Mutual Learning and Respect between Chinese and Western Civilizations from the Perspective of Harmony and Difference
Due to their natural geographical environment,historical traditions and stages of development,different countries have nurtured different cultures and varied ideologies or views of civilization,in which the diversity of civilization lies.Particularities are attributes in the ontological sense,while universality as an abstraction of commonality exists in the conceptual form.Chinese culture especially emphasizes the principle of"harmony in diversity"among civilizations,whereas the western monotheistic tradition takes a negative attitude towards diversity.However,they are not mutually exclusive.On the contrary,they can and must gain the mutual understanding and learning.For instance,Leibniz's theory of predetermined harmony is based on the understanding of differences and continuity between things,which can help the West find a point of convergence with the Chinese view of civilization—"harmony in diversity".In the context of"harmony in diversity",keeping diversity should not only be treated as respected reality,but also be understood as the positive and generative meaning,i.e.,to promote the harmony of the human community.This paper argues that the West should draw wisdom from Leibniz's philosophy and take the path of mutual learning which respects differences of civilizations.
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