The Spirit of Chinese Philosophy Let us begin with certain underlying principles which serve to distinguish Chinese from Western philosophy. In the first place, whereas Western philosophy is associated with science and religion, Chinese is closer to ethics, politics, literature and the arts. This is because the ideal of knowledge for its own sake is not stressed in China, where knowledge is desired mainly as a means to applied and noble ends. Science, as Plato and Aristotle said, has roots in wonder, in the desire to know and to understand for the sole sake of knowing and understanding. But the root of Chinese thought lies in the anxiety of the sages to understand the way of nature and know the needs of the people (see The I Ching , appendix III, ch. I, 72). This is not a scientific but a practical spirit, which emphasizes the moral quality of man rather than his intellectual capacities. Hence, Chinese philosophy has from the outset failed to lay the foundations for science. It is conceivable that China, with her early development of culture and her noteworthy inventions in industry, might have developed the sciences more extensively and fruitfully than she has. But this practical and ethical way of thinking has been the big obstacle to such development. Taoist mysticism is the only exception here. Taoist alchemy, in its pursuit of the philosopher's tone and the elixir of life, was the source of pseudo-chemistry; and Taoist "Yoga", with its emphasis on meditation and breathing exercises, teaches how to alleviate disease and prolong life. Also Taoist mysticism generally has the spirit of science, but its teaching have never been explored very much from this standpoint. | |
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