A New Understanding of the Human Self: Li Zehou’s “Subjectality”

AbstractLi Zehou’s concept of subjectality (zhutixing) is a central component of his philosophical system. In explaining this concept, Li has expanded the concept of the human Self in post-revolutionary modernity. This article explores the foundations of this concept, its significance in contemporary Chinese theory, and shows that it represents a call for a new kind of humanism. Using a multidimensional comparative approach, it will illustrate how Li’s concept of subjectality has the potential to fill the currently prevailing “value vacuum” and transform postmodern alienation into a truly fulfilling “human condition” that can be actively realized and practiced in a free society of autonomous individuals. Notes1 Li and Cauvel, Four Essays, 94.2 Cauvel, “The Transformative Power,” 156.3 Chandler, “Li Zehou,” 278.4 Li, Renleixue, 173.5 See, for example, Li, “Subjectivity,” 174; Li, “Guanyu,” 14.6 Bruya, “Li Zehou’s,” 138.7 However, Li Zehou’s theory cannot be solely reduced to a simple drawing from the ideas of Marx and Kant. Instead, he uses Marx as a starting point to reexamine issues originally proposed by Kant, with the goal of resolving problems stemming from Kant’s theoretical approach. In doing so, Li aims to overcome Kant’s idealist limitations and restore Kantian rationality within a materialist and historical framework. Through this process of incorporating both Marx and Kant, Li seeks to improve and “reinvent” the traditional concept of practice within historical materialism.8 For example, Wang, “Li Zehou,” 21.9 Li, “Kangde,” 5.10 Lin, “Search,” 979.11 孔门由“礼”归“仁”, 以“仁”为体, 这是一条由人而神, 由“人道”现“天道”, 从“人心”建“天心”的路。从而, 是人为天地立“心”, 而非天地为人立“心”。 Li, Renleixue, 180.12 Gu, “Subjectivity,” 210.13 Lin, 982.14 个体主体性表现在近现代西方思潮和当代中国的人道主义呐喊中, 它们大都只是对各种异化的抗议和反抗, 并无真正坚实的理论成果。Li, Renleixue, 125.15 Wang, “Li Zehou,” 95.Additional informationNotes on contributorsJana S. RoškerProfessor Jana S. Rošker studied Sinology and received her PhD from the Vienna University. She is the first Slovenian Sinologist, co-founder and long-time head of the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia). In total, she spent over ten years in China and Taiwan at various universities and research institutes. To date, she has published twenty-six books and over one hundred and fifty articles and book chapters. Her major work on Li Zehou includes Following His Own Path: Li Zehou and Contemporary Chinese Philosophy and Becoming Human—Li Zehou’s Ethics. She is editor in chief of the journal Asian Studies, vice president of the International Society for Chinese Philosophy (ISCP), and founder, first president, and honorary member of the European Association of Chinese Philosophy (EACP). She has been honored with several prestigious academic prizes and awards at the national and international levels.