The birth of enlightenment secularism from the spirit of Confucianism

Abstract

The aim of the essay is to demonstrate that the contact of European philosophy with Chinese thought in the second half of the 17th and 18th century influenced the rise and development of secularism, which became a distinctive feature of the Western Enlightenment. The first part examines how knowing the history of China and Confucian ethics has questioned biblical chronology and undermined faith as a necessary condition of morality. These allegations were afterwards countered by reinterpreting Confucianism as cryptomonotheism. I will argue this debate has contributed to the birth of secular philosophy of history, which put an end to the Enlightenment Sinophilism. Throughout those changes in the image of China, nothing but an image was discussed: as it would be presented on a basis of the thought of Wang Fuzhi and other representatives of Chinese kaozheng考證 movement, the encounter with the contemporaries of the Westerners would have opened a real dialogue.

Mediating effect of resilience in the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction during COVID‐19: A cross‐country study of Thai and Chinese college students

“…Thus, Thai college students likely more readily perceived the influence of loneliness on life satisfaction as a result of the absence of affiliation. Compared with the Chinese students, who are characteristically atheist and independent (Rogacz, 2018 ; Y. X. Zhang & Yin, 2019 ; Zheng & Kapoor, 2021 ), the Thai students were likely raised with the Buddhist principles of altruism and interpersonal interdependence (Phra, 2015 ; Yablo & Field, 2007 ), which may have heightened their perception of loneliness under social distancing measures. The differing social distancing policies, familial structures, and cultural backgrounds may explain the Thai students' need for affiliation, the lack of which during the social distancing period resulted in the stronger influence of loneliness on their life satisfaction; the compensating mechanism of resilience was insufficient to neutralize this effect.…”

“…Thus, Thai college students likely more readily perceived the influence of loneliness on life satisfaction as a result of the absence of affiliation. Compared with the Chinese students, who are characteristically atheist and independent (Rogacz, 2018;Y. X. Zhang & Yin, 2019;Zheng & Kapoor, 2021), the Thai students were likely raised with the Buddhist principles of altruism and interpersonal interdependence (Phra, 2015;Yablo & Field, 2007), which may have heightened their perception of loneliness under social distancing measures.…”

“…In relation to student management services, we recommend that student managers and counselors assist Thai and Chinese college students in constructing social support networks so that these students can maintain resilience to loneliness in a social distancing context. Second, Thai college students may rely more heavily on affiliation (Chaturachinda & Boonthai, 2017; Murgai, 2004; Phra, 2015; Yablo & Field, 2007) compared with Chinese college students (Brinthaupt & Dove, 2012; Hesketh et al, 2015; Nyman, 1995; Rogacz, 2018; Y. X. Zhang & Yin, 2019; Zheng & Kapoor, 2021) and thus perceive stronger feelings of loneliness than do Chinese college students in a social distancing context. In a social distancing context, those providing student management services must consider students' cultural characteristics, that is, whether the students are domestic or international students.…”

“…Thailand, which is a Buddhist‐majority country largely composed of multichild families, emphasizes altruism and interdependence through social relationships (Chaturachinda & Boonthai, 2017; Downey & Condron, 2004; Phra, 2015; Yablo & Field, 2007). By contrast, China, whose society is largely composed of single‐child families (Hesketh et al, 2015), tends to be atheist (Rogacz, 2018; Zheng & Kapoor, 2021) and has become increasingly independent and self‐centered in the modern era (Brinthaupt & Dove, 2012; Nyman, 1995; Y. X. Zhang & Yin, 2019). Furthermore, the different Thai and Chinese COVID‐19 protocols may result in different feelings toward social distancing among college students in these countries.…”