China News Service, Beijing, April 8th: Question: Regarding the survival of mankind, dialogue or conflict among civilizations?
——Exclusive interview with Du Weiming, a famous thinker and dean of the Institute for Advanced Humanities at Peking University
Author Xu Guanguan
"Dialogue or conflict among civilizations is a major choice the world is facing. This is not only a choice between cultures, but also a choice related to the survival of mankind." said Du Weiming, dean of the Institute for Advanced Humanities at Peking University.
A few days ago, Du Weiming, who is also a senior fellow at the Asia Center of Harvard University, an academician of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an academician of the International Academy of Philosophy, accepted a video interview from China News Service's "East-West Question" at his residence in Berkeley, California, USA, and discussed dialogue between civilizations, Chinese civilization and China's US relations and other issues were responded to.
Video: [East-West Question] Du Weiming: Dialogue or conflict? What is the path for the future development of civilization?
Source: China News Network
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
Axial Age and Civilization Dialogue
Reporter from China News Service: You have always advocated and actively promoted dialogue among civilizations. In contemporary times, how can we transcend the Axial Age Civilization and launch a new round of dialogue among civilizations?
Du Weiming:
The "Axial Age" was proposed by the German thinker Karl Jaspers, which refers to the period from about 800 BC to 200 BC. He believed that this was a magnificent and crucial era in the development of human civilization, so he used a mechanical term like "axis" to describe it.
During the "Axial Age", there were at least four major civilizations in the world, including Judeo-Christian civilization, Indian civilization, Greek civilization and Chinese Confucian civilization, all of which exerted great influence. Scholars engaged in academic research, especially comparative cultural research, believe that this spirit - an era when major civilizations emerged at the same time, blended with each other, and influenced each other - means the diversity, pluralism and inclusiveness of human civilization, which It is not one-way or neither east nor west, but a special spirit that includes both east and west, north and south.
Recently, Mr. Du Weiming accepted a video interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" from his residence in Kensington, CA, Berkeley, California, USA. Photo by Cui Nan
The concept of the "Axial Age" has given people a multi-directional and very broad philosophical line of thinking, and represents a common vision of the human family. Of course, there are debates, discussions and even conflicts, and on this basis Ability to develop a shared value. I am engaged in Confucian research, and I pay special attention to the role of Confucianism in Chinese culture, which itself is a diverse culture. I also hope to find a way of thinking that can be diverse and open and inclusive of different humanistic values.
China News Service reporter: What do you think is the most important thing in promoting dialogue among different civilizations in the contemporary world? How should we overcome these obstacles?
Du Weiming:
Now everyone is worried that the space for dialogue has been compressed and the possibility of dialogue has been reduced. We generally understand that if the development of human civilization is diverse, even if there are at least four different civilizations from the perspective of axial civilization, then from the perspective of modernization, the future direction of human civilization should be diverse. In other words, in addition to the major civilizations represented by the Axis Civilization, various indigenous civilizations, and even civilizations in other parts of the world, such as those represented in Africa, are the common heritage of mankind, and these heritages require integration and communication.
Technologies such as artificial intelligence have greatly expanded the speed, range, and depth of communication, which has never happened before in human civilization. As the number of communication methods increases, the possibility for everyone to interact with each other and learn from each other becomes greater and greater. Therefore, dialogue between civilizations will inevitably become a broad path for the further development of mankind that cannot be ignored or taken lightly.
In 2014, at the invitation of the Chairman of the Rothschild Foundation, Mr. Tu Weiming gave a lecture on dialogue among civilizations and multiple civilizations at the Royal Academy of Arts in London to celebrate the 90th birthday of Dr. Henry Kissinger. Photo provided by interviewee
At this stage, the clash of civilizations and the dialogue between civilizations are, at least on the surface, a contradictory situation. How to expand the space, breadth, and depth of dialogue and reduce the various obstacles and harms caused by contradictions and conflicts is a major issue that we must pay attention to, whether we are interested in the humanities or not.
On March 15, 2024, the Chinese modern dance poetry drama "Poetry of Dongpo" appeared at the David Kirk Theater of Lincoln Center in New York, USA. Photo by Wang Fan
China News Service reporter: What do you think of the clash of civilizations theory?
Du Weiming:
The theory of clash of civilizations was proposed by Samuel Huntington. The background stems from the idea that has been very influential in the past 50 years, which believes that modernization is not a pluralism, but a unit, unidirectional development, and a staged process. Therefore, the world can be divided into stages of extreme modernity, almost modernity, or moving toward modernity. There is only one way to modernization, which is the "Westernization" that we are all familiar with. In the process of China's modernization, the Westernizers actually had a great influence. For example, Francis Fukuyama once talked about the "end of history" view, believing that after the development of human civilization after World War II and until the rise of Western civilization, especially the American civilization, the world was gradually affected by only one civilizational force, while other civilizations were affected by various interferences.
Huntington proposed the theory of the clash of civilizations in 1993, saying that we should not forget that human beings have civilizations, the possibility of dialogue, and the expectation of dialogue, but the conflict between civilizations is particularly severe. He raised concerns based on the different civilizations and orientations represented by Christianity and Islam. After the Clash of Civilizations was proposed, it had a wide impact and everyone considered it a big problem. I had some interactions with Huntington when I was at Harvard, and he invited me to participate in his seminars on the clash of civilizations. I made it very clear at the time that if there was a risk of a clash of civilizations - not just Christianity and Islam, but conflicts of all kinds - dialogue would become necessary. This view is quite consistent with the basic view put forward by Huntington in his later years. Precisely because conflicts are contradictory and dangerous, a mechanism for dialogue must be developed. Basically, I hope that we can escape from the trap of conflict and civilizational conflict and engage in civilized dialogue based on a mentality of equality, mutual benefit, peace and common prosperity.
Chinese Culture and World Civilization
China News Service reporter: In your opinion, what values should contemporary China focus on exploring China’s excellent traditional culture?
Du Weiming:
Chinese culture is an open and learning civilization. Based on this, we learn from different civilizations. It is not a civilization that faces external conflicts or aggression, but an inclusive civilization. From the perspective of Chinese culture, we must expand our vision through various channels, expand our understanding of nature and the humanistic world, and then gradually integrate with each other through peaceful coexistence, and on this basis we have developed. Therefore, the Chinese nation has had a very profound background since ancient times, which is integration. It is a civilization of learning, and it is also a civilization of integration. Therefore, it is also a dialogue, a civilization that can learn from each other and develop each other through dialogue.
Mr. Du Weiming delivered the 2017 "Songsil President's Lecture" at Soongsil University in South Korea on the topic of "Confucian Wisdom on the Future of Humanity". Photo provided by interviewee
Chinese culture contains a profound thought, which is "harmony without uniformity". It provides us with rich resources to absorb, integrate, and influence other civilizations through self-reflection, self-understanding, self-knowledge, and even self-criticism. Therefore, the Confucian cultural circle represented by Chinese civilization, and later by East Asian civilization, is a harmonious and inclusive ideal. It can gradually expand its horizons from less to more, from weak to rich, and at the same time, it can also develop the various potentials contained in this civilization. Therefore, in the gradual process of harmonious coexistence, the Chinese civilization has been continuously enriched by revealing human wisdom and developing human values. It is an all-inclusive civilization.
China News Service reporter: How do you view the significance of the idea of "inclusiveness" to today's world?
Du Weiming:
Being inclusive is what the world needs today. I think no matter which civilization it is, it should have this kind of consciousness. But the worst thing is that in the current development process, unidirectionalism is spreading everywhere. This is a dominating cultural strategy rather than an inclusive cultural strategy, but it plays a very important role in different regions. Impact.
Sino-US relations are different from harmony
China News Service reporter: How should we view the current Sino-US relations from an "all-inclusive" perspective?
Du Weiming:
Currently, many major countries are involved in shaping world civilization, with China and the United States as representatives.
On March 20, 2024, a delegation of middle school students from Washington State in the United States was invited to visit the High School Affiliated to Peking University. Photo by Yi Haifei
It is generally expected that China and the United States should be mutually inclusive and inclusive on the basis of the most basic peaceful coexistence, and be able to learn from each other. For a long time, this has been a path that must be taken, and there is absolutely no reason to refuse. Because this is a question of survival, survival, and whether human civilization can achieve balance and harmonize all nations.
Over the past few decades, everyone has had a clear understanding that we must avoid nuclear war and this type of extremely destructive violence against humanity. I think that in addition to nuclear war, climate change and various disasters caused by human factors are all major issues we are facing now. Under this premise, China and the United States should think more about how to connect with each other.
On January 9, 2024, the Sino-US youth table tennis exchange event was held at the International Table Tennis Federation Museum (Shanghai). After the game, Chinese and American youths took a group photo together. Photo by Zhang Hengwei
Now we are faced with a major choice, which is not only a choice between cultures, but is actually a choice about whether human beings can continue to survive - choose dialogue between civilizations or choose conflict of civilizations. Many people believe that civilized dialogue is an overly optimistic, superficial and naive idea, because in the real world, "the law of the jungle" has repeatedly happened in history.
We also understand that the emergence of the concept of the world and the world as one family, such as Confucianism, especially Zhu Xi's "The Way of the University," is the most basic principle of "explicit virtue, closeness to the people, and the pursuit of perfection." The concept of the world has gradually expanded from personal self-cultivation to family governance and world peace, and gradually expanded to broader humanistic relationships. Starting from this deep-rooted thinking is an indispensable way for human beings to save themselves and develop. Now this road has been greatly impacted. This is a very worrying and sad situation.
This kind of conflict is actually not just a concept, but a kind of practice that starts from the daily use of ethics and ends with extremely high-minded and golden mean. This is an indispensable way to embark on a harmonious and peaceful path that is extremely wise and moderate.
Now I feel that if the contradictions and conflicts between China and the United States in civilization are not resolved and they are simply engaged in trade, military and other material and spiritual games, then the tension, contradictions and conflicts between the two will continue to ferment. , continues to heat up, and this is also the biggest risk between China and the United States.
Learning to be an adult and the future of mankind
Reporter from China News Service: Scientific and technological innovation is related to the development of civilization. What impact do you think AI will have on the development of human civilization?
Du Weiming:
The development of artificial intelligence has an increasing impact on all aspects of human society, and its scope is getting wider and wider.
On March 14, 2024, at the China Home Appliances and Consumer Electronics Expo held in Shanghai, a variety of AI high-tech humanoid home robots were unveiled. Photo by Chen Yuyu
The most obvious thing is that books are the carrier of human civilization. Since the "Axis Civilization", the common wisdom of mankind has been recorded and collected in the form of texts, and condensed into various classics, which have been continuously enriched and accumulated in the inheritance from generation to generation, and even today. An obvious challenge brought by artificial intelligence is that books are no longer the only way to preserve human wisdom and preserve human values.
The emergence of artificial intelligence, on the one hand, may have a major impact on the inheritance and expansion of human wisdom; on the other hand, it will also make issues such as how to "learn to be a human being", that is, "what is a human being" and "the meaning of a human being" more prominent.
The Chinese nation has made great contributions in the accumulation of human collective wisdom, and it will certainly make greater contributions in the era of artificial intelligence. Therefore, artificial intelligence is also one of the most important issues that the humanities should consider in the 21st century.
Reporter from China News Service: Nowadays, more and more people care about, pay attention to, and study Chinese civilization. As a civilization researcher, what insights do you have to share?
In 2016, with the support of his wife and relatives, Mr. Du Weiming donated about 15,000 volumes (pieces) of all his personal documents and other collections to the Peking University Library free of charge. Photo provided by interviewee
Du Weiming:
What we are facing now, even the things in front of us, are very complicated. A very small number of people control too many resources, and the entire human civilization is trapped in a state of fragmentation, disagreement, contradiction, and conflict. On the one hand, there are too many advancements in material development in human civilization that deserve everyone's gratification, joy, and pride. However, the issue of further human development has become increasingly urgent. In 2018, the 24th World Congress of Philosophy was held in Beijing. We took "Learning to Be Human" as the theme, which was exactly our intention. What is a human being, how to learn to be a human being, and furthermore, to expand on the problem, how to integrate one’s body, mind, spirit and God, how to form healthy interactions between people through family, society, country and the world, how human beings and How to achieve lasting harmony in nature, and how human hearts and heaven complement each other, these four aspects are all topics that we must consider together.
Finally, thank you for your questions. These questions are very inspiring and encouraging to me. Thanks! (over)
Interviewee profile:
Du Weiming, born in Kunming in February 1940, is one of the most influential thinkers in the world. He constructed or developed the "Third Period of Confucianism", "Cultural China", "Enlightenment Reflection", "Civilization Dialogue", "Spiritual Humanism", etc. domain of discourse.
He is currently the dean of the Institute for Advanced Humanities at Peking University, an academician of the American Academy of Humanities and Sciences (honored in 1988), an academician of the International Academy of Philosophy, an academician of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan, and the first vice president of the World Federation of Philosophy (FISP). He served as Chairman of the Harvard Religion Committee, President of the Harvard-Yenching Institute (1996-2008), and Chairman of the Academic Committee of the 24th World Philosophy Congress.
Representative works: "New Confucianism in Action: Young Wang Yangming", "Insights of the Doctrine", "Benevolence and Self-cultivation", "Confucianism: Transforming Creation into Self-Identity", "Tao, Learning, and Politics", etc.