Philosophical Defense of Culture

Shuchen Xiang is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies and the Institute of Foreign Philosophy at Peking University, China.

• AcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroduction1. Humanism and Language: Cassirer and the Xici (系辞)2. Li Xiang Yi Jin Yi (立象以尽意): Giving (Symbolic) Form to Phenomena3. Shi Yan Zhi (诗言志): Giving (Poetic) Form to Qing (情)4. Wen Yi Zai Dao (文以载道): Giving (Linguistic) Form to Dao5. Zhi You Wen Ye (质犹文也): Giving (Human) Form to the Self6. Wu Yi Wu Wen (物一无文): Organic HarmonyConclusionAppendix 1: Definitions of WenAppendix 2: A Brief History of WenAppendix 3: Partial Translation of Song Lian's "The Origins of Wen" (Wenyuan文原)GlossaryNotesWorks CitedIndex

"…this original book has inspired us to reflect fruitfully on a wide range of important issues in the methodology of comparative philosophy as well as philosophy of culture. Any attempt to develop a successful defense of culture in the future should definitely start with this book as a point of departure." — Dao"…an appealing and practical entry into the world of current comparative philosophical inquiries that can benefit as much the students of Chinese religions and moral philosophies as the researchers of general culture and value theory." — Religious Studies Review"…[a] groundbreaking work … There is much to applaud in this book. First, the author particularly singles out wen as a central thread in Chinese cultural consciousness and bases her case on an extensive study of pre-Qin, classic texts. Second, she shows exceptional ability in connecting Cassirer's and, more broadly, German idealists' philosophical insights to classic Chinese texts, thereby pointing to new possibilities of doing comparative philosophy." — Journal of Asian Studies"…A Philosophical Defense of Culture remains a profound book … [it] raises a fundamental question about how we look at the world and conduct our life if we accept that we are symbolic animals. This is a question that both the Chinese thinkers and Cassirer raise, and this question is significant if we view the world as both empirically real and symbolically represented. Regardless of whether we fully accept the Cassirer question, it is clear that A Philosophical Defense of Culture pushes us to think more deeply about the role of symbols in our life and in our globalized world." — Journal of Chinese Studies