Analysis of Hu Shi's Ethics, Logic, and Pragmatism Rya Butterfield Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected]
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2012 China's 20th century Sophist: analysis of Hu Shi's ethics, logic, and pragmatism Rya Butterfield Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Butterfield, Rya, "China's 20th century Sophist: analysis of Hu Shi's ethics, logic, and pragmatism" (2012). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3937. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3937 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. TH CHINA’S 20 CENTURY SOPHIST: ANALYSIS OF HU SHI’S ETHICS, LOGIC, AND PRAGMATISM A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Communication Studies by Rya Butterfield B.A., Ramapo College of New Jersey, 2005 M.A., Monmouth University, 2007 May 2012 ©Copyright 2012 Rya Butterfield All rights reserved ii Acknowledgements I owe a great deal of thanks to Nathan Crick, my mentor and friend. Thank you for your patience and resolve. Thank you for leading by your example. Most of all, I want to thank you for always getting excited too. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………………….. iii Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………………… vi Introduction Hu Shi (胡适), “Optimist in the Sea of Pessimism” ………………………....…. 1 “When the First Volleys of Sentimental Fire Are Over…” ……………………....……... 1 Trained Incapacities ………………….……………………….......................................... 3 A Legacy for Modern Times ........................................................................... 4 End Notes ……………………………………………………………………………....... 9 Chapter One History and Problems ……………………………………………………….. 12 Greek Analogy ………………………………………………………..................………12 Taking the Greek for Granted ……………………………………………............…….. 13 Cultural Accessibility …………………………………………………….........….......... 13 Social and Political Foundations ………………………………………………........….. 15 The Mandate of Heaven ……………………………………….................…….. 17 The Old Sinitic Religion ……………………………………………………….. 19 Traditions of Stratification and Officialdom ………………………..........…….. 20 Common Orality ……………………………………………........................….. 22 The Literary Elite ………………………………………………...............…….. 23 Changes ………………………………………………......…………………………….. 25 End Notes ……………………………………………...……………………………….. 29 Chapter Two Searching for Logical Consciousness ................................................................. 35 Logical Consciousness ..................................................................................................... 35 Taoist Order ..................................................................................................................... 40 Criticism: The First Transvaluation ..................................................................... 41 Tao: The “Native Innocence” .............................................................................. 42 Nihilism: The Undermining of “Self-Activity” ................................................... 43 Confucian Humanism ...................................................................................................... 44 Skepticism: “Doubt is Rarely Purely Negative” .................................................. 45 Logical Theory of Change: Scientific Roots in Divination ................................. 45 Conservatism: Blocking Change with Deductive Habits of Mind ....................... 47 Mohist Pragmatism .......................................................................................................... 49 Practical Reasoning: “The Best Antidote” ........................................................... 50 Universal Laws of Action: Throwing the Net at the Fish .................................... 51 Narrowness: Another Enemy to Innovation ........................................................ 52 Hu’s Pragmatic Theory of Logic ..................................................................................... 53 In Communication ........................................................................................................... 56 End Notes ......................................................................................................................... 59 Chapter Three Building a Literary Aesthetic Awareness ......................................................... 65 The New Education of Hu Shi: How “Fitness” Became His Name ................................ 65 The Master, (Shèngsēng 圣僧): A Learned Youth .............................................. 65 iv Shanghai Days: Hu’s Education in Evolution, Revolution, and Pessimism ........ 67 From Apples to Pragmatism: An American Education ....................................... 68 The Literary Revolution: Cultural Utensils of Logical Thought ..................................... 70 Build Toward a Nationalistic Consciousness ...................................................... 71 Educate the Individual: Gaining Access through Vernacularization ................... 73 Elevate the Vernacular Language: Breaking through to the Other Side .............. 74 Exercise Doubt and Judgment: Choosing between Ideas on Equal Ground ........ 75 Reform Education: Educating for Possibility ...................................................... 78 Encourage Optimism: Cultivating the People’s Imagination .............................. 81 Cultivate the Arts and the Artists: Rearranging Aesthetics and the National Future ................................................. 83 End Notes ......................................................................................................................... 86 Chapter Four The Chinese Sophist: Hu Shi’s Model for a New Public Intellectual ................ 93 The New Sophist .............................................................................................................. 93 Ancient Radicals .............................................................................................................. 94 Rhetorical Power .............................................................................................................. 96 The Sophists Spread the Power ........................................................................................ 96 A New Type of Teacher: The Relevance is in the Metaphor .......................................... 97 Opportunity ........................................................................................................ 99 Courage .............................................................................................................. 102 A Critical Approach ........................................................................................... 105 Creativity ............................................................................................................ 106 Tolerance, Patience, and Self-Sufficiency ......................................................... 110 Wisdom .............................................................................................................. 111 Eloquence ........................................................................................................... 114 End Notes .......................................................................................................................118 Conclusion For a Rhetorical Synthesis ................................................................................... 127 A Reform for Two Audiences ........................................................................................ 127 The Historical Society .................................................................................................... 128 The Contemporary Society ............................................................................................ 128 State of the Field ............................................................................................................ 130 End Notes ....................................................................................................................... 131 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 133 Vita ............................................................................................................................................. 141 v Abstract This is a study of the theory of critical Sophistic logic that underwrote Hu Shi’s involvement in China’s 20th century reform period known as the Chinese Renaissance. Hu Shi was a radical liberal reformer who played a leading role in the New Culture Movement. He pursued a two-pronged project for cultural reform. One side of the reform was focused on developing a critical pragmatic logical theory. This side was aimed at the intellectual class and appealed to the heritage of the Confucian literati. The other side of the reform was focused on lifting the people’s vernacular language from vulgarity to serve as the foundation for an aesthetically developed