Abstract

This essay reflects on the differences between Chinese and Western philosophy from the perspective of their respective views of nature, and explores the inner factors of these differences. By comparing the religious atmosphere present during the formative periods of the different natural philosophies [in ancient China and in ancient Greece], this essay will attempt to reveal the reasons behind the different characteristics displayed by ancient China and ancient Greece in the transition from a religious consciousness to a natural philosophy. Through a comparison of the concept of "the way" in Lao Zi's thought and the concept of logos in the thought of Heraclitus and Parmenides, this essay hopes to demonstrate the abstract character of natural philosophy in pre-Qin China in contrast with the specificity and concreteness of the natural philosophy of ancient Greece. The author also compares teleological concepts in the two systems. In this comparison, the author expresses his belief that in China's case, the introduction of telos into nature was expressed as pursuing the will of heaven through human affairs, whereas in Greece it was expressed as a forcible imposition of the will of God on Nature. Finally, in comparing the "Da Zhuan" in the Yijing and [Aristotle's] Metaphysica, this essay hopes to reveal the intellectual foundation for the fact that Chinese philosophy has taken the human being as its primary subject, whereas Western philosophy has taken Nature as its primary subject