Against Ontology: Chinese Thought and François Jullien: An Introduction

Abstract

François Jullien wants us to see what thought and life could look like without ontology, promising intellectual riches unavailable in the heavy ontological apparatus we are deeply invested in. The strength of Jullien’s argument comes from a deep and unique alliance between philosophy and Chinese thought, a risky one – incurring predictable disgruntlement from both philosophy and sinology – but nevertheless enduring and productive. This is far from advocating one in place of another, as we are accustomed to do in critical theory in relation to divinity, grand narratives, scientism, modernity, and even stable truths. It is an endeavour to think the ‘unthought of’ of ontology through what Jullien calls a vis-à-vis suspended in productive tension, a dialogue. In philosophy, the other is subsumed in a singular dialectical relationship through oppositions. What Jullien insists on is a doubleness of co-existence in Chinese thought rather than a singularity of dialectics in ontology. If ontology grounds a philosophy that makes a world in its image, and if that image is increasingly untenable as an ecology of the planet, Jullien’s call for a deeper reflexivity in ontology is of enormous significance. This special issue brings both Jullien’s argument and Chinese thought to a forum to explicate what this could mean in multiple fields from art and architecture to anthropology and critical theory.

Based on artificial intelligence and digital space technology, research on environmental landscape design of Jinghe art and culture centre

“…*1085626372@qq.com; 15091339567@163.com; 2805004751@qq.com This study aims to conduct in-depth research and discussion on the environmental landscape design of Jinghe Art and Culture Center with the help of artificial intelligence and digital space technology [10][11][12][13][14] . Through the use of advanced technology, we can realize the scientific analysis and prediction of the site topography, climate conditions, spatial layout and other factors, providing an objective and reliable basis for the design [15][16][17][18][19][20] .…”