遇见中国：中西哲学的一次对话

by Michael J. Sandel (Editor), Paul J. D'Ambrosio (Editor), 迈克尔·桑德尔 (Editor)

中国读者早已不会因为一位外国学者的到访而感到新奇，但哈佛大学哲学教授迈克尔·桑德尔的到来仍让中国读者兴奋。桑德尔因为网络公开课《公正》而为中国公众所熟知，在2007年到访中国后，更是获得了“通常只有好莱坞明星和NBA球员才能享有的受欢迎度”。

桑德尔说：“我去过很多国家，可能除了美国之外，中国有关自由市场的设想和道德直觉是最深刻的。”桑德尔一直期望能更深入地了解中国哲学，并从中汲取资源。2016年，桑德尔专程来到中国，与中国哲学领域的国内外学者进行了为期两天的探讨。与会专家从中国哲学当中有关德性、家庭、共同体等观念出发，反观桑德尔的政治哲学思想，指出它与中国哲学思想的可能性关联和冲突。桑德尔针对这些批评或思考，给了出自己的回应。后来，各位学者的与会论文与桑德尔的回应结集成册，就形成了这本《遇见中国》。

《遇见中国》是一部具有启发意义的中西哲学平等对话之作。它体现了自晚清、五四以来，中国文化的两个转向：一是中国对西方思想文化由全盘接受走向反思与辩证，二是中国对自身传统思想文化，由批判、全盘否定走向重新发现与求证。与桑德尔的相遇，为我们重新发现传统的价值，提供了契机。

迈克尔·桑德尔在《向中国哲学学习》中总结道：“中国哲学和西方哲学之间任何一种相互学习的方案，均应该从接受某种不对称开始。我的朋友、前哈佛大学同事杜维明先生曾经说过，中国是一种学习型文明，而西方是一种教导型文明。他在这样说的时候，并不是在称赞西方。我认为他是在说，那些认为自己是在给世界上其他国家传达指令的社会，终会陷入一种狂妄自大。他们的学说会堕落为布道。一种一心从事教导和布道的文明，不仅会招致普遍的憎恨，自己也会丧失面向世界、聆听世界并向世界学习的能力。我很感激这本书的对话者，他们慷慨地贡献了自己的思想，馈赠了批判性的互动。”

Genres: Philosophy, China, Nonfiction

332 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

About the author

Michael J. Sandel is an American political philosopher who lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. He is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1980. He is best known for the Harvard course 'Justice', which is available to view online, and for his critique of John Rawls' A Theory of Justice in his first book, Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (1982). He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002.

Reviews

[Alfred Yun · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book to deepen my understanding of Confucianism. It has certainly helped me do that. Confucianism is not “eastern virtue ethics.” It focuses more on roles and harmony, rather than an agent and its virtues. Furthermore, its understanding of agreement and disagreement are much more nuanced than the binaries of western thought: black and white, live or die, agree or disagree, etc. Its discussion of moral and personal cultivation are also much more nuanced than that of virtue ethics.

Surprisingly, by the end of this book, I came away with a greater appreciation of Daoism than I expected. Its similarities with Spinoza and Heidegger surprised me. Sometimes the book is a bit dry and the western scholars of Confucianism can be a bit reductive. Nonetheless, there is much to learn here.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read for me after reading Sandel's 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚: 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝘿𝙤?
The papers discuss that work and several other of his books. Each paper in this collection addresses a different aspect of Sandel's ethical position from an Eastern perspective, whether Confucian or Daoist.
I found many of the papers very educational. I highly recommend Roger T. Ames' "Theorizing the 'Person' in Confucian Ethics" and Henry Rosemont, Jr. "How to Think about Morality without Moral Agents." The intricacies of translating terms for philosophical concepts are described in detail. It should be required reading for anyone studying comparative ethics. Sandels' response to these papers are also worth reading.
This is a book that is not for everyone. It requires at least an introductory level understanding of Western ethical theory, Eastern religions, and comparative ethics. If those are studies in which you are interested, you could give this book a try. It will point you to primary sources to read along the way to completing the encounter.
For those already familiar with the background study, this is an interesting compilation. I highly recommend it.

[Ruben · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times very insightful to get a view on a different way of thinking. Sometimes frustrating as the chinese papers came across to me as if they are talking down to the reader.

[Johan D'Haenen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"(...) erosion of moral values, commodification of virtually everything, decline in community engagement, loss of civility, distrust of government, (...)" dat zijn slechts enkele van de ziektes waar de neoliberale samenleving aan lijdt.
Fundamenteel individualisme ligt aan de basis van alles wat mis loopt in de kapitalistische markteconomie. Dat extreem individualisme en de roep om het individu in alles voorop te stellen, leidt zelfs tot een hersenloos relativisme zoals we dat in het postmoderne denken terugvinden. Michael Sandel heeft dat begrepen en vindt daarom aansluiting bij de collectivistische filosofie van het Confucianisme en enigszins ook het Taoïsme. Maar Sandel kan zijn inzichten (nog) niet helemaal herformuleren in een filosofie die Oost en West samenbrengt. Vooral het primordiale belang van het concept "harmonie" ontbreekt in de visie van Sandel. Daartoe wordt in dit werk een poging ondernomen door Chinese en Westerse auteurs.
Aan het einde van het boek geeft Sandel zijn commentaar op de analyses van zijn collega's.
Wat mij betreft is dit een waardevol werk voor zowel Oost als West, want toen Deng Xiaoping na de dood van Mao Zedong de grenzen van China opengooide voor het Westen evolueerde het land heel snel naar een vacuüm op filosofisch vlak. Daar komt nu gelukkig weer verandering in en de "oude" filosofieën en veel tradities worden weer in ere hersteld.
Een ontmoeting zoals deze kan alleen maar positief zijn voor een wederzijds begrip en verstandhouding.

[Stefano Bertani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would recommend starting from the final essay, where Michael Sandel addresses all the critiques and comments made in the previous 10 by Confucian scholars. Some of the former are quite verbose and found them not quite convincing (e.g., Ames-Rosemont)