Harmony but not sameness: Toward a constructive postmodern pluralism

The purpose of this dissertation is to make a modest contribution to the contemporary discussion of pluralism by developing a "constructively postmodern" approach to religious diversity. This approach is based on the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead as that philosophy has been developed by John B. Cobb. Jr. and David Ray Griffin. With help from Whitehead, the dissertation surveys approaches toward pluralism in the West and then develops a distinctively Chinese version of constructive postmodern pluralism.; Constructive postmodern pluralism implies an attitude of respecting others and of being willing to learn from others without reducing the other to the one's own identity: that is, to sameness. A constructively postmodern approach avoids a dichotomy between universalism and particularism. John Hick and S. Mark Heim represent these two perspectives. Hick emphasizes the universal and, in so doing, neglects the uniqueness of the particular. Heim rightly emphasizes the particularity of religious traditions, but neglects the fact that particular religions are traditions in process and that they can learn from other traditions. A constructive postmodern approach can welcome both commonality and difference, showing how constructive relationships can be built in the very process of dialogue. It shows how different religions can highlight different but complementary ultimates and point to different but complementary forms of salvation. Chinese traditions can enrich such pluralism by offering a model of creative relationships among religions modeled after relations among Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. This distinctively Chinese version of constructive postmodernism can be called "harmonism." The key features of the harmonism include an emphasis on equality of all religions, an emphasis on complementarity of religions, treating the three Religions as an organic whole, peaceful co-existence, mutual transformation. As developed with help from Whiteheadian or process thought, Chinese harmonism provides a middle way between particularism and universalism and shows how diversity can exist within unity. As philosophers continue to develop philosophies of religious diversity, Chinese harmonism can make a key contribution to the ongoing conversation.