Consciously Employing “Analytic Chinese Philosophy”
In an article published in “Philosophical Trends” 1st issue of 2025, Han Linhe asserts that the method of logical analysis is undoubtedly one of the most suitable approaches for studying Chinese philosophy. In fact, the discipline of Chinese philosophy was initially established through the use of logical analysis. Two significant modern Chinese philosophical systems—Jin Yuelin’s Theory of Dao and Feng Youlan’s New Rationalism—were both consciously constructed using the method of logical analysis.
Since the early 20th century, “analytic philosophy” has not been a specific school of thought, nor is it a fixed philosophical framework. Instead, it broadly refers to philosophical research activities and their outcomes that employ modern logical analysis methods. Contemporary Chinese philosophical research should consciously adopt modern logical analysis methods and appropriately draw upon the conceptual and theoretical resources of analytic philosophy. Such research in Chinese philosophy can be termed “Analytic Chinese Philosophy.”