ZHANG DUNSUN

(1884/1887-1972/1973)
Born in 1884/1887 in the county Hansyan (sovr. Yuhang) Zhejiang. A self-taught, self-education in Japan. In 1919, Zhang Dunsun initiated 'debate on socialism'. In 1910-1920-ies has worked with political organizations reformers - the Progressive Party and the Study Group, was president of the Public University of China (1925-1930), . professor of philosophy Yantszinskogo University (1930-1952) in Beijing, the chief editor of several newspapers and magazines (1916-1986),
. Together with Zhang Tszyunmaem in 1934-1946 was the organizer and leader of National Socialist Party of China (later - the Democratic Socialist Party), one of the leaders of the Democratic League of China. During the Second World War, was arrested by the Japanese in Beijing. After the formation of China - a member of the Central People's Government. In February 1952, was criticized as 'independent' ideologue, removed from all posts. His further fate is unknown.
Zhang Dunsun was one of the most competent experts in China of Western Philosophy. Translated into Chinese dialogues of Plato, the works of Bergson Matter and Memory and Creative Evolution. The greatest influence on his outlook had Kant, David Hume, Bertrand Russell, C. I. Lewis, A. N. Whitehead. In the philosophical issues Zhang Dunsun focused on the theory of knowledge, . Desiring to implement the synthesis of East and West combined neo-Confucian rationalism (a-sin-jae-syu) and reinterpreted by Kantianism, . that generally taken the form of 'epistemological pluralism' (to the yuan-jen-shih-lun), . or panstrukturalizma,
. His philosophical position himself called 'skeptical idealism' (Cun-and wei-hsin-lun). Of the books he had written the greatest theoretical importance are: Jen-shih-lun (Epistemology), Chih-yu Shih Wen-hua (Cognition and Culture), Xin Zhe-Xue Lun-CDR (Collection of articles on the new philosophy), the Tao-te Zhe -Xue (Moral philosophy). Arguing along the lines of general semantics, . Zhang Dunsun claimed, . that the structure of a sentence in the major European languages is reducible to the elementary form 'a is b', . whereas in the Chinese language is the basic structure of 'a refers to b' (a R b), . due to the absence in writing and literature in Chinese venyane copula 'be',
. Consequently, the syntax of logic venyanya closer relations, rather than Aristotelian syllogistics. Lack ligament 'be' - the reason, . that Chinese philosophy (aside from the introduction of Buddhism) does not know the identity categories, . substance, . causality, . atom and has no ontology and cosmology (the presence of cosmogony and 'zhiznesozertsaniya' - jen-sheng-guan),
. In general, the logic of Chinese thinkers, alien to the law of contradiction, he defined as 'logic of opposites', or 'correlative duality', thereby supporting the theory of domination in China 'correlative thinking'.

Speaking against the Marxist conception of dialectics, Zhang Dunsun in 1934 started a discussion on dialectical materialism. Not recognizing the existence of contradictions in the objective reality, he argued that knowledge should be subject to a logical, rather than the laws of dialectical and Marxist philosophy is the only controversial obschestvovednuyu hypothesis

. Desire Zhang Dunsunya to the synthesis of Eastern and Western values affect its interpretation of democracy, . not only as a socio-political system of government, . but as 'a certain level of civilization', . characterized by high spiritual and moral principles,
. Equivalent to the Western category 'freedom' he found in the Chinese concept of 'self-satisfaction, self-sufficiency' (tzu te), which is achieved when 'everyone should be their nature' and 'living in harmony with the mind'. Realized in the late 1940's shift his interests from metaphysics to the sociology of knowledge and belief in cultural notions of conditionality led Zhang Dunsunya rejection of dialogue with Marxism. The result of the latter was the concept of 'middle course', the implicit social partnership in the society, a bourgeois democratic politics and socialist planning in the economy.