European Travel Heart Video (Excerpt)
Liang Qichao
Seven Scientific Omnipotent Dreams Generally speaking, if a person has a place where he can live his life with peace of mind, despite all the hardships in the outside world , and it is easy to resist the past. Recently, Europeans have lost this item. Why is it gone? The biggest reason is that we have too much faith in "science is omnipotent". It turns out that modern European civilization has three sources: the first is the feudal system, the second is Greek philosophy, and the third is Jesus Christ. The feudal system stipulated the relationship between each person and society, forming a moral condition and habit. Philosophy is the study of the highest principles of the universe and the function of human spirit from an intellectual perspective to find a moral standard of the highest good. Religion gives human beings a "super-worldly" belief based on both emotions and intentions, and then the moral standards of this world will naturally follow. Before the eighteenth century, Europe relied on this to survive. Since the French Revolution, the feudal system has completely collapsed. Most of the ancient moral conditions and habits are not applicable to the internal life of Europeans and have gradually been shaken. Changes in social organization were a normal phenomenon in history, and life slowly changed along with it, so there was no difficulty in it. But the changes over the past hundred years are different from before. As a result of the development of science, industrial organization has been renovated from the ground up. The change was too sudden, too powerful, and too broad in scope. They tried to match his internal life to his external life, but they were caught off guard at every turn. The most obvious thing is that the life in the city now is completely different from the life in the villages of the past. Countless strangers gather together to live together in a market or a factory. Apart from material interests, there is absolutely no emotion at all. This is one of the reasons. Most people have no permanent property and depend on their work for a living. , The basis of life is unstable, like a withered canopy with broken stems, this is the second one; The social situation is too complicated, there is too much to handle, people are affected everywhere, and the nerves are tired, this is the third one; After working, I want to have fun, but the fun is not finished yet. The fourth is to work, be busy day and night, and have no room for rest; the fifth is that desires are getting stronger day by day, things are getting more expensive day by day, life is getting harder and harder day by day, and competition is getting fiercer. What I have said above is just a few random ones. To put it simply, it is easy to see that in modern times, due to the development of science and the birth of the industrial revolution, the external life has changed rapidly and the internal life has been shaken. Internal life can still exist without external life through the power of religion, philosophy, etc. But what about modern people? After the prosperity of science, the first fatal injury was religion. Human beings originally evolved from lower animals. Where is the creation of God? Can we still say that human beings are the spirits of all things? All phenomena in the universe are nothing more than matter and its movement. What kind of soul is there? What kind of heaven is there? Speaking of Philosophy, in the days of Kant and Hegel, seemed to have a kind of authority in the intellectual world, seeming to unify the world. As science became more and more popular, this idealistic philosophy fell into pieces. Later, Gondi's positive philosophy and Darwin's "On the Origin of Origin" were published in the same year, and the old philosophy was fundamentally shaken. To be honest, philosophers simply surrendered to the banner of scientists. According to the new psychology of scientists, the so-called human mind is just a phenomenon of material motion; the treatment of spirit and matter is simply not valid; the so-called major principles of the universe must be tested using scientific methods, not Obtained through philosophical meditation. These materialist philosophers established a purely material and purely mechanical outlook on life under the umbrella of science, and placed all internal and external life under the "inevitable law" of material movement. This kind of law can actually be called a disguised version of the predetermined theory of fate. However, the old school's predetermined theory said that fate is brought about by the eight characters or destined by God. The new school's predetermined theory says that fate is determined by The laws of science completely govern, and although the arguments relied upon are different, the conclusions are the same. Not only that, they regard psychology and spirit as one thing. According to experimental psychology, they insist that the human spirit is just a kind of substance and is also governed by "inevitable laws". Therefore, human free will has to be denied. Since the will cannot be free, what responsibility does it have for good and evil? When I do good, it is nothing more than the wheel of the "law of necessity" pushing me. When I do evil, it is nothing more than the wheel of the "law of necessity" pushing me. What does it have to do with me? Related: In this way, this is not a question of how moral standards should change. It is really a question of whether morality can exist. The biggest crisis in today's ideological world lies in this point. Since religion and old philosophy had been thrown into disarray by science, this "Mr. Science" took it upon himself to do his duty and invent a new principle of the universe based on his experiments. But it goes without saying that the big principles, as well as the small principles in various subjects, are also changing with each passing day. What is considered truth today will become a fallacy tomorrow. New authority cannot be established, but the old authority cannot be restored. Therefore, the hearts and minds of the whole society are plunged into doubt, depression and fear, like a ship that has lost its compass and encounters wind and fog, not knowing what the future will be like. That being the case, those kinds of hedonism and authoritarianism are becoming more and more powerful. There is no paradise after death, so I have to live happily on earth for decades. Since I have no responsibility for good or evil, I might as well do my best to satisfy my personal desires! However, enjoy The rate of material increase cannot always be in the same proportion as the rise of desire, and there is no way to balance it. How good is it? Only by freely competing with one's own strength, in essence, it is the law of the jungle and the strong. In recent years, warlords and plutocrats have all emerged from this path. This great war is retribution.
You must also know that if we remain based on this materialistic and mechanical outlook on life for a long time, not only will the tyranny of warlords and plutocrats be abominable, but the alliance resistance of trade unions and even social revolution will not be a kind of power. But in the past Power is in the hands of a small group of people, and power in the future will only be in the hands of a large group of people. In short, under this outlook on life, what do tens of millions of people do, one after another, come to this world and live there for decades? The only purpose is to grab bread. Otherwise, they are afraid that the big wheel of matter movement in the universe will lack power, so they come here to supply it with fuel. If this is the case, does life still have any meaning and human beings have any value? Unfortunately, in the heyday of science, the main trend of thought was in this aspect. At that time, people who praised the omnipotence of science were looking forward to the success of science, and the golden world would soon appear. Now the work has finally been accomplished. The material progress in one hundred years has been several times greater than the previous three thousand years. Not only do we humans not have happiness, On the contrary, it brings many disasters. It's like a lost traveler in the desert who sees a big black shadow in the distance and rushes forward desperately, thinking that he can rely on him to guide him. However, after a few miles, the shadow disappears, so he is infinitely sad and disappointed. Who is the shadow? It is this "Mr. Science". Europeans had a great dream that science was omnipotent, but now they are calling science bankrupt. This is a major key to the recent changes in ideological trends. (Self-note) Readers, please do not misunderstand me. Therefore, I belittle science. I will never admit that science is bankrupt, but I also do not admit that science is omnipotent.
Originally published in Shanghai's "Current Affairs News" in March 1920 [Appreciation] In 1917, after Liang Qichao resigned from the post of Finance Minister Duan Qirui ***, he decided to leave officialdom and go to Europe for inspection. In December 1918, Liang Qichao traveled to Europe with Jiang Baili, Ding Wenjiang, Zhang Junmai and others, which lasted more than a year. After conducting on-the-spot investigations in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and other countries, and gaining a better understanding of the European economy and culture, Liang Qichao wrote "Videos of a Travel in Europe" in October 1919. "European Journey to the Heart" is divided into two parts. The first part is "Europe before and after the war" and the second part is "Chinese People's Consciousness". It attracts attention because it involves Liang Qichao’s basic stance on the relationship between Eastern and Western civilizations. In particular, his attack on the omnipotent theory of science is particularly dazzling. "European Journey to the Heart" had an important impact on the academic circles at that time in thinking about the relationship between Eastern and Western civilizations and the relationship between science and the outlook on life. Therefore, it is naturally regarded as an important treatise in the history of modern Chinese thought and culture. After the First World War, various problems in European capitalist society were fully exposed. Some people in the West want to find spiritual support from Eastern civilization. Some Chinese scholars also follow suit and say that Western material civilization is bankrupt and believe that the Eastern spirit is about to be revived. Liang Shuming's "Eastern and Western Culture and Philosophy" and Liang Qichao's "European Travels" are representative works that reflect this mentality. In terms of time, Liang Qichao advocated it first, while Liang Shuming responded later. Liang Shuming included part of the content of "European Journey to the Heart" as one of the appendices to "Eastern and Western Culture and Philosophy". Liang Qichao quoted the words of the famous American journalist Simon: "Poor, Western civilization is bankrupt" and "wait for you to import Chinese civilization to save us." Liang Qichao "at first thought he meant to ridicule me, but later I got used to hearing it everywhere." "This is a reflection of the psychology of most people in Europe." Liang Qichao believed that people should always have a safe place to live their lives, but recently Europeans have lost this spiritual support. “The biggest reason is that we believe in ‘science is omnipotent.’” According to Liang Qichao, European civilization originally had three sources: the first was the feudal system, the second was Greek philosophy, and the third was Jesus Christ (Christianity). After the French Revolution, the feudal system collapsed. Due to the development of science, religion has been washed away: "After the prosperity of science, the first fatal injury is religion." Morality has also been washed away into a mess: "Can morality exist?" is "Today's ideological world The biggest crisis”. The purely material and purely mechanical outlook on life established under the protection of science has taken over the dominant position, forming a situation of "the strong eats the weak". After "authoritarianism became more and more powerful", the outlook on life was formed that "the only purpose is to grab bread and eat it", which finally led to the outbreak of the First World War. The success of science and material progress "not only failed to bring happiness to mankind, but also brought many disasters." It's like a traveler who is lost in the desert. He sees a big shadow in the distance and rushes forward, thinking that he can rely on it to get out of his way. Unexpectedly, a few steps later, the shadow disappeared, and he fell into infinite sadness and loss. "Who is the shadow? It is this 'Mr. Science'. The Europeans had a big dream of scientific omnipotence, but now they are calling science bankrupt." In modern China, under the strong pressure of the spread of Western learning to the east, ethics based on The traditional concept of morality as its essence has been greatly impacted. From Zhang Zhidong's Chinese style and Western application, to the Westernization Movement presided over by Li Hongzhang, to the Reform Movement of 1898, the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty, and the New Culture Movement, Mr. Sai (Science) has always been regarded as a guest by the Chinese people, and few people have conducted a comprehensive study on it. Deep reflection. After Liang Qichao traveled around Europe, he believed that the prosperity of science did not bring happiness to mankind, but caused countless disasters. He believes that the disillusionment of the scientific dream will surely become a key to the change of European thought. He declared to the Chinese people that the "dream of scientific omnipotence" could no longer be pursued. This was truly a shocking statement. However, Liang Qichao did not go to extremes. He just no longer believed that science was omnipotent and did not conclude that science itself was bankrupt.
Liang Qichao believed that the development of science, while creating material civilization, also brought all people's internal and external lives under "the 'inevitable law' of material movement" and denied the freedom of will. Liang Qichao believes that as science becomes more and more prosperous, on the one hand, it has impacted the religious worldview and destroyed people's moral standards; on the other hand, science has turned itself into another form of religion, trying to set an unchanging world for the world. standards. The scientific "inevitable law" is a "disguised predetermined theory of fate" compared with the old school of destiny theory that said destiny is brought about by horoscopes or destined by God. This view was inherited by Zhang Junmai, a backbone figure in the metaphysical school. The great debate between science and metaphysics broke out due to the claim that science cannot solve the problem of outlook on life. "The law of cause and effect in science is limited to matter, but not to spirit... The issue of free will at the root of human activities cannot be understood unless it is metaphysical." ("The Preface of the Outlook on Life") In Zhang Junmai's view, everything about human beings Activity is rooted in free will. Everyone is a "me", and the activities of "me" are based on free will. The outlook on life is subjective, intuitive, comprehensive, and single, which cannot be explained by science. The law of cause and effect is what Liang Qichao said, "the 'inevitable law' of material movement." The diametric opposition between "inevitable law" and free will is the source of Zhang Junmai's ideas. When exploring the debate between science and metaphysics, we should not forget the pioneer Liang Qichao.