What kind of thoughts do westerners have?

The differences between Chinese and western cultural systems have been repeatedly discussed in academic circles from different angles since modern times. The author tries to explore the influence of words on thinking and thinking on culture.

Modern brain science research has confirmed that the division of labor between the left and right hemispheres of the brain is different. The right hemisphere mainly deals with various images, while the left hemisphere mainly deals with various language symbols. This shows that the thinking tools of the left and right hemispheres are different, and the main thinking tool of the right hemisphere is image, which we can call image thinking; The main thinking tool in the left hemisphere is language, which we can call linguistic thinking. Language is the symbol of image, and image is the meaning represented by language. In the brain, image and language, image thinking and language thinking are not indifferent. On the contrary, the corpus callosum, which connects the two hemispheres of the brain, transmits information from the left and right brains at an unimaginable speed.

It is often said that people in China and westerners have different ways of thinking. There is no doubt about it. However, what is the difference between them? How did this difference come about?

There are many reasons. However, I believe that the difference between Chinese and western characters is the fundamental reason for their different ways of thinking. Of course, writing is the writing symbol of language, which is different from language and not equal to the tool of thinking. However, as the most frequently used communication tool, words undoubtedly have an inestimable influence on thinking. The writing form of western languages is pinyin, which is neither ideographic nor ideographic, but ideographic; In other words, it completely cuts off the direct connection with images and is a symbol of pure recording language. This purely recorded alphabet stimulates people's brains frequently and widely, and gradually forms the characteristics of westerners who are good at language thinking, making their language thinking particularly developed. Chinese writing symbols are square Chinese characters, which not only express sounds, but also express shapes and meanings. This kind of writing, in which sound, form and meaning are interrelated, provides a convenient tool for thinking in images and makes China people better at thinking in images.

Words affect the way of thinking, and then affect the development characteristics of culture. The differences between Chinese and western personalities and ways of thinking make Chinese and western cultures present their own unique features. Western scholars believe that language and thinking are interdependent. For example, Hegel claimed: "The form of thinking is first expressed and recorded in people's language." Dewey also pointed out: "I said that without language, thinking cannot exist." However, our linguistics textbooks repeatedly emphasize that language and thinking are the relationship between shell and core. On the contrary, many China scholars think that the highest state of their thoughts can't be expressed in words. For example, "Tao can be Tao, but extraordinary; The name can be named, but it is very famous "(the chapter of Laozi in this edition)" Those who can speak are thick; Those who can express their ideas are the essence of things "(Zhuangzi Qiu Shui)," Books are not full of words, words are not full of meaning "(I Ching)," Everything is romantic without a word "(poetry is implicit) and so on.

The differences in thinking and language relations between China people and westerners directly affect their interest in linguistics. In order to better develop and improve thinking ability, westerners have attached great importance to language learning for a long time. Since ancient Greece, linguistics has "become an independent discipline between humanities and natural sciences", and until modern times, western linguistics has been far ahead. China people's thinking is not very dependent on language. Accordingly, China paid less attention to language studies. In China, ancient linguistics has not developed independently. Confucius has long advocated: "Words are not enough." Phonology (The Analects of Wei Linggong) is a vassal of literature and Confucian classics, and people study it only for writing and composing poems. Scholars even call writing, phonology and exegesis "primary schools". It was not until the end of19th century that Ma Jianzhong drew lessons from western language theory and wrote China's first grammar book, Ma Shi Wen Tong. Since then, China's linguistics has gradually developed independently.

The different characteristics of Chinese and western thinking have also profoundly influenced the different temperament of Chinese and western cultures. Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism in the history of China's philosophy all emphasize inner reflection, experience and consciousness. Zeng Shen, a Confucian sage, said long ago, "I save myself three times a day" (ibid., The Analects of Confucius), and regarded introspection as an essential means of self-cultivation. Taoism has gone a step further. Wang Bi believes: "Those who forget the image are honored; People who forget words are like him. I am proud of the image of forgetting me, and I feel that I am forgetting words. " (Book of Changes: Xiang Ming) Language, even images, have become the shackles of thinking, and to a certain extent, images and languages no longer exist. This tradition reached its peak among Buddhists. Although Huineng can't read, as the originator of Nanzong Zen, he can advocate "epiphany". Later, Zen simply advocated "no writing", completely abandoned language and writing, and completely conveyed secrets that were considered unexpressed with pure intuition. "Drinking with a stick" was one of its main forms. Therefore, the reason why Buddhism developed in China and Zen came into being in China is the soil of China's thinking in images. Accordingly, a series of mysterious concepts such as Yin and Yang, vitality, artistic conception, verve, character, reality and so on have been formed in China's academic history.

Under the influence of language thinking, western culture and philosophy present another style. Western philosophers have always been famous for their rigor and speculation. Philosophers in ancient Greece are like this, as are philosophers in modern western countries. Therefore, in a sense, western philosophy is a philosophy of language thinking. Of course, the concepts in western academic history are also quite clear.

Experts believe that vague thinking in images is probably the characteristic of China people's thinking; Relatively speaking, language thinking is accurate, which is the characteristic of western thinking. These different characteristics of Chinese and western thinking have left their own marks in their respective language systems? Of course, this has something to do with the different attitudes of China people and westerners towards language learning. In other words, western languages are relatively accurate, while Chinese, especially ancient Chinese, is relatively vague (modern Chinese is developing in an accurate direction due to the input of a large number of western translated names). Chinese and western philosophers express the same meaning in different styles. For example, Lao Tzu said, "We don't need each other, but it's easy and difficult. The length is also in contrast, the competition is also harmonious, and the sound is also harmonious. " (Lao Zi, Chapter 2, Chapter 9, Simplified Edition) The similar meaning in Heraclitus becomes "A unified object is made up of two opposites, so when it is split in half, these two opposites are revealed." Confucius defined wisdom as "knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing, and knowing is also." Aristotle said, "Wisdom is knowledge about certain principles and reasons." [4] Although the quotations of Heraclitus and Aristotle have been translated into modern Chinese, their accuracy has not disappeared; You must understand the quotations of Laozi and Confucius to get their true meaning.

From the above comparison, we can also find that, on the surface, the language of ancient Greek philosophers has distinct abstractness and generality, while the language of China sages has outstanding concreteness and metaphor. But this does not mean that China people's thinking lacks abstraction. In fact, behind this concreteness and metaphor, the same abstract truth is expressed as that revealed by western philosophers. Therefore, some people think that westerners' thinking is abstract, while China people's thinking lacks abstraction, which is an illusion. Who can say that "getting carried away" is not an abstraction? Who can say that telepathy and ghost combination are not abstract? It's just that they are confusing and difficult to express. Even Hegel, who has always denounced China's philosophy, has to admit that "the meaning of those numbers in Zhouyi is an extremely abstract category and a purely rational regulation."

For a long time, people confuse abstract thinking (specifically, linguistic thinking) with logical thinking, so those who think that China people's thinking lacks abstraction often assert that China people's thinking lacks logic. This is also an illusion. The so-called logic is objective regularity. In fact, thinking that reflects objective regularity is logical thinking; Thinking in images also reflects objective regularity, and it is also a kind of logical thinking.

Of course, we don't deny that the abstractness and logicality of language thinking have different characteristics from thinking in images. The abstraction and logic of language thinking exist in language, which is obvious in language expression, so it is external; The abstraction and logic of thinking in images exist in images, but they are not so obvious in language expression, so they are potential. This is the root of the above illusion.

These different characteristics of Chinese and western ways of thinking have resulted in the unique style of Chinese and western scholars in the theoretical system. In other words, the theoretical system of China scholars is latent and vague; The theoretical system of western scholars is external and clear. In other words, China's scholarship is not without its own system, and the view that China lacks a theoretical system is untenable.

Thinking in images grasps things through intuition, which naturally determines that this way of thinking grasps the whole, not the part. It is quite difficult for people to perceive part of a thing with intuition or intuition and give up other parts. When we imagine the shape of a table, the whole table always appears in our mind, not only the desktop, but also the legs; Similarly, when we imagine the shape of the table top or legs, they are always integrated with the whole table and inseparable. So this way of thinking is holistic. On the contrary, the tool of language thinking is language, which brings convenience to concrete analysis. When people think with the concepts of "table", "desktop" and "table legs", they are completely independent and do not contain each other. Therefore, this way of thinking is analytical.

The integrity of image thinking and the analytical nature of language thinking have left their own marks in both Chinese and western cultures. Most China scholars' works are very comprehensive. The Analects of Confucius includes Confucius' political thoughts, philosophical thoughts, educational thoughts, psychological thoughts and ethical thoughts. The western academic works are generally classified, such as Aristotle's logic works on tools, psychology works on soul, aesthetics and art theory works on rhetoric and poetics, as well as political science works on politics and Athenian political system. In terms of material culture, China architecture, represented by the Forbidden City and Qufu Confucius Temple, has a distinct integrity, while western architecture has a patchwork and eclectic taste.

The analysis and accuracy of language thinking complement each other. In order to be more accurate, it is inevitable to require specific analysis; Only concrete analysis can be more accurate. Expressed in artistic creation, the pursuit of truth and reproduction. In order to describe the human body more truly, western artists often work hard on human anatomy and try to reproduce the object of artistic creation. Sculptures by ancient Greek and Roman artists amazed contemporary artists. Da Vinci's realistic attitude of painting eggs has become a beautiful talk known to women and children. This true and reappearing art is in line with western aesthetics. Aristotle once said, "vivid images seem to arouse our pleasure." The characteristic of western art lies in this sense of reality.

The wholeness and fuzziness of thinking in images are reflected in China's aesthetic view of seeking similarity and detachment. Artists in China are not pursuing truth, but pursuing a kind of "surreal" artistic effect; The characteristics of Chinese painting are here, and a few lines of pen and ink can give people beautiful enjoyment. This is what Qi Baishi, a master of Chinese painting, said: "Beauty lies between similarity and dissimilarity"; Coincidentally, Si Kongtu said as early as in "Poetry": "Seeking similarity", which shows that this is a tradition. Whether it is China's paintings or poems, it can always give people unlimited imagination and make people memorable. "The poem of interest is fascinating, and there are pictures in the poem; Look at the picture, there are poems in the picture. " (Previously on Tiaoxi Fishing Troubled Words, Volume 15) Su Dongpo's evaluation of Wang Wei broke through China's artistic characteristics. In fact, in the history of China art, what are Wang Wei's poems? "The flat forest is misty, and the cold mountain area is blue and sad." Isn't this a picture drawn with pen and ink full of sadness? Why are Wang Wei's paintings so unique? The Buddha statues in Dunhuang murals are both wise and naive; Isn't it a wonderful poem to smile and meditate solemnly? This is the fruit of China's traditional way of thinking.

As for the field of science and technology, why did China prevail in ancient times and the West prevail in modern times? This problem has puzzled many people, including outstanding scientists like Einstein. I think this is due to the different advantages of different ways of thinking between China and the West in different historical periods. Before analyzing this problem, we must first make two points clear: first, to be exact, science is not equal to technology, the former refers to the academic system based on theory, and the latter mainly refers to inventions based on practical experience; Second, science and technology have also developed from technological creation to scientific theory. Ancient science and technology is characterized by technological creation, while modern science and technology is characterized by scientific theory. Because the remarkable feature of ancient scientific and technological forms, that is, technological creation is based on practical experience, it is obvious that China people's thinking in images will give full play to their talents, while westerners' thinking in language is relatively inferior. So, can China become the hometown of the four great inventions? The four great inventions are basically scientific and technological creations. China's ancient scientific and technological works are mainly technical. Tiangong Wu Kai is a summary of rival industrial production experience in Ming Dynasty and Song Dynasty, and Compendium of Materia Medica is a record of Li Shizhen's research on the functions and uses of Chinese herbal medicines. In addition, China scholars' potential, fuzziness and metaphysics in theoretical system and academic concept are unique in philosophy and aesthetics, but they run counter to modern scientific theory with precise nature. This may be the profound reason why the development of science and technology in China has plummeted since modern times. Western scientists who take linguistic thinking as their main way of thinking are endowed with unique advantages in this respect, so they can be in a leading position in many fields of modern scientific theory. Newton's mechanics, Darwin's theory of evolution and other scientific theoretical systems have shown the advantages of language thinking in this respect in the history of modern science and technology.

I often think that China's scientific and technological form is based on the original human experience, while the western scientific and technological form is the turning point of the original human experience. The study of primitive people's thinking proves that primitive people have extraordinary intuitive ability and experience accumulation. In my opinion, China's square Chinese characters and image thinking continued this primitive experience to a certain extent, thus forming China's scientific and technological form; The western alphabet and language thinking cut off the connection with the original experience to a certain extent, which opened up a new world, thus forming the western scientific and technological form. The advantages of western science and technology in modern society have been seen by people. In fact, China's traditional science and technology, especially Chinese medicine, has great potential value and needs to be discovered and explored.

To sum up, China culture and western culture are two wonderful flowers on the tree of human thinking, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, characteristics and styles in history. Therefore, we can't generally divide who is good and who is bad, belittle one party and raise the other. It has been proved that the argument of belittling square Chinese characters and thinking in images and raising pinyin characters and language thinking is untenable.

Second, philosophy and religion.

Philosophy and religion are deeper cultures, and their relationship reflects the different characteristics of various civilizations. In my opinion, the meaning of philosophy and religion is a prerequisite problem that needs to be redefined. These two concepts come from the west, so the philosophy and religion in the concept of common people are in the western sense, which can be described as narrow philosophy and religion. Considering China's academic thoughts with this narrow sense of philosophy and religion, strictly speaking, China has neither philosophy nor religion. If we must analyze China's academic thoughts with philosophy and religion in this sense, we can certainly find similar philosophy and religion to the West. Accordingly, it can be said that the characteristic of western thought lies in the separation of philosophy and religion, the characteristic of Indian thought lies in the integration of philosophy and religion, and the characteristic of China thought lies in replacing religion with philosophy. Religion in all countries is to solve the problems of life, while in China, philosophy is to solve the problems of life, and religion is not needed to play this role. China's philosophy settles life in two ways, one is nature, the other is man himself, and the two are often intertwined. Because they are all designed for life and have humanistic characteristics. In this respect, we can say that China's philosophy is characterized by humanism.

However, we should pay special attention to the uniqueness of China's traditional thought. It is not objective and unfair to discuss China's academic thoughts by western standards. Therefore, we should break the shackles of western centralism, understand philosophy and religion at a more transcendental level, and re-understand and interpret these two concepts in a broad sense. I think, if "philosophy" is regarded as a theory about the fundamental viewpoint of the world and a reflection on the existing problems, if "religion" is regarded as a theory about life and a system about faith, then it can be said that China Thought has the duality of philosophy and religion; It is both philosophy and religion. China thought is based on humanism, so this philosophy is humanistic philosophy, and this religion is also humanistic religion.

This feature of China's traditional thought was formed by a profound people-oriented religious reflection and criticism movement in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties. This ideological storm marks the establishment of China's philosophy. In other words, China's philosophy began with the exploration of human nature, that is, human nature (morality). Through this religious criticism movement, we can find that China's philosophy was transformed from primitive religion.

The situation in the west is completely different. Although western philosophy also germinated from religion, it all started from exploring the objective world. Therefore, its initial form is natural philosophy, and then it turns to human beings, thus having humanity. Undeniably, this early humanism in the West has many similarities with China's early humanism. For example, ethics once became the main topic of ancient Greek philosophy, and metaphysics was studied to solve moral problems. This coincides with the thinking of pre-Qin philosophers.

Chinese and western philosophy not only have different starting points, but also have different development paths. Greek philosophy did not experience the religious reflection and criticism movement as in Yin and Zhou Dynasties, which left a certain space for religion. Therefore, in the later stage of the development of Greek philosophy, philosophy finally merged with religions from the East and was introduced into the Middle Ages. However, it is precisely because the West did not experience the religious reflection and criticism movement in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties that Western philosophy and religion always have different natures. His philosophy is rational and humanistic, and his religion is irrational and theological. Finally, after the Renaissance, philosophy and religion parted ways again. In this way, the west reconfirmed the long-lost humanistic tradition and entered the modern society. It can be said that the modern civilization in the west is the result of westerners' thinking getting rid of the shackles of the Middle Ages, thus showing a fierce sense of criticism of the Middle Ages.

However, due to the religious reflection and criticism movement in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, China's thought has always been humanistic since then. Because of this, there is no medieval and feudal society in China, just like there is no slave society. Because of this, it is not necessary for China people to break away from the shackles of the Middle Ages and re-identify with the humanistic tradition, so it is impossible for them to experience the Renaissance like the West.

For many years, in the rapid progress of western learning, scholars have tried their best to divide the historical stages of China with Marx's five social forms, painstakingly searched for the Renaissance in China's history, and violently criticized China's feudalism and absolutism with a serious attitude ... All these are almost irrelevant. It is true that the ancient society of China has its drawbacks, its defects, and even serious defects. But is this feudalism? Is this absolutism? We need to reconsider this. I think, at least in ancient China, there was no western feudalism and absolutism. If there is absolutism in China in the western sense, it should be after Stalinism was introduced, and the Cultural Revolution was its peak. Therefore, we should reflect on many problems of China and face the reality. We should not always put the blame on the ancients, always take our ancestors as scapegoats and always talk about him around the king. Only in this way can we really improve ourselves and develop society.

Third, metaphysics.

Metaphysics is not only the core of a certain philosophy, but also the core of a certain cultural system, so it can best reflect the characteristics of an academic thought.

The most common existence discussed by metaphysics is beyond everything and incompatible with the real world. In other words, it is completely set by the human heart. In this way, we can't avoid the concept of heart.

As mentioned above, the heart includes two levels: the heart of life and the heart of cognition. In my opinion, there are two types of topography, namely, life metaphysics and cognitive metaphysics, which are constructed by life mind and cognitive mind respectively. The former is the projection of the basic characteristics of life. Philosophers project their understanding and grasp of the fundamental characteristics of the heart (or life) onto the highest metaphysical concept, and then use it to define and settle the heart. The latter is the projection of the basic characteristics of the objective world. The fundamental characteristics of the objective world are first projected to know the truth, and then projected from the cognitive mind to the highest metaphysical concept.

Because philosophers have different understandings of the fundamental characteristics of life and the fundamental characteristics of the objective world, various life metaphysics and cognitive metaphysics have been formed. Huang Lizhou said: "The heart has no noumenon, but it comes to its noumenon." [6] Here, I want to follow his words: existence (the most common existence) has no ontology, and when the time comes, it is its ontology. Since the highest metaphysical concept is the projection of the heart, the ontology of existence is also the ontology of the heart; The difference of "time" determines the difference between mind ontology and existence ontology. "Work" is of course the work of the heart.

Chinese and western traditional metaphysics belong to different types. Western philosophy is a kind of "love for wisdom" from the beginning. The mainstream of western traditional metaphysics after Aristotle is grasped by the theoretical knowledge system of scientific concept, judgment and reasoning, and it is of course a kind of cognitive metaphysics (pre-Socrates philosophy may be different).

China's philosophy is based on the value of life from the beginning, so the mainstream of his traditional metaphysics is life metaphysics. The highest metaphysical categories of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism are heaven, Taoism and truth respectively, and the essence of these categories is goodness, nature and emptiness respectively. In other words, the three parties' understanding of the fundamental characteristics of life is goodness, nature and emptiness respectively. However, the metaphysics of Zhu Cheng School in Neo-Confucianism of Song and Ming Dynasties is a kind of cognitive metaphysics. Although it claims that its highest category "rationality" is universal, it pays more attention to social ethics in practical argumentation, so it is different from western cognitive metaphysics.

Since the function of life heart is to realize itself, it is both subject and object, and in the final analysis it is the actual carrier of subjectivity. This is the root of the unity of subject and object in China's philosophy. On the contrary, objectification is a remarkable feature of cognitive psychology. It always regards the objective world as the object of understanding; Even for itself, it is to objectify it first and then understand it. In other words, the cognitive mind and the objective world are originally divided into two. On the other hand, as the actual carrier of subjectivity, cognitive mind and life mind are divided into two parts. This leads to the dichotomy of subject and object in western traditional philosophy.

Because China's philosophy was born out of early religion, it inevitably has the characteristics of early religion in China. Just as in primitive religion, man's destiny is endowed by heaven, in China's philosophy, human nature is endowed by the highest metaphysical entities such as heaven and Tao, so it is inherent in man himself. This is also very different from western metaphysics.

It should be pointed out that the western countries' suspicion and negation of traditional metaphysics, especially since modern times, lies in their departure from cognitive metaphysics and their approach to life metaphysics. In this way, it is not surprising that some western philosophers consciously absorb nutrients from China's philosophy.