The New (Pollution) Philosophy

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  Anywhere, China
Thursday, August 4, 2005

Study the past if you would devine the future
~Confucius

Over the last decade, ever since I took a course on the Modernization of China and Japan, I have been thinking about the future of China in the world and watching Chinese kung-fu movies. On this trip, I have been studying Chinese philosophy, exploring temples, reading the news, talking to people--basically trying to figure out what makes China tick (and watching Chinese kung-fu movies). This has been an important part of this journey, although I still do not have any concrete answers nor do I expect to have any in the near future. As many of you have pointed out, a journey is not just one of visiting places, but also looking deeper within and without.

So here's a little thought on China that I'll dedicate to my philosopher uncle, Victor

01 Demolish The Old

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Back in the 1800s, the United States and Europe were in the midst of the Industrial Revolution. Railroads criss-crossed countries, industries pumped out products, people migrated to the cities for work, the sciences and inventions flourished, wars were common. At the same time, fish turned belly-up in rivers, pollution clouded city-scapes, people suffered from poor working conditions; "The Invisible Hand" of capitalism waved across the lands.

At the same time, Thoreau contemplated these changes at the edge of Walden Pond, watching loons swim under his canoe and ant colonies battling one another.

Setting the stage for the Industrial Revolution, Western inventors "discovered" electricity, built engines, and found more ways to turn nature into something useful. Agriculture and art flourished. Populations expanded. The New World in the Americas flourished. Colonies and trade spread throughout the world.

In China, the Industrial Revolution did not occur; it was a Western concept. Nevertheless, agriculture flourished, populations expanded, banking and accounting developed, and inventors put their ingenuity to good use

02 Build The New

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Economically speaking, China and the West were equals at this time. Once the Industrial Revolution began in the West, however, China lagged behind.

The reason for these differences, I believe, were the predominant philosophies between East and West that can be summed up as "rational" versus "intuitive", or as Fung Yu-Lan, a Philosophical historian and Neo-Confucianist, would say: the philosophies of art versus those of nature. These formed the foundation of how people, governments, the environment, and the Truth related to one another in both East and West.

Throughout history, rational and intuitive philosophies have occurred in both West and East as seen in the Transcendentalists, the Romantics, and the Nihilists of the West and the Mohists and Legalists of the East. This touches upon the Universal Nature of Thought: as humans we are diverse people and develop thoughts, each of which represents some aspect of Truth in the world. But the "truth" is subjective, and certain philosophies were more accepted in the East and other philosophies dominated in the West.

03 Air Pollution

The predominant Western thought had developed around rational thought and science: "I think therefore I am." Philosophers discussed the state of being, thinking, subduing nature, logic, explaining the existence of God and man in his image, the subject (I) versus the object (not I). Scientists had formed the basis for the scientific method, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and more. Religion focused on the existence of God, the presence of heaven, the sin of man, and the "one path to heaven."

With these philosophies, the sciences, and Christianity, the Western view was one of subduing nature, building wealth, progress, and expansion--of economic systems, of religion, of political systems. The West spread to the New World, colonized other nations, expanded their power, subdued nature, and taught their religion throughout the world. This and the competition it instilled between warring nations fueled the modernization of the West.

Predominant Chinese thought, on the other hand, had developed around intuition, with three main schools of though prevailing: Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. The Confucian school of thought, associated with flourishing dynasties, however, influenced Chinese society the most

04 Water Pollution

. Human-heartedness, filial piety, service to society, the philosopher king, and the "extension of knowledge" were important aspects of Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism. To a Confucian, desire was not considered evil; it was the selfishness behind desire that was considered evil. Thus, there was no desire in the Chinese mind to expand, to progress, to conquer, to prostletize: "what is the use of science, if intellectual certainty and the power to conquer the external world are not included in the idea of good?" said Fung Yu-Lan.

Taoism and Buddhism had also developed around intuition, with nature as a key aspect. Taoism emphasized spontaneity, naturalness, the individual, and a government led by a sage king that does nothing. To a Taoist, continues Fung Yu-Lan, "external goods seem to be something that can only bring confusion to man's mind." What was important instead was enlightenment of the self. Likewise, practitioners of Buddhism and Chanism (Zen) sought enlightenment through "quiescence": knowledge that is not-knowledge. Not-knowledge is a concept somewhat foreign to Westerners and one that does not fit with the philosophies underlying the current World Order.

Now, as China modernizes, the three main philosophies are being torn to shreds: unlike Western philosophy, which formed the backbone of modernization, they simply do not fit the model of modernization. Farmers are no longer revered, as they once were. Now, peasants are revolting in the countryside and the Chinese government has issued an edict that any inner disturbances (i.e. revolts) will not be tolerated. Filial piety is no longer the glorious virtue it once was. Now, people leave their families to pursue their careers and acquire material possessions

Mao During the Cultural Revolution

. The not-knowledge is no longer the path to enlightenment and nirvana: "how can not-knowledge get you anywhere?" Materialism and modernism is filling the philosophical vacuum.

Chinese philosophies, however, are still imbedded in their culture and flourish in many places; the modernization is mainly concentrated along the coast, supported by resource extraction inland.

Also, Chinese thought and philosophies (and Eastern philosophies in general) have and are becoming a more important part of Western culture. Tai Chi, Kung-fu, the civil service system, aspects of transcendentalism and other newer American philosophies and movements. People in the West, I think, now realize that spiritual and mental clarity, intuition, and Chinese wisdom are important to their well-being.

Just like the soybeans, corn, tomatoes, chili pepper, tea, and silk that exchanged hands between East and West, so too are Eastern and Western philosophies blending. In China, they are adopting Western concepts of modernization, logic, and rationality. In the West, they are adopting Eastern thoughts of inner balance and meaning.

Because of this relatively recent interaction with the Western civilized world, many Chinese "feel that there is a repetition of history" (Fung Yu-Lan). This repetition of history, if correct, will lead to either the "one love, one world" of Bob Marley or the new global economic order of G.H.W.B, or perhaps something incorporating a little of both...and more.

Back during the Warring States period, China was composed of many smaller states, each of which fought each other. Soon the states created alliances, then, quite naturally, larger battles occurred. In 221 B.C., the Chin state, which had the largest agricultural base, most advanced government, and a technologically superior military finally conquered the other states, establishing the first Chinese Empire. This is captured dramatically in the Chinese movie "Hero" and is also testament to Paul Kennedy's theories of international politics. After unification, eventually came a progressive peace, when the states coalesced. Finally a great peace occurred when all of China was united in a harmonious whole, idealistically speaking. This was the third stage of civilization for China, or the Middle Kingdom, which Chinese then saw as the entire civilized world (others were "barbarians"). Such unity is just barely beginning to occur in Europe, where competition between warring states has been a large driving force behind their economic development but has slowed a feeling of inner peace and unity.

Therefore, throughout the modern world, larger and larger alliances are building: The E.U., NAFTA, NATO, SEATO, and more. Competition between states is both military and economic and at a global scale. Competition between multinational corporations is also a recent and important global trend. Can this large-scale competitive world order lead to world unity and create a third stage of civilization? What role with China and Chinese philosophy play in this new world? Will Eastern philosophies be needed in order to balance the defects of modernization: complacent consumerism, unchecked wealth and power, environmental destruction, homogenization of culture? Or will the Chinese government continue to press for modernization, with a modicum of thought to environmental and social concerns? How will the Western concepts of democracy and liberty affect China? How will Chinese (and Platonic) concepts of a "philosopher king" serving the people affect the West.

Will China be right or wrong in its prophesies?

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