VIETNAMESE EXISTENTIAL PHILOSOPHY: A CRITICAL REAPPRAISAL A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Hi ền Thu Lươ ng May, 2009 i © Copyright 2009 by Hi ền Thu Lươ ng ii ABSTRACT Title: Vietnamese Existential Philosophy: A Critical Reappraisal Lươ ng Thu Hi ền Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Temple University, 2009 Doctoral Advisory Committee Chair: Lewis R. Gordon In this study I present a new understanding of Vietnamese existentialism during the period 1954-1975, the period between the Geneva Accords and the fall of Saigon in 1975. The prevailing view within Vietnam sees Vietnamese existentialism during this period as a morally bankrupt philosophy that is a mere imitation of European versions of existentialism. I argue to the contrary that while Vietnamese existential philosophy and European existentialism share some themes, Vietnamese existentialism during this period is rooted in the particularities of Vietnamese traditional culture and social structures and in the lived experience of Vietnamese people over Vietnam’s 1000-year history of occupation and oppression by foreign forces. I also argue that Vietnamese existentialism is a profoundly moral philosophy, committed to justice in the social and political spheres. Heavily influenced by Vietnamese Buddhism, Vietnamese existential philosophy, I argue, places emphasis on the concept of a non-substantial, relational, and social self and a harmonious and constitutive relation between the self and other. The Vietnamese philosophers argue that oppressions of the mind must be liberated and that social structures that result in violence must be changed. Consistent with these ends Vietnamese existentialism proposes a multi-perspective iii ontology, a dialectical view of human thought, and a method of meditation that releases the mind to be able to understand both the nature of reality as it is and the means to live a moral, politically engaged life. This study incorporates Vietnamese existential philosophy from 1954-1975 into the flow of the Vietnamese philosophical tradition while also acknowledging its relevance to contemporary Vietnam. In particular, this interpretation of Vietnamese existentialism helps us to understand the philosophical basis of movements in Vietnam to bring about social revolution, to destroy forms of social violence, to reduce poverty, and to foster equality, freedom, and democracy for every member of society. By offering a comparison between Vietnamese existential thinkers and Western existentialists, the study bridges Vietnamese and the western traditions while respecting their diversity. In these ways I hope to show that Vietnamese existentialism makes an original contribution to philosophical thought and must be placed on the map of world philosophies. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I especially would like to thank my advisor, Professor Lewis Gordon, for working with me through these years and for his helpful advice, courses, and books on African existentialism and phenomenology that inspired me to write a dissertation on Vietnamese existential perspective. I would like to thank the Ho Chi Minh National Political Administrative Academy Board, the Department of International Cooperation and the Director of the department Dr. Luu Dat Thuyet, the Department of Human Resources, and the Department of Philosophy for offering me the time to complete the doctoral degree at Temple University. I especially would like to thank Dr. Tran Phuc Thang, the Director of the Philosophy Project funded by the Ford Foundation for his support of my study. I would like to thank the Ford Foundation for providing me the scholarship that enabled me to dedicate full time to the completion of my doctoral research in philosophy. I would especially like to thank Dr. Michael DiGregorio, Program Officer for Media, Arts, Culture and Education at the Ford Foundation Office in Hanoi, who understood how important philosophy is, especially in the context of Vietnam, and who had confidence in my abilities to contribute to the development of philosophy in Vietnam. Dr. DiGregorio’s vision has opened a significant door for me to enter the philosophical world and to broaden my horizon toward the standpoint of Sunyata . My studies at Temple have enabled me to come to a deeper understanding of Vietnamese and Western culture and philosophy. Building on my studies, I hope to be able to contribute to the development of Vietnamese scholarship and the world of practical affairs in Vietnam in the future. I would like to thank Professor Philip Alperson for his help since my very first step in applying to the Department of Philosophy at Temple University. I greatly appreciate Professor Alperson's efforts to make my dissertation oral defense a success. I would also like to thank the Center for Educational Exchange with Vietnam (CEEVN), its Director, Ms. Minh Kauffman, and Ms. Wanda Kraybil for their administrative and educational support that has significantly contributed to my scholarly achievement. I would like to thank The Center for Vietnamese Philosophy, Society, and Culture at Temple University and Dr. Sophie Quinn-Jedge for their support and their work in promoting Vietnamese studies in the United States. I would like to thank the Department of Philosophy Temple University for offering its resources and its courses which have helped me to broaden my scholarly horizon. I especially thank Professor J.N. Mohanty for sharing with me his knowledge of and v passion for phenomenology over countless hours in conversation. I deeply appreciate his kindness and generosity. I would also like to thank Professor Joseph Margolis for invaluable seminars on aesthetics and for his kindness. I am also indebted to Professor Kristin Gjesdal who encouraged my passion for philosophy and who generously shared with me her knowledge of Husserl, Heidegger, and Hegel. I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues who have helped me during the Ph.D. program: Ph ạm Anh Hùng, Tal Corem, Emily Nussdorfer, Dr. Ngô Thanh Nhàn, and Margaret Moore. Finally, I wish to thank Professor Mary Hawkesworth for all the knowledge I have gained from her through the lectures on social, political, and feminist philosophy and globalization she delivered in at the Ho Chi Minh National Political Administrative Academy inVietnam. I am deeply thankful to Professor Hawkesworth for encouraging me to rise to my best potential. My gratitude for her is beyond words. Writing a dissertation on a second language is a challenge. The final version of my dissertation benefited especially from the work of Professor Alperson, Professor Gordon, and Professor Hawkesworth. I am grateful for the generosity, help, support, and kindness I have received from the professors, colleagues, and friends I have met at Temple University. Studying for doctorate in philosophy at Temple University has been a wonderful education experience for me. vi DEDICATION To Philip Alperson who brought me to the endless open horizon of philosophy To Mary Hawskeworth who nourished the ideas and the writing of this study and who understood the nature of my project from the beginning To Cathy A. Barlow and Susan Karol Martel who were always there for me and who encouraged me to achieve my best potential To my Parents for whom my studies have their deepest meaning vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................v DEDICATION .................................................................................................................. vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION TO EXISTENTIALISM AND HISTORY OF POST- 1975 VIETNAMESE CONTEMPORARY ASSESSMENTS OF EXISTENTIAL PHILOSOPHY ..............................................................................1 2. VIETNAMESE BUDDHISM AS A MODE OF EXISTENTIAL PHILOSOPHY .......................................................................................................51 3. WHO AM I? LY CHANH TRUNG ON THE SELF AND THE OTHER ...........98 4. WHAT SHOULD I DO? ON REVOLUTION ..................................................130 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................183 viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND A HISTORY OF POST-1975 CONTEMPORARY VIETNAMESE ASSESSMENTS OF EXISTENTIAL PHILOSOPHY Introduction “Philosophy of existence,” “existential philosophy,” and “existentialism” are all terms used to refer to a philosophy that gained much prominence in Europe during the first half of the twentieth century. Although many of the arguments of existential philosophy are as old as philosophy itself, it became identified as a philosophy primarily through the writings of Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche in the nineteenth century and then in more systematic philosophical form in the thought of Karl Jaspers, Martin Heidegger, and Jean-Paul Sartre, among others, in the twentieth. This philosophy examines what it means to be human, to be free, and to be in a struggle with reason in the world, which William Barrett has described as the struggle of “irrational man.” It is the aim of this dissertation to demonstrate that the questions with which all existentialists struggle were also taken up by philosophers in Vietnam both explicitly and implicitly during the pre-colonial