philosophy. (shrink)

Why should interpretation of conceptual schemes and practices across traditions work at all? In this paper we present the following necessary conditions of possibility for interpretation in comparative and Chinese philosophy: the interpreter must presuppose that there are mutually recognizable human practices; the interpreter must presuppose that “the other” is, on the whole, sincere, consistent, and right; the interpreter must be committed to certain epistemic virtues. Some of these necessary conditions are consistent with the fact that interpretation is not thwarted (...) by the “danger” of relativism or of incommensurability. Some other conditions are suggestive of reorientations of methodologies of comparative and Chinese philosophy. (shrink)

In this article, we trace and elucidate Heidegger’s radical re-thinking on the relation between science and technology from about 1940 until 1976. A range of passages from the Gesamtausgabe seem to articulate a reversal of the primacy of science and technology in claiming that “Science is applied technology.” After delving into Heidegger’s reflection on the being of science and technology and their “coordination,” we show that such a claim is essentially grounded in Heidegger’s idea that “Science and technology are the (...) Same [das Selbe].” In addition, we argue that, although different ontic epochs can be distinguished in the evolvement of science and/or technology, for Heidegger there is only one unique ontological Epoch of modernity that encompasses various ontic epochs. Therefore, the change from an “epoch of objectivity” to an “epoch of orderability [Bestellbarkeit]” cannot be considered to be an ontological shift. Furthermore, it is not right to ascribe to Heidegger the view that the development of quantum physics signals the beginning of a new ontological Epoch. (shrink)

: The primary purpose here is to ascertain what Heidegger's comportment toward East-West dialogue is most plausibly like in the light of his philosophical concerns and orientations. Considering that one should not uncritically take at face value occasional remarks by Heidegger that seem to suggest that he is preparing an East-West dialogue, we will proceed from Heidegger's own path of thinking and bring to light fundamental presuppositions in his thought and the response he may accordingly give to the issue of (...) East-West dialogue. (shrink)

In this article, I address the intricacies of Heidegger's existential notion of Mitsein, and expound a different way of understanding the relevant issue in light of a reinterpretation of Zhuangzi's fish story. I show that Heidegger's account of Mitsein is ultimately situated within the limit of Dasein's structural components. What is more problematic is his conception of the connection between Dasein and others as disengaged. Then I explicate a Zhuangzian idea of what I call Mitzutun, literally meaning doing something with. (...) I argue that the “with” of the Zhuangzian Mitzutun is lived out by human beings and non-human beings in the variegated forms of life. (shrink)

This article revisits the theme of the feminine in Levinas's writings and the Daodejing. First it addresses the question why the feminine as thematized through eros in Levinas's early work loses her centrality in his later texts. Second it explores the feminine water metaphor and the Dao of ci 雌 in the Daodejing. On the basis of these interpretations, it attempts at an analysis of relevant ambiguities and problematics concealed in Levinas's philosophical enterprise, and urges for the exigency of an (...) intercultural perspective, instead of remaining within a singular intellectual tradition. (shrink)

This paper explores Lévinas’s philosophical reflection upon the feminine and attempts to bring it into communication with the importance ascribed to the feminine embodied in the Daodejing. According to Lévinas, the feminine is the very quality of difference that cannot be subsumed into the totality of the same. He emphasizes the importance of considering women in their own right. This is a forceful opposition against androcentrism. Daoist philosophy has often been characterized as “feminine” in terms of its orientation. This paper (...) shows the inadequacy of three readings of the references to femininity in the Daodejing, namely, quasi-feminist historical reading, correlative reading and political reading, and argues that the feminine occupies a central place in this scripture, which is manifest most effectively in the principle of abiding by the female. (shrink)

This paper discusses relevant issues surrounding a debate between two groups of Chinese academics concerning whether Confucianism was the source of corruption. Apart from offering my own analyses of the two stories from the Mencius, the implication of which is central to this debate, I argue that it is unsuitable to rely on current conceptions and mode of argumentation adopted from Western analytic philosophy to read ancient stories, as is practised by one group of scholars. On the other hand, the (...) other group seem to have organized their interpretation at the urge of defending Confucianism as a whole. (shrink)

In this essay, we explore the various aspects of hermeneutic relativity that have rarely been explicitly discussed. Our notion of “hermeneutic relativity” can be seen as an extension, with significant revisions, of Gadamer’s notion of Vorurteil. It refers to various choices and constraints of the interpreter, including beliefs concerning the best way of doing philosophy, what criteria are to be used to evaluate competing interpretations, and so on. The interpreter cannot completely eliminate the guidance and constraint originating from his/her “background.” (...) However, in principle the interpreter can “choose” to be guided by other constraints. Hence, we speak of “choices” or “commitments.” Hermeneutic relativity is the major cause for the variation of competing interpretations. (shrink)

This paper examines an aspect in Levinas’ thinking that has rarely been brought into scholarly discussion: How does Levinas consider the relation between non-Western cultures and Western intellectual tradition? First, I explicate the central notion of sense in Levinas’ essay “Meaning and Sense”. Sense is absolute and transcendent. It precedes and makes possible the meaning of all cultures. Second, I explore Levinas’ discussions of non-Western cultures in some of his essays and interviews. On these occasions, Levinas articulates the view that (...) there is an essential difference between non-Western cultures and Western tradition that is predominantly Judaeo-Greek. In the last section, I consider the role which Levinas’ notion of sense plays in his reflection on the relation between non-Western cultures and Western tradition. (shrink)

This book traces a most obscure and yet most intriguing theme concealed in Heidegger’s thinking and work, which has hitherto not yet been made the focus of a thorough and sustained investigation: that is, the emergence and course of Heidegger’s interest in East Asian thought and of his reflection on East-West dialogue. Lin Ma covers such complex issues as Heidegger’s thoughts on language, Being, technology, the other beginning, and the journey abroad, with a view to their implications for East-West dialogue. (...) It reveals the significance of his remarks on the early Greek’s confrontation with the Asiatic, and presents contextualized interpretations of his fleeting references to the topic of East-West dialogue and of his encounter with the Daodejing. Finally, it delves into "A dialogue on language" and exposes the strains and tensions that accompany Heidegger’s extension of dialogue and the Same, the two notions central to his thought, to the question of East-West dialogue. In the end, Lin Ma concludes that Heidegger’s fundamental concerns and philosophical orientations as articulated in terms of the history of Being and the other beginning have restricted him from engaging more seriously with the irresolvable and yet enduring issue of East-West dialogue. (shrink)

This article revisits the theme of the feminine in Levinas’s writings and the Daodejing. First it addresses the question why the feminine as thematized through eros in Levinas’s early work loses her centrality in his later texts. Second it explores the feminine water metaphor and the Dao of ci in the Daodejing. On the basis of these interpretations, it attempts at an analysis of relevant ambiguities and problematics concealed in Levinas’s philosophical enterprise, and urges for the exigency of an intercultural (...) perspective, instead of remaining within a singular intellectual tradition. (shrink)

Recent years have witnessed a growth in the literature in Western languages devoted to Mou Zongsan 牟宗三.1 Among the New Confucians, Mou's writings are regarded as the most argumentative and the most systematic. He is also one who has engaged with Western philosophers such as Kant, Wittgenstein, Russell, Whitehead, Hegel, and Heidegger. This essay addresses a more primordial theme: how does Mou Zongsan compare with Heidegger when they come to the central issue of the self-transformation of traditions and the question (...) of cultural communication and integration? In relation to these concerns, they respectively formulate the notion of the self-reversal of moral reason (or of liangzhi 良知... (shrink)

In this essay, we explore the various aspects of hermeneutic relativity that have rarely been explicitly discussed. Our notion of “hermeneutic relativity” can be seen as an extension, with significant revisions, of Gadamer’s notion of Vorurteil. It refers to various choices and constraints of the interpreter, including beliefs concerning the best way of doing philosophy, what criteria are to be used to evaluate competing interpretations, and so on. The interpreter cannot completely eliminate the guidance and constraint originating from his/her “background.” (...) However, in principle the interpreter can “choose” to be guided by other constraints. Hence, we speak of “choices” or “commitments.” Hermeneutic relativity is the major cause for the variation of competing interpretations. (shrink)

In this paper, I first address two facets that can play a role in initiating a paradigm shift in comparative studies of Heidegger and Chinese philosophy: One is the necessity of renovating methodology in studies of Chinese philosophy and comparative philosophy. The other is an adequate understanding of Heidegger’s own comportment toward East-West dialogue. In this connection I briefly respond to some criticisms of my book Heidegger on East-West Dialogue: Anticipating the Event. Then I stake out three directions of re-configuration (...) or reorientation entailed in such a paradigm shift. The first direction is concerned with a deconstruction of the notion of philosophy. The second direction is related to a critical and intercultural approach to Heidegger’s thinking. The third direction is connected with the overcoming of the unilateral direction in comparative studies. (shrink)

Objective: To investigate the relationship between psychological empowerment, psychological capital, job involvement, and the retention intention of kindergarten teachers in mainland China and the internal mechanism of action.Methods: A total of 554 kindergarten teachers were investigated by scales for psychological empowerment, psychological capital, job involvement, and retention intention.Results: Psychological empowerment was positively correlated with psychological capital and job involvement. Psychological capital was positively correlated with job involvement. Psychological empowerment, psychological capital, and job involvement were significantly and positively correlated with retention (...) intention. Psychological empowerment influences kindergarten teachers' retention intention mainly through three indirect effects: the single intermediary effects of psychological capital and job involvement and the chain intermediary effect of psychological capital → job involvement.Conclusion: Psychological empowerment can not only indirectly predict the retention intention of kindergarten teachers through the single intermediary effects of psychological capital and job involvement, but also indirectly predict the retention intention of kindergarten teachers through the chain intermediary effect of psychological capital and job involvement. (shrink)

In this article we focus on the famous dialogue between Zhuangzi 莊子 and Huizi 惠子 concerning the question whether or not ren 人 have qing 情. Most scholars have understood qing in this exchange as referring to “feelings” or “emotions.” We take issue with such readings. First, we demonstrate that, while Huizi probably understands qing as something like feelings or emotions, Zhuangzi’s view is that having qing is connected with making shifei 是非 judgments whereas having no qing means that shifei (...) has no grip on those ren, especially the shengren. What follows is that the expression wuqing 無情 should not be identified as a “doctrine of nonemotion.” Instead, wuqing implies that Zhuangzi advises us to lead a life of tranquility, calmness, and stillness. We show that these peaceful attitudes are associated with the idea of wuwei 無為 in the Zhuangzi. (shrink)

Phraseology is a treasury of language. It is the fruit, which was born in the result of a long process of the practical use of the language. Phraseologisms give the speech power, persuasiveness, brilliance and imagery. They enliven the language and make it more emotional. In this article, we focus on the negative psycho-emotional state of a person. The negative psycho-emotional state of a person is emotion and feelings that are formed in the result of the negative mood of a (...) person and related to the dissatisfaction with vital needs. The authors of the article identified 5 phraseological subgroups that characterize the negative psycho-emotional state of a person: anger ; disgust, hatred; terror ; anxiety, agitation; sadness, melancholy. (shrink)

In The Mysterious Relations to the East, Lin Ma takes a stance against a recent trend to see in Heidegger a thinker whose thought has been formed in an 'intercultural dialogue' with the Asian, Oriental tradition of thinking. In fact, Lin Ma demonstrates, words like 'Morning-Land', 'Orient', 'East' or 'Asia' can be shown to refer in each case to the beginning of philosophy in preSocratic, Greek thought. Thus to speak of the "mysterious relations [of philosophy] to the East" is not (...) to speak of a relation of European philosophy with other traditions of thinking, but rather concerns an investigation into the very roots of European philosophy itself. Despite Heidegger's concerns with the possibility of 'inter-cultural' dialogue, as evidenced, for example, in A Dialogue on Language Between a Japanese and an Inquirer, such a dialogue has to be questioned in its very possibility in order to avoid relapsing into the universalistic language of metaphysics. (shrink)

The Philosophical Forum, Volume 52, Issue 1, Page 65-78, Spring 2021.

This essay initiates elements of a Daoist stance as regards the basic assumptions and principles involved in debates on multiculturalism. This is to be achieved via an examination of Zhang Taiyan’s 章太炎 mid-term political philosophy, which is shaped by his interpretation and further development of Daoist thinking, especially the notion of no-thing and the idea of “achieving equality by leaving things uneven”. After explicating the basic tenets that point toward a Daoist stance on what is now called multiculturalism, I discuss (...) Zhang’s concrete proposals concerning the relation between the Han 漢 lineage and the other four major ethnic groups in the to-be-established Republic of China. I then investigate Zhang’s unique theory of the state. Lastly, I explore the discordance in Zhang Taiyan’s thinking despite his privileging of Laozi 老子 and Zhuangzi’s 莊子 ideas. (shrink)

Reliable assessment on the environmental impact of aircraft operation is vital for the performance evaluation and sustainable development of civil aviation. A new methodology for calculating the greenhouse effect of aircraft cruise is proposed in this paper. With respect to both cruise strategies and wind factors, a genetic algorithm-optimized wavelet neural network topology is designed to model the fuel flow-rate and developed using the real flight records data. Validation tests demonstrate that the proposed model with preferred network architecture can outperform (...) others investigated in this paper in terms of accuracy and stability. Numerical examples are illustrated using 9 flights from Beijing Capital International Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport operated by Boeing 737–800 aircraft on October 2, 2019, and the generated fuel consumption, CO2 and NOx emissions as well as temperature change for different time horizons can be effectively given through the proposed methodology, which helps in the environmental performance evaluation and future trajectory planning for aircraft cruise. (shrink)

In response to the lack of research on the online social network structure of athletes, elements of research on the online social network structure of athletes were constructed based on the whole network perspective and through the study of the characteristics of the whole online social network structure of athletes, in order to provide reference for the physical and mental health development of athletes from a new perspective. Data were collected through questionnaires, and several software programs were used to preprocess (...) and analyse the collected data. Through the analysis of the online whole network structure, it was found that the network density of the online support network was generally greater than that of the online discussion network, and athletes still showed stronger practical support demands and behaved more rationally in the process of training and learning life, while from the perspective of the relationship structure, the athletes’ family and classmates’ online support is weaker than that in previous studies; in terms of the whole network, strong relationships still dominate in this population, while attention should be paid to the impact of weak relationships. (shrink)

Using a panel data of 806 U.S. firms from 2006 to 2015, we find that in their ratings of corporate social responsibility performance, firms with top managers who attended religiously affiliated schools outperform their peers with no such managers. The positive relationship between religious school attendance and CSR performance is stronger among firms with lower level of community religiosity or less external monitoring. Our findings lend support to early theoretical work that suggests managerial CSR-oriented values can be key motivating factors (...) for CSR initiatives. (shrink)