The Spirit Of Modern Rationality And Modernization

Rationality is a thinking ability and a spiritual power unique to human beings. Its implications changes with the social development.Rationality displays its spiritual culture and value system in rational spirit. Modern rational spirit refers particularly to the exposure of rationality in its spiritual culture and value system, which came into existence with the development of modern technology, and the establishment of market economy and socializing production. Its essential value concepts involves the advocation of science and truth, economic rationality, law, and the celebration of democracy, self-discilpine, initiation, responsibility and independence.Both rationality and rational spirit are man's spiritual heritage and treasure. The differences of social systems and historical times may bestow the term with different denotations because its implication is always in a changing and enriching process with the development of human society.China is now undergoing the modernization. Modern rational spirit corresponds to the historic cause. Modern rational spirit must be carried forward for the smooth development of the well-off society and the modernization.However, it proves that there are more irrational elements than rational ones in modern economy, politics and culture. Although those elements are not necessarily caused by the absence of rationality, yet from the perspective of rationality, modern rational spirit is needed for the sake of the modernization of socialist economy, politics and culture.In order to build up a spiritual cultre and value system corresponding to the modernization, a practical ideological principle must be adhered to; theories must be tested in practice; economic system reform must be aimed at the improvement of people's living conditions; democracy and legal administration must be strengthened, science and culture must be given enough emphasis to ameliorate people's scientific mentality. Besides, western anti-rationalism must be understood dialectically, and its positive aspects should be taken full use of in our modernaization.Accordingly, the modern rational spirit correlative with the modernaization can be established and will play an important role in the development of a well-off society in China.To illustrate these ideas, this thesis is devided into 2 parts:The first part depicts the historical evolution from ratoionality, rational spirit to modern rational spirit (exemplified by western rational spirit). It lays the historical framework for the discussion of modern rational spirit and modernaization in the following part.The second part illustates from a practical perspective that in China the development of modern national economy, politics and culture demands modern rational spirit. What's more, there exists a tendency of the defectiveness of rationality in those fields. Thus, this thesis presents practical proposals.To sum up, it is necessary and demanding that modern rational spirit be built up to cope with the modernization. Modern rational spirit is to play a positive role in the development of the well-of society and the modernization.