The Growth In Life And The Ideal Personality--Comparative Study On Fengqi's Three Discourses On Wisdom And Fok Tou Hui's 如实观 (Ru Shi Guan)

This article is to evaluate The Ideal Personality from a philosophical angle as well as cultivate a methodology for the content and characteristic in the course of modernization of contemporary China. In Chapter One, Personality is defined as a character that can combine practical possibilities with transcendent essence and demonstrate the true value of life in reality. The Growth in Life is by no means physical nor psychological; it is the process of spiritual growth step by step from a starting point towards Ideal Personality. The physical appearances of a Personality are a consistent and unify behavior. The Ideal Personality in ancient Chinese culture refers to 圣贤 (Sheng Xian) , while Revolutionaries are the representatives in contemporary China. In Old Western tradition, there are three categories of Ideal Personalities: scholastic rational, artistic sensational, and religious faithful. Representatives of modernization are industrialization and business. The Modern world is a world of rationalization, with the aim to achieve highest efficiency. In one way it brings a political environment more respective on human right and creates an open society with multiple value systems. On the other hand, Modern Men are being stressed with highly pressurized institutionalized environment and being demoralized to merely as tools. Thus resulted in many psychological problems.Chapter Two compares the content of Ideal Personalities of the Feng's Three Discourses on Wisdom and Fok's 如实观 (Ru Shi Guan ) Feng proposed an Ideal Personality of Commoner Freedom Personality. It demonstrated the demand for equality and criticized the elite class concept and also the extreme leftist. It also assumed equality in epistemology so that everyone could achieve The Ideal Personality. The Freedom Feng asking for was both external and internal. External freedom referred to the ability to implement an idealistic vision, which combined practical possibilities with human needs. Internal freedom was the spiritual independence one held on despite the great environmental pressure. Internal freedom was the onset of The Growth in Life that could also lead to External freedom. A consistent Personality was built upon an idealistic vision with an intrinsic value system. The value embedded was the guideline for behavior. Feng's believed the motivation to growth in personality was from the strength of desire for passion towards idealistic vision. However, the passion must be balanced by rationale. Fenq suggested a combination of rational intuition, dialectical unity and self-reflection ofvirtue to gain wisdom and build up the Ideal Personality. Fok believed a Personality of mature wisdom, the one who was able to overcome all illusive thoughts from within and obstacles in-born. Wisdom was gained in stages, as life went through different levels of truth. Fok told that there were four levels: truth within languages and words, truth within culture and history, truth within thoughts and meanings, and most important of all the truth within The Growth in Life. The motivation of Growth came from realizing that one was trapped within boundaries, he would then struggle for freedom. Both Feng and Fok looked for freedom, though they did have different interpretations. They asked for positive freedom creation rather than negative freedom proposed by Max Weber. Both of them stressed the importance of truthful human personality: Feng emphasized on human needs while Fok pursued to eradicate life of illusion. An Ideal Personality made contribution to society, Feng wanted to reform but Foks wanted to educate.Chapter Three discusses the problem of The Growth of Life; the process is by nature practicing. Feng interpreted that one achieved The Growth in Life when fighting for reform and was able to accept and conclude different opinions in a group. Fok concentrated on the moral development of oneself, it was not the form but the way of thinking that mattered. Feng pointed out that personality development was directed by the idealistic vision, through practicing and overcoming...