Liang Shuming - Eastern and Western Cultures and Their Philosophies

Eastern and Western Cultures and Their Philosophies

Released in 1921, ’’Eastern and Western Cultures and their Philosophies’’ put forth Liang’s theory of three cultures. This was one of four main Neo-Confucian responses to Scientism. His theory stemmed from Yogacara Buddhism’s three natures. His theory was based in his definition of the formation of distinct cultures. In Liang’s book he states that: What is culture? It is the life-style of a people. What is life? It is the expression of inexhaustible will—something quite close to the will in Schopenhauer—always being satisfied and yet not fully satisfied.

According to Liang, will decides life and life decides culture, so cultures are different when the wills and desires of the people who populate them differ. Liang saw three orientations of the will: the desire 1) to change and affect your surroundings to bend to your will 2) to change your will so you do not desire to change your surroundings 3) to eliminate will entirely so one no longer desires anything because of his understanding that much of the world is an illusion. To Liang, the three orientations of will were not unconnected but a progression. He says that since knowledge starts with applying reason to your surroundings the first orientation is the most formative. This leads to an imbalance, where one must start to use intuition to relate morally to the world. Finally, as intuition develops, it leads to hardship instead of relieving it. This leads to direct perception, which is the third orientation. Liang maintained that the West held the first orientation, while China held the second and India held the third.