Criticisms On Criticisms Of Xin Li-xue

The establishment of Feng Youlan's “Xin Li-xue” system and criticisms on “Xin Li-xue” among Chinese academic circles, especially Chinese Marxists, are influential events in the history of Chinese modern philosophy as well as an important step in the development and evolution of Chinese modern philosophy.The “Xin Li-xue” philosophy system established by Feng Youlan, featuring his consistent philosophical concepts, explicit philosophical methodology and logical contents, draws a unique philosophical landscape in the history of Chinese modern philosophy and provides a philosophical phenomenon for people to discuss about and research into.As for the surging criticisms of Feng Youlan's “Xin Li-xue” in the 1940 s, it was Marists that made the largest and widest criticism. The criticisms, including those on“Xin Li-xue” metaphysics by Marxists Chen Jiakang and Zhao Jibin, those on cultural and historical values and life methodology of “Xin Li-xue” by Hu Sheng, and those on life state theory and historical outlook of Chinese philosophy of “Xin Li-xue” by Du Guoxiang et al., not only generated excellent critical contents but also made great theoretical achievements despite of certainly theoretical imperfections. The core results of these criticisms lie on the analysis on a mass of inner contradictions and theoretical dilemmas found in Feng Youlan's “Xin Li-xue”(such as existence dilemmas of truth and Chi; contradiction between the “pure objectivism” of ontologyand the pure subjectivism of truth criterion; contradiction between the “rational bottom analysis” methodology and the mysticism destiny, etc.), the unveiling of the nature of his philosophical idealism(the objective idealism of metaphysics, the epistemology and the subjective idealism of “realm theory”), the mechanical and conservative tendency on social culture and historical issues, and the practices of subjectivism in Chinese history of philosophy, so as to provide effective routes to understand the inner contradictions and dilemmas as well as theoretical nature of Feng Youlan's “Xin Li-xue” theory. The inadequacy of these criticisms lies on its failure of fully analyzing the theoretical dilemmas of “Xin Li-xue”(such as confusion of concept and entity of “essence”, the initiative dilemmas of the “Ambience of Truth”,the conceptual confusion between “people's way of life” and people's basic living skills, as well as the inherent dilemmas of methodology in “Xin Li-xue”), and the lack of sufficient recognition of theoretical innovations, reasonable components and even progresses in “Xin Li-xue”.However, the Marxists' criticisms on Feng Youlan's “Xin Li-xue” in 1940 s have facilitated the modern development of traditional Chinese philosophical concepts and propositions, enriched the content of Chinese modern philosophy, furthered the localization of Marxism in China, and left several questions worthy of consideration for our descendant, such as the relation between “objective existence” and“substantial existence”, the reason of existence and where and how truth and rules exist. The meditation on and answers to these questions will certainly advance the development of Chinese philosophy.