On The Unity Between Heaven And Human And The Method Of Philosophy

This paper makes a deep discussion and research on the Chinese philosophical theory by Zhang Dainian (1909-2004) in the aspects as: the view of heavenly Dao, axiology, the relationship between heaven and human and philosophical approach, etc.For the view of heavenly Dao is concerned, Zhang Dainian clarifies and commentates the ancient theories in the first place. He put forward that some philosophers regard the universal law, an imaginary idea, transcending the material world as the ultimate entity and the origin of the world. In fact, Dao contains the process and law which are both the reflecting of the material world. On basis of the above, Zhang gives a new explanation on the categories of Dao, principle, heaven, Qi and so on. At the same time, he advances that cosmos consists of time and space, embodies myriads of things in a mode of great change. The cosmos changes in three levels: material, law and origin. And three items are included: the future is transformed into the present, the present into the past, and the connection of the first and the last. Zhang's view of heavenly Dao both succeeds that of ancient Chinese philosophers and absorbs that of Marxism.Zhang Dainian expounds the axiology through the theories of human nature, moral and life. As far as the human nature is concerned, he believes that there is distinction between good and evil in human nature: the good is that official business prior to the personal; while the evil is benefiting oneself at the expense of public interests. Human being should develop their human nature when changing natural environment to realize an ideal life. As for the moral, Zhang modifies and extracts the thought of Confucianism and Mohist, based on which founds a new moral ideal with the idea of going with the timeliness, and regards the moral affirms the subjectivity of human being, succeeding and carrying forward traditional Chinese moral as a standard to adjust the relationship with others. At the same time, he demands people have a strong social sense of responsibility, and the harmonious unity between individual and collectivity embodies the main spirit of new times. In the field of life, Zhang regards the relationship between individual and society synonymous with that of individual and collectivity mentioned by ancient Chinese philosophers. How to deal with the relationship between individual and society is the core issue in human life. Zhang proposes some issues such as the unity of creativity and principle, the harmony between righteousness and destiny and so on.Zhang explicitly clarifies and praises the theory of the unity between heaven and human, proposes his idea on the unity between human being & nature and that of nature & spirit. Though the natural process and the history obey the same law, physical phenomenon, living creature and human history have their respective laws, so they can not be confused with each other. It is impossible that moral behavior goes against the natural laws, while obeying the natural laws is not equal to the moral behavior. Moral belongs to the social historical category. Moral principle is set up in accordance with the need of human social life, so it is impressed with historic and class brand. Nature is the basis of human being's existence. If human beings destroy the natural environment blindly, they can arouse serious consequences. The idea of the unity of heaven and human propose to arrive at the harmony between heaven and human, to change the nature but not to destroy it. It stresses the necessity to conquer the nature as well as coordinate with the nature. Zhang's theory still exerts an important academic value andoperation significance.As far as the methodology of history of philosophy is concerned, Zhang Dainian masters the view of world and methodology of Marxism. Integrated with western philosophy, Zhang forms a research method of Chinese history of philosophy through several decades: class analytical method, theoretical analytical method, unity of history and logic, succession of philosophical heritage and the arrangement of historical materials. He expounds these methods with the history Chinese philosophy.In contemporary China, Zhang Dainian forms a unique style of his own in the field of philosophy and the history of philosophy with an excellent reputation. He pursues the theoretical annotation of Chinese philosophy all his life, and goes down in history owing to his contribution. He, as a great master, becomes a theorist with a vision of the world history because of his idea on cultural history of synthesized innovation.Zhang Dainian applies materialistic dialectics into the cultural research in Chinese cultural field, breaks a new path for the development of Chinese culture. He put forward the theory of synthesized innovation communicated the Chinese culture with the Western, aims at establishing a new culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. His view of culture influences the culture of the world. His theoretical contribution lies in the integration of Marxism and traditional Chinese philosophy, connecting the Dialectics conceived in Marxism and traditional Chinese philosophy and the logical analysis method of western philosophy, and then unifies the most important parts of Chinese and Western philosophy. His major contribution to the history of Chinese philosophy is the explanation of the leading theories and categories, establishing a system of methodology to research the history of philosophy. He gives prominence to the ontology of Qi in the philosophy in the Song dynasty, materialism's position in Chinese philosophy, and researches deeply for the Dialectics, ethics and axiology in Chinese philosophy, and affirms that Dialectics is important for the researching of philosophical issues.In short, it has a far-reaching influence to research Zhang's philosophical thought for the innovation of thinking mode and national spirit, the solution of the relationship between individuals and the unity of human and nature in modern society, and the issue of world peace as well. Whereas, there are limitations in Zhang's research of the history of Chinese philosophy, for example, he overemphasizes the class analysis method and the party spirit in philosophy. It is not proper in the modern angle.