Abstract
From the perspective of world philosophy, one phenomenon of the 20th century is quite intriguing. Certain philosophers in China as well as in the West, finding the traditional conception of epistemology too narrow-minded, argued that its scope should be expanded. The Chinese way of expanding epistemology might be called the metaphysical approach, and the Western way the practical approach. In this article, I will first give an outline of both approaches and then try to demonstrate that a substantial dialogue can be created between them. By focusing on the problem of the articulation of what we know, I will make the metaphysical approach and the practical approach engage each other and thus prove to be mutually complementary.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aristotle. 1941. Metaphysics. Translated by W. D. Ross. In The Basic Works of Aristotle. Ed. by Richard McKeon. New York: Random House.
_____. 1955. Nichomachian Ethics, translated by J. A. K. Thomson. London: Penguin Books.
Carnap, Rudolf. 1981. “Logical Foundations of the Unity of Science.” In Essential Readings in Logical Positivism. Ed. by Oswald Hanfling. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Chan, Wing-tsit. 1963. A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Cheng, Chung-Ying, and Nicholas Bunnin, eds. 2002. Contemporary Chinese Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell.
Dewey, John. 1930. Human Nature and Conduct. The Modern Library Edition. New York: The Random House.
Feng, Qi 馮契. 1996a. Collected Works of F eng Qi 馮契文集. Vol.1. Shanghai 上海: East China Normal University Press 華東師範大學出版社.
_____. 1996b. Collected Works of F eng Qi 馮契文集. Vol.2. Shanghai上海: East China Normal University Press 華東師範大學出版社.
_____. 1997. Collected Works of F eng Qi 馮契文集. Vol.4. Shanghai上海: East China Normal University Press 華東師範大學出版社.
Grimen, Harald. 2005. “Tacit Knowledge and the Study of Organization 默會知識與組織研究,” Thought and Culture 思想與文化 5: 63-110. Shanghai 上海: East China Normal University Press 華東師範大學出版社.
Habermas, Jürgen. 1992. Postmetaphysical Thinking. Translated by William Mark Hohengarten. Cambridge: Polity Press.
______. 2004. “Theory and Praxis Revisited 再論理論與實踐” (a lecture given at East China Normal University, Shanghai, 2001). Translated by Xue Wei et. al. In Lectures by Liwa River 麗娃河畔論思想. Ed. by Xu Jilin 許紀霖 and Liu Qing 劉擎, Shanghai 上海: East China Normal University Press 華東師範大學出版社.
Hu, Jun. 2002. “Jin Yuelin’s Theory of Dao.” In Contemporary Chinese Philosophy. Ed. by Cheng Chung-Ying and Nicholas Bunnin. Oxford: Blackwell.
Huang, Yong. 2002. “Feng Qi’s Ameliorism: Between Relativism and Absolutism.” In Contemporary Chinese Philosophy. Ed. by Cheng Chung-Ying and Nicholas Bunnin. Oxford: Blackwell.
Jin, Yuelin 金嶽霖. 1983. A Theory of Knowledge 知識論. Beijing 北京: The Commercial Press 商務印書館.
_____. 1987. On Dao 論道. Beijing 北京: The Commercial Press 商務印書館.
_____. 1991. Selected Works of J in Yuelin 金嶽霖學術論文選. Beijing北京: Chinese Social Science Publishing House 中國社會科學出版社.
Johannessen, Kjell S. 1988. “The Concept of Practice in Wittgenstein’s Later Philosophy.” Inquiry 31.3: 357-369.
_____. 1990. “Rule Following, Intransitive Understanding, and Tacit Knowledge.” In Essays in Pragmatic Philosophy, II. Ed. by Helga Høibraaten. Oslo: Norwegian University Press.
_____. 1996. “Action Research and Epistemology.” Concepts and Transformation 1.2/3: 281-297.
_____. 2006. “Knowledge and Reflective Practice.” In Dialogue, Skill and Tacit Knowledge. Ed. by Bo Göranzon, Maria Hammarén and Richard Ennals. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Li, Weiwu 李維武. 1991. Ontological Issues in 20th Century Chinese Philosophy 二十世紀中國哲學本體論問題. Changsha 長沙: Hunan Educational Press 湖南教育出版社.
MacDowell, John. 1996. Mind and World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Malcolm, Norman. 1958. Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Memoir. London: Oxford University Press.
Ni, Liangkang 倪梁康. 2001. “The Basic Meanings of Kant’s Concept of Intellectual Intuition 康德'智性直觀’概念的基本含義.” Philosophical Researches 哲學研究 10:49-65.
_____. 2002. “The Fate of the Concept of Intellectual Intuition in Eastern and Western Thoughts ‘智性直觀’在東西方思想中的命運.” The Front of the Social Sciences 社會科學戰線 1: 42-49; 2: 46-54.
Oakeshott, Michael. 1991. Rationalism in Politics and Other Essays (new and expanded edition). Indianapolis: Liberty Fund.
Polanyi, Michael. 1958. Personal Knowledge. London: Routledge.
_____. 1959. The Study of Man. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
_____. 1969. Knowing and Being. London: Routledge.
Ryle, Gilbert. 1946. “Knowing how and Knowing that.” Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 46: 1-16.
_____. 1949. The Concept of Mind. New York: Barnes & Noble.
Skirbekk, Gunnar. 1994. “Wittgensteinian Influence in Norwegian Philosophy.” In Wittgenstein and Norway. Ed. by Kjell S. Johannessen, Rolf Larsen and Knut Olav Ǻmås. Oslo: Solum Forlag.
von Wright, G. H. 1982. Wittgenstein. Oxford: Blackwell.
Wittgenstein. 1953. Philosophical Investigations. Translated by G.E.M. Anscombe. Oxford: Blackwell.
Yang, Guorong 楊國榮. 1999. The Metaphysical Dimension of Science: The Emergence and the Development of Scientism in Modern China 科學的形上之維:中國近代科學主義的形成與衍化. Shanghai 上海: Shanghai People’s Publishing House 上海人民出版社.
_____. 2002. “Transforming Knowledge into Wisdom: A Contemporary Chinese Philosopher’s Investigation.” Philosophy East and West 52.4: 65-92.
Yu, Zhenhua 郁振華. 2000. How is Metaphysical Wisdom Possible?: A Study of Modern Chinese Philosophy 形上的智慧如何可能. Shanghai 上海: East China Normal University Press 華東師範大學出版社.
_____. 2007. “Two Ways of Expanding Epistemology 擴展認識論的兩條進路” Journal of East China Normal University 華東師範大學學報 39.2:1-8.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yu, Z. The Expansion of Epistemology: The Metaphysical vs. the Practical Approach. Dao 11, 83–100 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-011-9259-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-011-9259-5