中国思想的哲学研究

A Philosophical Study on Chinese Thought

对于"是否存在中国哲学"这一问题,我们需要考察提出这样一个问题意味着什么,并且认为可以通过转而提问"对中国思想进行哲学研究是否可能"来抓住问题的真正要点。以当代英美哲学与儒家伦理学为例,试图阐明对中国思想进行哲学研究究竟意味着什么。对中国思想的哲学研究是完全可能的。这意味着对于"是否存在中国哲学"这个问题的回答是肯定的,但这并不等于说过去的中国思想家们也进行了一种可称之为"哲学"的智力活动。相反,这表明,我们可以从中国思想家的洞见得到启发,同时以当代哲学思维的模式去探索一些当代哲学家和古代中国思想家都共同关心的问题。

Instead of directly addressing the question whether there is such a thing as Chinese philosophy, this paper starts by considering the point of raising such a question, and proposes that the point can be captured by a different question about whether the philosophical study of Chinese thought is possible. It elaborates on what it is to engage in the philosophical study of Chinese thought, using the study of Confucian ethics in relation to contemporary Anglo-American philosophy as an example. It argues that the philosophical study of Chinese thought is indeed possible. This can be taken to imply an affirmative answer to the ques-tion whether there is such a thing as Chinese philosophy, but not in the sense that Chinese thinkers of the past engage in an activ-ity that can be described as ＂philosophy＂. Instead, it means that we ourselves can engage in an intellectual activity that is akin to philosophy as it is practiced nowadays, in relation to a subject matter that engages the interest of both contemporary philoso-phers and past Chinese thinkers, and approach the subject matter in a way that is guided primarily by the insights of past Chinese thinkers on the subject.