Jullien describes the Western world's reliance on causality--"for it is by going back into the causes of things that we apprehend reality and its underlying principles: this formula has shaped our investigations and determined the progress of our thought" (219)He goes on to say that it "does not seem possible, for us in the Western tradition, to question the absolute validity of this understanding of causality, for its legitimacy is treated as self-evident and serves as the logical basis for the tradition" (220).
On the other hand, the Chinese have not traditionally relied on an understanding of causality to explain how the world is. Rather, they rely on "the implication of tendencies ... the sequence of changes taking place stems entirely from the power relations inherent in the initial situation" (221).
Although this binary is useful for thinking through historical differences, again, I feel that it doesn't quite hold for our contemporary moment. Yes, the reign of logos has not entirely ended, but, increasingly, there are those who point toward a multiplicity of voices, of causes, of agencies.
No comments:
Post a Comment