The Imperial Style of Inquiry in Twentieth-Century China

How have traditional Chinese ways of thinking affected problem solving in this century? The traditional, imperial style of inquiry is associated with the belief that the universe is a coherent, internally structured unity understandable through the similarly structured human mind. It involves a reli...

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Glavni autor: Munro, Donald J.
Format: Online
Jezik:engleski
Izdano: University of Michigan Press 2020
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author Munro, Donald J.
author_browse Munro, Donald J.
author_facet Munro, Donald J.
author_sort Munro, Donald J.
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description How have traditional Chinese ways of thinking affected problem solving in this century? The traditional, imperial style of inquiry is associated with the belief that the universe is a coherent, internally structured unity understandable through the similarly structured human mind. It involves a reliance on antecedent and authoritarian models, coupled with an introspective focus in investigations, at some cost to objective fact gathering. In contrast, emergent forms of inquiry are guided by the values of individual autonomy and new perspectives on objectivity. In the 1930s and 1940s, some liberal educators held the model of Western science in great esteem, and some scientists practicing objective inquiry helped to create an awareness in the urban areas of inquiry not directed by political values. Drawing on philosophical, social science, and popular culture materials, Donald Munro shows that the two strains coexisted in twentieth century China as mixed motives. Many important figures were motivated by a desire to act consistently with the social values associated with the premodern or received view of knowledge and inquiry. At the same time, these people often had other motives, such as utilitarian values, efficiency, and entrepreneurship. Munro argues that while many competing positions can coexist in the same person, the seeds of the positive, instrumental value of individual autonomy in Chinese inquiry are beginning to compete in both scholarly and popular culture with other, older approaches.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-301672025-03-12T21:28:51Z The Imperial Style of Inquiry in Twentieth-Century China Munro, Donald J. Society and social sciences Veterinary medicine: infectious diseases and therapeutics Medical anthropology How have traditional Chinese ways of thinking affected problem solving in this century? The traditional, imperial style of inquiry is associated with the belief that the universe is a coherent, internally structured unity understandable through the similarly structured human mind. It involves a reliance on antecedent and authoritarian models, coupled with an introspective focus in investigations, at some cost to objective fact gathering. In contrast, emergent forms of inquiry are guided by the values of individual autonomy and new perspectives on objectivity. In the 1930s and 1940s, some liberal educators held the model of Western science in great esteem, and some scientists practicing objective inquiry helped to create an awareness in the urban areas of inquiry not directed by political values. Drawing on philosophical, social science, and popular culture materials, Donald Munro shows that the two strains coexisted in twentieth century China as mixed motives. Many important figures were motivated by a desire to act consistently with the social values associated with the premodern or received view of knowledge and inquiry. At the same time, these people often had other motives, such as utilitarian values, efficiency, and entrepreneurship. Munro argues that while many competing positions can coexist in the same person, the seeds of the positive, instrumental value of individual autonomy in Chinese inquiry are beginning to compete in both scholarly and popular culture with other, older approaches. 2020-09-03T13:54:29Z 2020 book ONIX_20200903_9780472901784_7 OCN: 1184510512 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/41562 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/30167 eng Michigan Monographs In Chinese Studies open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/41562/1/9780472901784.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/41562/1/9780472901784.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/41562/1/9780472901784.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/41562/1/9780472901784.pdf University of Michigan Press U OF M CENTER FOR CHINESE STUDIES 10.3998/mpub.19105 10.3998/mpub.19105 b7359529-e5f7-4510-a59f-d7dafa1d4d17 National Endowment for the Humanities 0314e571-4102-4526-b014-3ed8f2d6750a U OF M CENTER FOR CHINESE STUDIES 159 [grantnumber unknown] open access
spellingShingle Society and social sciences
Veterinary medicine: infectious diseases and therapeutics
Medical anthropology
Munro, Donald J.
The Imperial Style of Inquiry in Twentieth-Century China
title The Imperial Style of Inquiry in Twentieth-Century China
title_full The Imperial Style of Inquiry in Twentieth-Century China
title_fullStr The Imperial Style of Inquiry in Twentieth-Century China
title_full_unstemmed The Imperial Style of Inquiry in Twentieth-Century China
title_short The Imperial Style of Inquiry in Twentieth-Century China
title_sort imperial style of inquiry in twentieth century china
topic Society and social sciences
Veterinary medicine: infectious diseases and therapeutics
Medical anthropology
topic_facet Society and social sciences
Veterinary medicine: infectious diseases and therapeutics
Medical anthropology
url ONIX_20200903_9780472901784_7
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