Philosophy academics gathered at the International Forum for the Chairs of Departments of Philosophy held at Renmin University of China (RUC), Thursday, to share their views on how contemporary philosophy should respond to the fast-changing world.
Philosophy academics from China, US, UK, Germany and France take a group photo at the International Forum for the Chairs of Departments of Philosophy in Beijing Thursday. [Photo by Liu Qiang / China.org.cn]
The forum’s topic is “Philosophy in the Contemporary World: Tradition and Innovation.” Over 20 philosophy professors from well-known universities including Princeton University, University of Toronto, Oxford University and King’s College London attended the forum.
Pondering on the relationship between tradition and innovation in philosophical studies, the philosophy academics tried to find ways in which ancient philosophers’ ideas can contribute to contemporary debates.
“All peoples, both in the west and the east, are faced with great changes not only in economics and technology, but also in all dimensions of life. How should we as philosophers respond to these changes? How should we strike a balance between the traditional ways of doing philosophy and the innovations in teaching and research as a dean?” said Yao Xinzhong, professor of ethics and dean of the School of Philosophy, RUC, in his opening speech.
For Yao, these questions are “universal.”
There have been debates and divisions among classical philosophers regarding the proper scope for the connection between ancient philosophical wisdom, such as Confucianism and Taoism, and contemporary philosophy.
John M. Cooper, a philosophy professor from Princeton University, called for a look at ancient philosophy from a “historical” perspective.
“Ancient philosophers inherited the tradition of philosophy from their predecessors, and in the light of their current cultural situations, reworked it for the use of thinkers and other educated people of their own times,” said Cooper.
On this understanding, Cooper argued, contemporary philosophers should explore “in what ways our current philosophical theories depart from those of the ancient tradition” and evaluate “the steps by which the old perspectives were gradually transformed into what we now presuppose.”
Philosophers at the forum stressed the importance of philosophy in an age of science and technology as philosophy gives people wisdom and can do what science cannot do.
The forum was held as part of a series of events to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the School of Philosophy of the RUC.
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