The Crisis of Historicism and the Correlation Between Nationalism and Neo-Kantian Philosophy of History in the Interwar Period

Recent historiographic studies of cultural exchanges between Germany and Greece in the 19th and 20th centuries have tended to neglect the mutual influence of the two countries＇ intellectuals; as a result, there is insufficient appreciation of the extent to which historiography and philosophy were appropriated by the politics of the Interwar period. This article focuses on attempts by neo-Kantian philosophers to overcome the crisis of historicism, and on the impact of this crisis on Greek intellectuals＇ perceptions of historicism. The study shows that at the time historicism invoked the past to solve the problems of the present. My purpose is to show that in a time of crisis, Germany＇s pursuit of its Greekness in conformity with the Bildung tradition, and Greece＇s cultural dependence on Germany in the meaning-making of its own Greekness, shared common ground in the ideological uses of philosophy and history in the service of politics and the politics of culture. In the aftermath of WWI, German scholars raised the issue of the crisis of historicism. Neo-Kantian philosophers such as Heinrich Rickert, whose theory had a major impact on Greek intellectuals, became involved in this debate, posing the question of historical objectivity. Yet Rickert＇s philosophy of history soon fell into an impasse, leading to the rise of an idealist philosophy of history in the 1930s that committed itself anew to the dominant politics. In the 1930s, under the guise of idealism, Greek neo-Kantian intellectuals were claiming an objective historical narrative of the traumatic experience from 1922 onwards, which fit into the structure of an idealized ahistorical and mythic past, and which, as a hegemonic discourse, excluded its political enemies and propagandized the political struggle towards the fulfillment of the nation＇s historical and spiritual mission.

The Possibility of Returning to Experience:The Essence of Philosophical History in Chinese Philosophy and Its Reflection

The Chinese construction of the science of philosophy takes as its basic form the narrative of the history of philosophy.The introduction into Chinese philosophy of the normative character of philosophy and its problem framework via the narrative of the history of philosophy has to some extent enabled the practice of philosophy to remain separate from the norms and methods of traditional Chinese thought.Philosophical norms and problem frameworks from the West have changed the happenings of the historical world towards the eternal Dao of the classical world into intellectual texts,and have transformed the situationbased expressive strategy that develops the principles of things in the world of concrete experience into concepts and categories.As a consequence of these two positions,the ground of Chinese philosophy,based as it is on the history of philosophy,may not only be separated from the everlasting world of experience of the classics,but may also be divorced from the present experience of the modernization process.If we start from an analysis of the historicity of the Chinese intellectual tradition and its classical character,Chinese philosophy has obtained the possibility of returning to experience by means of parsing jishi yanli,a way of thinking that uses the investigation of things to fathom principles.The pathway of integrating philosophical thinking and experience will enhance and stimulate the contemporary value of the classics.More importantly,regarding the unique methods and strategies of expression in traditional Chinese thought as a general philosophical approach can facilitate the promotion of the construction of a world philosophy oriented toward currentexperience.

Gnomon shadow lengths recorded in the Zhoubi Suanjing:the earliest meridian observations in China?

The Zhoubi Suanjing, one of the most important ancient Chinese books on mathematical astronomy, was compiled about 100 BC in the Western Han dynasty （BC 206 - AD 23）. We study the gnomon shadow lengths for the 24 solar terms as recorded in the book. Special attention is paid to the so-called law of ‘cun qian li’, which says the shadow length of a gnomon of 8 chi （about 1.96 m） high will increase （or decrease） 1 cun （1/10chi） for every 10001i （roughly 400kin） the gnomon moves northward （or south- ward）. From these data, one can derive the time and location of the observations. The resuits, however, do not fit historical facts. We suggest that compilers of the Zhoubi Suanjing must have modified the original data according to the law of ‘cun qian li’. Through reversing the situation, we recovered the original data, our analysis of which reveals the best possible observation time as 564 BC and the location of observation as 35.78° N latitude. We conclude that this must be the earliest records of solar meridian observations in China. In the meantime, we give the errors of solar altitudes for the 24 solar terms. The average deviation is 5.22°, and the mean absolute deviation is 5.52°, signifying the accuracy of astronomical calculations from that time.

An earlier explosion date for the Crab Nebula supernova

The Chinese first reported the Crab Nebula supernova on 1054 July 5. Ecclesiastical documents from the near east reported it in April and May of 1054. More than 33 petroglyphs made by Native Americans in the US and Mexico are consistent with sightings both before and after conjunction with the Sun on 1054 May 27. We found a petroglyph showing the new star close to Venus and the Moon, which occurred on 1054 April 12 and April 13, respectively. Collins et al., using the four historical dates, derived a light curve that is like that of a Type Ia supernova. The only remaining problem with this identification is that this supernova was near maximum light for 85 d, which is unlike the behavior of any known supernova.

The Study of Western Postmodern Philosophy of History in China in the Four Decades of Reform and Opening Up

In the 1960s and 1970s-as strncturalism, post-structuralism, and literary criticism seeped into history--the ＂linguistic turn＂ or ＂narrative turn,＂ leading to what is known as postmodem philosophy of history, took place in Western philosophy of history. In the past forty years of reform and opening up to the outside world, and especially in the most recent two or three decades, Chinese research on Western postmodem philosophy of history has proceeded from overall review to in-depth research, and then on to reflection, criticism, and even transcendence. Neither the rethinking of historical objectivity and rationality nor the reconstruction of convictions about historical reason can work without the profound insights or theoretical tensions of postmodern philosophy of history.

Walter Benjamin： A New Positive Concept of Destruction

The author＇s proposal is to show how an apparently marginal text by Walter Benjamin, ＂The Destructive Character＂, can be taken as a hermeneutic model for understanding the connection of Benjamin＇s with history and tradition and for characterizing his thought as philosophy of threshold. It is the author＇s intention to show how the destructive character, on the threshold between destruction and construction, succeeds in remaining in that transition area that announces a change, showing its creative and conservative features; thus it appears as a figure of coexistence between stillness and movement, passage and interruption, and past and future. What the author wants to point out is that, in the description of this figure, Benjamin is driven by a cognitive demand, which tends to focalize the process of destruction itself rather than the result of the destruction process. The space in which the destructive character is acting is the space of the possibility of change and emancipation, and the space where it is possible to keep together past and future, and memory and redemption. Starting from these reflections, an important question arises about the problem of the relation between history and tradition, and culture and its memory： Neither the destruction of memory by a culture nor its canonization is meaningful. The concept of destructive character then represents a preferential point of observation for analyzing the articulations of Benjamin＇s thought. From this perspective, a decisive point of Benjamin＇s reflection seems to emerge on one side, strengthened in the permeation of Hebraic ancestors between destruction and salvation; on the other side, some of the concepts and images of the Berliner philosopher seem to show up in a new light.

Analysis of interval constants in calendars affiliated with the Shoushili

We study interval constants that are related to motions of the Sun and Moon, i.e., the Qi, Intercalation, Revolution and Crossing interval, in calendars affiliated with the Shoushi calendar （Shoushili）, such as Datongli and Chiljeongsannaepyeon. It is known that these interval constants were newly introduced in the Shoushili calendar and revised afterward, except for the Qi interval constant, and the revised values were adopted in later calendars affiliated with the Shoushili. We first investigate the accu- racy of these interval constants and then the accuracy of calendars affiliated with the Shoushili in terms of these constants by comparing times for the new moon and the maximum solar eclipse calculated by each calendar with modem methods of calcula- tion. During our study, we found that the Qi and Intercalation interval constants used in the early Shoushili were well determined, whereas the Revolution and Crossing interval constants were relatively poorly measured. We also found that the interval constants used by the early Shoushili were better than those of the later one, and hence better than those of Datongli and Chiljeongsannaepyeon. On the other hand, we found that the early Shoushili is, in general, a worse calendar than Datongli for use in China but a better one than Chiljeongsannaepyeon for use in Korea in terms of times for the new moon and when a solar eclipse occurs, at least for the period 1281 - 1644. Finally, we verified that the times for sunrise and sunset in the Shoushili-Li-Cheng and Mingshi are those at Beijing and Nanjing, respectively.

SPECIAL ISSUE： DIALOGUE, INTERACTION AND NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN PHILOSOPHY IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA- SPECIALIST FORUM ON CHINESE, WESTERN AND MARXIST PHILOSOPHIES：The current situation, problems and tasks before Chinese philosophy

The development of philosophy in contemporary China requires correct understanding and solving prominent practical problems in China＇s process of social development, providing proper rational thinking, value ideal and life orientation for the Chinese, and playing its role of guiding, regulating and promoting social progress. To achieve the goal, philosophy needs to shift from ＂system consciousness＂ to ＂problem consciousness,＂ so as to fulfill a paradigm transformation; to shift from ＂local horizon＂ to ＂world horizon,＂ so as to expand the horizon of our philosophy; and to shift from the tripartite division of Chinese, Western and Marxist philosophies to a ＂common horizon＂ for the three, so as to gradually establish the concept of ＂macro-philosophy.＂

Creatively Advance Chinese Research on Marx＇s Philosophy： In Commemoration of the Thirtieth Anniversary ofZhongguo Shehui Kexue

This article combines with the author＇s academic experience, especially the papers he has published in Zhongguo Shehui Kexue （中国社会科学） in recent years, to discuss the extremely important role of the journal in creatively advancing the study of Marx＇s philosophy. This progress is mainly evident in three respects： a new understanding of the essence of Marx＇s philosophy; a new exploration of its historical development; and new reflections on its origins.

Research strategies in click chemistry: Measuring its cognitive contents and knowledge flow

The issue about how outstanding scientists obtained innovative findings has drawn the interest of researchers in science, policy and scientometrics. Here, we attempt to address this question by using computational methods to measure the cognitive content and concepts of K. Barry Sharpless’ research and estimate the knowledge flow of his click chemistry to other fields. First, we traced Sharpless’ conceptual journey over time through topic modeling approach, mapping and clustering of the epistemic network from distant reading his publications. We find that connectivity and functions, the core features of click chemistry, are embodied in his constant search for simplicity. What makes simplicity possible is his continuous work with collaborators on reactivity and reaction mechanisms. Moreover, citation and link analysis show that click chemistry had a much richer impact on other research fields than what is generally acknowledged, and drew solutions to significant and practical questions back to chemistry from biology.Together with these findings, we propose that the click chemistry philosophy follows the way that values nature’s principle. Chemistry has a clear-cut epistemic domain in modeling Nature. Thus, click chemistry as a concept on doing science beyond a connective technology goes across the boundaries between disciplines and impacts many other fields.

Why Talk about Chinese Metaphysics？

Chinese philosophy in the twentieth century has often been related to some sort of cultural or other particularism or some sort of philosophical universalism. By and large, these still seem to be the terms along which academic debates are carried out. The tension is particularly manifest in notions such as ＂Chinese philosophy＂ ＂Daoist cosmology,＂ ＂Neo-Confucian idealism,＂ or ＂Chinese metaphysics.＂ For some, ＂Chinese metaphysics＂ may be a blatant contradictio in adiecto, while others may find it a most ordinary topic to be discussed at the beginning of the twenty-first century. In this article, I set out to examine two major discourses in which talk about ＂metaphysics＂ is frequent and popular and to which talk of ＂Chinese metaphysics＂ may wish to contribute： the history of philosophy and analytic philosophy. My contention is that it is usually far from obvious what reasons are behind putting ＂Chinese metaphysics＂ on the academic agenda and to what precise purpose this is done. What my discussion seeks to highlight is the as yet often largely unarticulated dimension of the politics of comparative philosophy--of which talk about ＂Chinese metaphysics＂ may but need not be an example.

A Twofold Perspective on Research on Marx and Engels' Classic Texts

Study of the classic texts of Marx and Engels should employ two perspectives： Marxist philosophical history and Marxist philosophical principles. The two cannot be separated, still less contradictory. In dealing creatively with these classic works, we must firmly uphold the methodology of historical materialism, read them in accordance with the authors＇ original intentions and approach them creatively. We need to oppose research styles that place undue emphasis on the researcher＇s own interpretations and constructions. Research on Marxist philosophy should develop on the basis of respect, study and correct understanding of Marx and Engels＇ classic works; different readings of these texts must not be allowed to construct a pluralist Marxism. This is of great importance for consolidating the leading position of Marxism in the sphere of ideology.

Marx＇s Four Expositions of His Theory of Social Formation and Their Historico-philosophic Significance

An examination of Marx＇s exposition of the evolution of social formations on four occasions shows that the core content of his social formation theory consists in its affirmation of both the universality of the law of the development of social formations from lower to higher stages in different nations and the diversity of their developmental paths. The theoretical assumptions he put forward in the late 19th century about the possibility of late- developing modernizers being able to establish a socialist society without passing through the stage of capitalism represent a major development of his theory of social formations. The theory of the primary stage of socialism and the theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics advanced by the Chinese Communists are the latest development of Marx＇s theory of social formations.