Differences between Chinese and Western Philosophy

Western philosophical thought has emphasized dichotomy since ancient Greece. It centers on the individual, with reason and struggle as its main expressions. Ancient Chinese philosophy, on the other hand, emphasized the perfection of heaven and man. With the collective, society and family as the core. Emphasizing wholeness and **** integration and harmony. With the accelerated globalization of today's society, the touching of Eastern and Western philosophical thought is becoming more and more intense, and its manifestation is also in every aspect. The unity of heaven and man is one of the fundamental views of ancient Chinese philosophy, in which heaven, earth and man are corresponding in nature. The I Ching emphasizes the three talents, namely, "heaven, earth and man", in which man is placed at the center, indicating the importance of man. The Way of Heaven is to "begin all things", the Way of Earth is to "give birth to all things", and the Way of Man is to "become all things". Therefore, Heaven, Earth, and Man each have their own way, but they are also interconnected with each other. The way of heaven and earth is to generate, and the way of man is to realize. The "unity of heaven and man" is the inductive relationship between heaven and man. This is the most basic way of thinking of the Chinese, and all other ways of thinking are derived from this system. The thinking system of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism is also inseparable from the unity of heaven and man. Confucianism believes that heaven is the concept of morality, and that man seeks his own morality through cultivation. The Zen school of Buddhism believes that human nature is Buddha nature, desire is not real, that is, "color is emptiness and emptiness is color," "Bodhi is not a tree and the mirror is not a platform, there is no such thing as dust," from a certain point of view, and Taoism's "let nature take its course. In a way, it is similar to the Taoist principle of "letting nature take its course". Taoism believes that heaven is nature and man is a part of nature. Therefore, "heaven and man are one", but because of so many rules and regulations, man is separated from nature and becomes detached from nature. Therefore, in order to achieve the unity of heaven and man, it is necessary to abandon all those rules and regulations, release all of one's human nature, and fully integrate into nature. Reach the realm of unity with all things in the world. Chinese philosophy in general lacks cognitive interest in things and religious beliefs, and emphasizes the intuitive wisdom of human beings about things and their nature. Therefore, Chinese philosophy is more about the wisdom of life than the exploration of the microcosm. Chinese philosophy has a deep sense of humanity and a transcendence of reality. The root of transcendence is also from the heart, and it is transcendence from the heart, not transcendence based on a specific thing. Therefore, while pursuing inner transcendence, Chinese philosophy does not need external charity, nor does it need to be detached from the reality of society. For example, if people want to talk about the kingdom of heaven, that kingdom is in their hearts, not in another world.

Western philosophy began with the proposition that water is the source of all things. This proposition is correct or not we do not need to go into the depths, but at the same time raised another question "what is the composition of all things" Since then, the direction of the Western philosophical inquiry is the microcosm. Since then, the direction of inquiry in Western philosophy has been the microcosmic world, which has influenced their habit of perceiving things from the microcosmic to the holistic. Western philosophy in the Middle Ages became religion and philosophy. Philosophy at that time served Christianity and thus entrenched many scientific errors, Bruno's martyrdom for the sake of science being a very small example. But the pursuit of the microscopic world, along with the study of philosophy, allowed natural sciences such as physics to develop in the long run. After the Renaissance, skepticism of religion became more frequent. More attention was paid to reality, opposing authoritarianism and centralized power, and demanding liberation and freedom of thought. Philosophy, after this, was more rational, logical and axiomatic. Challenging atheism and other beliefs through a dualism that incorporates a view of matter. From the 19th century onwards, philosophy faced more problems, including social, political, economic, scientific, logical and so on. It made philosophy diversified.

In short, Western philosophy has focused on the exploration of the world and human beings from the beginning of Greek philosophy, and although it was controlled by Christian theology halfway through, Christianity itself was influenced by Western philosophy, so that the philosophy in it did not lose its democratic and scientific nature. Chinese philosophy, on the other hand, emphasized human cultivation from the very beginning, and practiced more from within. Therefore, Chinese philosophy's understanding of the world also starts from human beings, and the exploration of the world is understood from the perspective of human cultivation.

And then the same: Western and Chinese philosophies, though distinctly different, have a complementary unity as philosophical ideas. From the perspective of Euclidean geometry, the two sides of the plane, the yin and the yang, are indistinguishable. But if the plane is itself fluid, he exhibits the two attributes of yin and yang, so that the flow of opposites becomes consistent again. On the other hand, there are differences and opposites, i.e., yin and yang, in concrete things anything. The harmony in transcendence that Tao manifests in all things is its own eternity, and these ideas are consistent with both Eastern and Western concepts.