View On The Intuition About The Early Modern Neo-Confucians

There is a phenomenon in Chinese modern philosophy which early modern Neo-Confucianists praised intuition highly. Focus on this phenomenon, this paper is intend to dig for the ideology resources about intuition of four modern Neo-Confucianists in the early ages, and clearing up the thread of the intuition's theory. Because of the complexity of intuition and the difficulty of clarifying the intuition's theory, this paper is only a preliminary study.Liang Suming claimed that the contradiction between the East culture and the West is same as intuition and intellectuality. Intuition conforms to life's nature, the western cultural crisis was rooted in the lopsided use of intellectuality and instrumental reason. His thought would rather be considered as his emotional preference than his reasoning analysis. Liang uncovered the connotation in morals. Intuition, as a metaphysical methodology, can transcend the thought which based on the subject-object dichotomy, and it's the only way to experience the "inner life". Intuition is the source of values, following intuition is said to be benevolent. Intuition also is a kind of feeling, while one feels at ease, his true feeling comes along. However, Liang overlooked the significance of epistemological intuition which resulted in a hypercorrection of intellectuality.Feng Youlan adopted the logical analysis (the positive method) in order to logicalize Chinese traditional philosophy, especially the Neo-Confucianism in Song-Ming Dynasties. His metaphysics were changed into a static logical analysis from a dynamic life. The Li, Qi, Dao and Great Completeness which inferred by the positive method are inconceivable and unspeakable. One has to resort to the negative method when he pursues the universal state. This led to a partita from "the positive" to "the negative". Feng looked upon "the negative method" as super-rational mysticism. Furthermore, he proposed to combine them, he claimed only in this way can it be possible to construct a philosophy matching the future world. Obviously, his philosophy was lack of the practical character and recognition of feelings and will. His negative method was colored by expediency. There is a trace of patchwork in his combination of positive and negative methods, which isn't so good.Xiong Shili laid emphasis on grasping the true being by intuition which is a unity of knowledge and action. He criticized the way of thinking in subject-object dichotomy and over-relying on the analytic techniques. His core topic- "substance and function cannot be separated " isn't the negation of the demarcation between noumenon and phenomenon. Searching for the noumenon by means of intellectuality is a distorted metaphysics, we should "appeal to demonstrate ourselves". For Xiong, "Knowledge" means understanding by demonstration, tacit knowledge or observation. The noumenon should be presented when the personal feelings and desires were refrained. "Action" is referred to as "to know by experience", "to demonstrate personally" or "to practice", i.e., to enlighten the original mind and benevolence by studying things. Obviously, this is a moral intuition rather than an epistemological intuition. By clearly showing the entanglement of speculation and practice, Xiong paid attention to both of them equally. He is closely to the Confucian spirit. However, without giving intellectuality a proper consideration, he continued the weakness of overestimating the instrumental reason which deeply-rooted in Confucians. His theory is characteristic of metaphysical construction.He Lin intended to combine the Lu-Wang's Study of mind with the Neo-Hegelianism, among which the former stresseed intuition while the latter emphasized rational speculation. He tried to convert the traditional Confucianism into modern epistemology so as to seek a methodological supporting-point for his "New Study of Mind". He claimed that one grasps the reality by intuition is relevant to how accomplished he use intuition and whether or not he's good at using it. He held that intuition and intellectuality have their own functions without being contradictory to each other. With an attempt to digest them, he noticed the post-intellectuality intuition. His intuition is closed to the dialectical unity of logical and intuitive thinking, but he failed to extend to the domains of morals and feelings because of his limited methodological perspective. It is regarded as a severe loss which caused by an overestimate of intuition's methodological preciseness, so as to the characters and its implications of Chinese philosophy are lost.Through reseaching, we found the inner logic of Modern Neo-Confucianists'theory of intuition is the co-existence: the "Built"- exploring and arguing thecontemporary values of Confucian ethics, the "Broken" - criticizing the scientism.On the culture-based angle, Liang Shuming stressed the difference of Eastern and Western culture, and he advocated that representing the Chinese culture is Confucian ethics which the core is benevolence ("ren"). As the core of Western culture, reason is practical tool of pursuing outward. In fact, reason can't reach the conscience, so wemust rely on intuition. From the fundamental spirit of culture- philosophy, LiangShuming identified the difference of Eastern and Western culture, so intuition as a metaphysics method was opened out. Thus, the intention of culture changed into an academic issue, how to define, use and demonstrate intuition is an important aspect of Neo-Confucianism. It's criticism of the overuse of instrumental reason. Neo-Confucianists considered that reason grasp the world no more than the sense and the concept, the sense divide world into subject and object, the concept comminute and abstract the object, we can't get the absoluteness by them. Grasping the absoluteness and eliminating the division of subject-object, we need intuition. It is clearly that the modern significance of traditional Confucianism was visualized by Neo-Confucians. At the same time, Neo-Confucianists advocated the subjectivity, there is only the presence of people but the existence of objective, the mind-nature theory take the place of ontology, the introspection replace the understanding about outside world, the relationship of Xin-Xin displace the subject-object.The construction and deconstruction of modern Neo-Confucianists in the early ages carried out about intuition, Neo-Confucianists reinforced what they believe by intuition. However, the reasonableness is out of view. Belief is anti-analytic, the belief lead people into a presupposed road when people interpret their vicissitudes. The benevolence which Neo-Confucianists justified is undoubtedly and determinately presented for themselves. Thus, their method isn't intellectual analysis which is commensurable and universal, it's intuition. In fact, intuition, as a method, is a unity of "knowledge" and "action", among which intellectuality, feeling, will and practice interplay with each other under an indeterminate cooperating state by means of a dynamically structure. It's a free and vital activity, which cannot be prescribed prior. Seen from a formal perspective, intuition is opposite and deviated from reason, actually it's a self-transcendence and fulfillment of reason.