Dear Esteemed Readers,
The third edition of the student magazine „die Kulturschock“ revolves around the theme „China & Transcultural Understanding.“
The inspiration for the theme of the third edition stems from the research paper „Rationality as a Challenge for Relativism“ by Felix Keilhack, under the guidance of Professor Wen (Renmin University of China; Beijing Normal University, China). The new edition aims to examine China as a field of research using the methodological cultural relativism approach and to question the Western perspective. The rational paradigm of modernity is considered outdated, leaving the question open as to how postmodern science should progress.
The student journal „die Kulturschock“ from the Institute of Ethnology at LMU Munich, Germany, warmly invites you to explore an exciting and diverse issue focusing on China – an extremely heterogeneous country with a rich culture, philosophy, and history. This publication was created with the help of many international guest authors, including students and professors from various academic disciplines. Each contributor offered their unique perspective in their own way. This issue covers a wide range of topics, from everyday life in China and the importance of family, to the Chinese language, philosophy, religion, and ideology. While we cannot claim to provide a fully holistic overview, we hope to inspire and captivate you with insights into China.
Lastly, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the participating guest authors for their interesting articles and outstanding contributions to this project. We hope this issue will serve as a basis for future international contacts and exchanges.
Yours sincerely, The Editorial Team
Rationality as a Challenge for Relativism
This term paper has been written by Felix Keilhack under the supervision of Prof. 孙伟 (Sun Wei) at Beijing Normal University in Sose23.
Within the topic of Chinese philosophy, due to the lack of cultural sensitivity in sciences, this term paper addresses the question, in which way rationality challenges the relativistic paradigma of post-modernity’s human sciences. This paper answers the question through a historical outline of the co-existence of and competition between the so-called first and second problematic thinking modes. Whereas the first problematic as aesthetic-correlitive thinking rather harmonizes well with relativistic studies, the second problematic as logical-causal or rational thinking neglects a hermeneutic way of understanding foreign cultures and philosophies. By broadly reflecting on Western analytical methods and promoting an awareness for Chinese cultural uniqueness, the paper strongly argues for the necessity of relativism.
Rationality as a Challenge for Relativism
Marxism and Relativism
- Challenging the Concept of Relativism through Marxism
This article was written by Adrian Ortega Camara Lind. It refutes the contemporary academic critique of Marxism while introducing the meaning and history of Marxism as a theoretical paradigm. The article’s latter half applies the methodological insights of Marxism to critique the paradigm of theoretical relativism as an ideology.
Die Hausarbeit „Rationality as a Challenge for Relativism“ beschäftigt sich mit verschiedenen Themen. Bevor die dritte Ausgabe im SoSe24 erscheint, bietet die Kulturschock 5 kurze Artikel zu den folgenden Themenblöcken.
(1) Cultural Relativism as a Scientific Method
Kulturrelativismus als wissenschaftliche Methode
(2) David Hall and Roger Ames‘ Definition of Culture
Der Kulturbegriff von David Hall & Roger Ames
(3) The Paradigm of Rationality
Das Paradigma der Rationalität als veralteter Ansatz der Weltanschauung
(4) The Correlation between Capitalism & Rationality
Zusammenhang zwischen Kapitalismus & Rationalität
(5) Western Hegemony in Sciences
Westliche Hegemonie in der Wissenschaft
Externer Link zur Hausarbeit „Multikulturalismus am Beispiel Chinas“ von Felix Keilhack, entstanden in der Philosophie im SoSe2022.
