A Review of the Study of James’s Philosophy over the Past Century in China and a Prospect of Future Research Work ()
ABSTRACT
William James was a major representative figure for American pragmatism.
The study of James’s philosophy and the
translation and publication of James’s works, both in China, are closely
connected with the spread and study of pragmatic philosophy therein. The spread
of Jamesian philosophy in China has gone through three stages: 1) From around
the May Fourth Movement in 1919 to the 1940s, pragmatism started its journey in
China; James’s thought was introduced to the circles of scholars in China, and
received criticism from Chinese scholars at the same time. 2) In the 1950s and
1960s, during the criticism against pragmatism among Chinese scholars, Jamesian
philosophy was also fiercely attacked. 3) From the early 1980s to the present,
scholars have tried to take the attitude of seeking truth from facts in commenting
pragmatism, and attempted to re-examine pragmatism, including James’s
philosophy. In carrying forward the academic research on Jamesian philosophy,
Chinese scholars should present its landmark achievements in the collation,
edition, translation and study of classics concerning Jamesian philosophy,
investigate important conceptions in James’s pragmatism, study the clue of
development and academic direction of thought therein, analyze and summarize
James’s position in pragmatic philosophy, and make clear the position and
influence of James’s philosophy both in the history of Western philosophy and
in contemporary Western philosophy. Scholars should also do comprehensive
multidisciplinary research on the philosophy of value, jurisprudential thought,
philosophy of mind, political philosophy and religious philosophy in James’s
pragmatism, and meanwhile explore the dynamic relationship between Jamesian and
Chinese philosophies from the perspective of comparative philosophy.
Share and Cite:
Geng, B. and Wang, C. (2020) A Review of the Study of James’s Philosophy over the Past Century in China and a Prospect of Future Research Work.
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
8, 227-244. doi:
10.4236/jss.2020.88020.
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