J.

KWEE SWAN LIAT

UNIVERSITY OF LEIDEN

Methods of
Comparative Philosophy
THE IMPORTANCE OF
COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY
As in the days of the early Renaissance, we see today in western Europe
a ueod toward re-Orientation. But while io the Renaissance cultural inspira­
tion was sought io the direction of Westem antiquity, and the sources of
material riches were looked for in the East, the situation has now reversed
itself. With the release of their former colonies, the European nations are
thrown on their own resources and on a reorganization in Europe itself.
But on the cultural and spirirual level there is a growing tendency to draw
inspiration from the East. Now, it is uue that the position of philosophy in
the West is quite different from that in the East. In the West philosophy
has been the professional concern of scholars. Philosophy has become a
science, and by the hyperuophy of the intellect io Westem science philosophy
has oo appeal ro the masses, who must be content with religious guidance
and belief in dogmas. This is the fundamental difference between Kant and
Christ. Io the East philosophy has always been a philosophy o f life and is,
in practice, inseparable from religion. It is not only a science; it is a general
discipline, a way of life, a vital concern not only of scholars but of men
in general.
Thus it is that the Confucian ideal of "nei sheng wai wang" (the inner
sage and the ourer king) 1 is the ideal of integral man, the poet-sage with his
matured wisdom who is the practical and social man at the same time. Among
the leading officials in Chinese history are found many who are philosophers
and kings, scholars and artists. In like manner yoga, in its broadest sense,
is the total discipline of integrating life, through devotion ( bhakti-yoga),
acrual living (karma-yoga), bodily uaioing (hatha-yoga), mental training
'Cl. Fung Yu-b.o., A Him<-, of ChiMJ, PbiJ01oph1, uans. Dede Bodde (PeipiDS: Hea,y
Vetch, 1937), Vol I, p. 3; 111d FW18 Yu-b.o., Th, Sp;ril of ChiMJ, Pbilo1oph,, uans. B. R.
Hasha (Loodca: Kega.a Paul, Treoc.b, TNbnet and Co., 1947), pp. 4, ).

10
METHODS OF COMPARATIVE PHIWSOPHY 11

(raja-yoga), and knowledge and meditation (jnana-yoga) .2 A philosopher

like Mahatma Gandhi was a sage and a political leader as well. Also in
Buddhism we find the same many-sidedness in the approach to Nirv�a:
through faith in the all-pervading mercy of Amida i n Ching-t'u, through
observance of the vinaya-rules and participation of the Sangha, through
mantras and prayers in the mystical school, through meditation and knowl­
edge in 2.en and T'ien-t'ai. Philosophy in the East is a question not only of
learning but also of living. Thus, philosophy pervades life i n the East to
a much greater degree than in the West.
So it is only natural that the West, in irs need for a philosophy of life, is
3
expecting new salvation from the East. But such emotional expectations
involve many dangers. The rejuvenating influence of philosophy will not
come i n the form of the magic touch of age-old Oriental wisdom. There is
no yoga-technique, ready at hand, to heal the vital illness of Western man.
Salvation will not come, moreover, as a result of rejecting one tradition and
imitating another. Excessive reverence for ancient Oriental revelations is
just as great an obstacle to the adequate understanding of Eastern philosophy
as is prejudice of one's own superiority. The East today is no dreamland of
fakirs and porcelain temples. A revolutionary dynamism has changed things
radically. From Israel to Korea and Indonesia a renovating spirit is at work
causing complete subversion of socio-economic relations. Philosophy, more­
over, i s a living heritage i n the hands of living men. The actual spirit i n
India, China, or Japan is today as different from the classical temper in the
Vedas, the I Ching, or the Tripi�aka as modern philosophy in Europe i s
from the spirit of the Gospels. Though the central problems of philosophy
may be universally human and timeless, the setting of the problems and their
solutions are determined by historical, sociological, and cultural patterns.
Every resetting of old themes contains essentially new features. The language
and parables of Christ, of Plato, of Kl:��a, o f Gautama, of Confucius, need
transformation by Thomas Aquinas and Maritain, by Heidegger and White­
head, by Sankara and Gandhi, by Nagarjuna and Tai Hsu, by Chu Hsi and
Fung Yu-Ian, in order to keep in constant touch with living men and b e
understood. And only after the whole intricate and varied pattern of evolu­
tion of both Eastern and Western thought is grasped i s an evaluation of
the rich Eastern and Western heritages possible.
'Cf. Swami Vivekananda, Bhlli1i,yog11, KM11U-yog11 , R,ii11-yog", ]iu,w.7og11 (8th ed.; .Almora :
Mayavati, 1947-49).
'The foundation of the Theosophical Society in 1875, the growing interest in Vedanta among
Western scholars ( see, e.g., V1d.m111 for 1h, W.,,..,,. WorJJ, ed. Christ0pber Isherwood [London:
G«.rge Allen and Unwin, Ltd., 1948]}, and the populariry of pseud().yoga systems (as set out
in the popular but unscientific works of the journalist Paul Brunton) are significant indications.
12 J . KWEE SWAN LIAT

Such a methodic evaluation-and in a certain sense a re-evaluation--of

the complete philosophical heritage of both East and West is the way o f
comparative philosophy. Outside the scope of comparative philosophy a t ­
tempts to revive old revelations are heuristic and incidental, more a product
of fantasy than of genuine understanding. The way to a real understanding
is a long and hard one, surpassing by far the capacities of any single investi­
gator. Comparative philosophy is a never-ending approach, tried again and
again from various angles, ever correcting itself, ever revealing new and
fascinating aspecrs. The results of such a conscious, methodic evaluation
will, through the usual channels of modern education, slowly pervade the life
and thought of the people and become a powerful reuniting and reintegrating
force among nations. This is the only sound and justifiable base on which
philosophies of life can grow naturally. Through comparative philosophy
a true meeting of East and West may be effected. Herein lies the chief
importance of this long and eventful undertaking.

THE MULTIPLE APPROACH

IN COMPARATNE PHILOSOPHY
Methodical evaluation goes farther than the formal preparatory stages
of translation and collation. Comparative philosophy is a multiple and in­
tegral approach to the common issues of philosophy. In its historical de­
velopment, from about the middle of the last century to the present, we
see many phases. Generally speaking, we must have the following modes
of approach if justice is to be done to the complexity of the problem.
A. The philological approach. This involves the collation, arrangement,
and translation of teXts, and the construction of source books. The over­
coming o f the language barrier covers a vast field of study. Most philoso­
phers never proceed beyond this initial stage, and famous "standard" hand­
books on philosophy are restricted to textual criticism. Of course, the work
in this field is not yet finished; many texts still await translation. But, as
a result of the devoted study of so many philologists, the most important
texts are available in translations and can be used as a starting point for
later phases in the evaluation.
B. The historical af>Proach. This involves the reconstruction of the histori­
cal pattern of the evolution of ideas, the compilation of dates concerning phi­
losophers, the classification o f trends and movements, the grouping into
periods, and so forth. This method of approach is clearly related to the first.
A famous early attempt to survey the complete historical evolution of
ME1H0DS OF COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY 13

thought i s P. Deussen's HiitQt'J of Philosophy. Historical analyses of spe­

4

cial periods are often published in monographs. These surveys and mono­
graphs together form the next group-after the texts and their transla­
tions--of sources for evaluative studies.
C . The comparative approach. This involves, as a next step, the sche­
matic analysis of the total subjea matter of philosophy, and may center
about problems ( comparative metaphysics, comparative logic, comparative
ethics, etc.)� or about pervasive attitudes ( realism, idealism; monism, dual­
ism, pluralism, etc.) .8 This method of schematic comparison is the first
stage i n evaluation. Comparison involves the finding of analogies and, as
a result, of specific differences. This process deepens our insight into the
structural correlations in philosophy. Comparison may be considered as the
most fundamental element in evaluation. The danger in attempts at com­
parison is that the starting point. the viewpoint of comparison, may be
biased. Many Western scholars try to evaluate Eastern systems of thought
by comparing them from a Christian standpoint, which tacitly is assumed
as the only correa one.' Comparison must do justice to every item com­
pared both by stating the common analogical pattern and by relevating im­
portant specific differences. Both methods deserve equal attention. Com­
parison tends to overstress the analogy and to neglea the essential differ­
ences, often resulting in a false conviction that all philosophy or religion
is e.ssentially the same.
D. The formal-eva/.uative approach. The modern development of mathe­
matical and symbolic logic leading to semantics and signifies and to lin­
guistic studies in general has procured new modes of approach to philosoph­
ical problems. The aim of modern logical-positivists is the construction
of a mathesis universaJis, a universal symbolic language to express philosoph­
ical thoughts. Obviously, equal attempts are also important in compara­
tive philosophy, when comparison is not resrriaed to an objective study­
as mentioned in the former paragraph-but is undertaken in the direaion
• P. Deussen, AJ/g81Mi,,e Gtsehieh1, de, Philo1ophi• mil b81ond,r.,. Btrlkluiehtigung d,r
Religi-0""" (Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1894-1917).
'Paul Masson-Oursel, La phuo,ophu eomp,,,,e (Paris: Librairie Felix Akan, 1923).
'CJ. G. P. Conger, "Eastern and Western Meupbysia," in Philo,opby-E,,,1 ,,,,,1 W811, ed.
Charles A. Moore (Princeton: Prioceron University Press, 1944), ch. 9 .
'A &.mous example is Albert Schweitzer, Die Wel1M11eh1111ung d#f i,,Ji,chm Dmk#f (Miin­
chen: C. H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchbandlung, 1935); and S. Radhakrishnan's answer: P.4ll#fn
R.1ligi-Om .,.,I W811#fn Though/ (London: Oxford University Press, 1939), ch . 3. Aoo<her
remarkable example is F. Taymans d'Eypemoo, S.J., us p,,r.Jox11 du Boudhi11TU (L'ed.ition
universelle; Bruxelles, 1947), an exc,,lleot and lucid treatise, yet by an author who is coovinced
that the system be investigates is essentially erroneous. Ao unbiased study on mysticism is J. de
.Muquette, ln1rotl11e1i-On • I,, tn71tiq,u eom(JMie (Paris: Alcademia Raymond Duncan, 1948). A
good example of the comparative approach is P. T. Raju, Tbo11gh1 MUt R.1olil1: H,g,liM>nm .,.,I
AdvMU (London: George Allen and Uowin, Ltd., 1937), with an excellent introduction on the
valoe of comparative philosophy.
14 J. KWEB SWAN LIAT

of a methodical re-evaluation. A remarkable attempt to build u p a uni­

8
versal terminology by formal evaluation is made by F. S. C Northrop. It
is interesting to note how Fung Yu-Ian made use of propositional logic to
construct axiomatically a new system of metaphysics with terms derived
from
.· Neo-Confucianism.9
E. The psychological approach. Psychology has had an intensive influence
on modern thought since Bergson and James. Many attempts are made to
"explain" or to "expose" philosophy i n terms of the psychological suucture
of man and of his psychological responses to his surroundings. That the
psychological approach is applied in comparative philosophy, too, may be
easily understood by the fact that psychology as a science rapidly developed
in a period when the interest for Eastern civilizations and philosophies was
flourishing, but still more by the fact thar in his psychological crisis Western
man is eagerly looking to the East for salvation. Therefore, we find in the
°
works of Jung1 attempts at psychological evaluation in comparative phi­
losophy. Jung, however, is no Orientalist, and his work is not free from bias.
F. The phenomenological approach. The influence of psychology in the
study of epistemology and logic led E. Husserl to the development of his
phenomenological method, which in its turn opened the way to the most
popular trend in modern philosophy, existentialism. How important this
approach may be in comparative philosophy can be realized when we bear
in mind that the so-called intuitive approach in Eastern philosophy, and es­
pecially in Buddhism, is much akin to phenomenological research as applied
by Heidegger and Jaspers. Significant results may be expected from a phe­
nomenological evaluation of Buddhism, especially of 2.en.11
G. The sociological and anthropological approach. Anthropology orig­
inated from the discovery and study of strange and foreign cultures. The
approach to comparative philosophy by anthropology and sociology is, there­
fore, akin to the psychological approach. Sociological studies and results of
• F . S. C. Northrop, "The Complementary Emphases of Eastern Inrwtive and Western Scieo­
rific Philosoj>hy," in Philos<>f>hr-&s, and Weu, ch. 8. Cl. also, F . S. C Northrop, The Me'1ing
of E.m and Wetl (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1946).
• Fung Yu-Ian, The Spiri, of Chin6'e Philot<>Phr, ch. 10.
"C G .Jung wrote significant commentaries and introduaioos for ll. Wilhelm, D,u Geh,im,.,s
der gold8"8'1 Blute (Miiocheo: Eugen Diederich Verlag, 1929); W. Y. Evaos,Weoa, Tibe"'11-
isch,s Tol8nbuch (Zili:ich: lla!cher Verlag, 1939); D . T. Suzuki, l,u,odu&lion to Zm B,.J,Jhism
(London: Rider and Co, 1949); and ff. Zimmer, Der Weg rum Selbst (Zurich: llas<:her
Verlag, 1944). See also, C. G. Jung, "Zut Psychologie osrlicher Meditation," Bulu1in ds I,,
Socihi S,nsse ,l,s ""''' de l'IJxt,ims-Orient, V (1943), 33-53; and J. H . Yan der Hoop, "Free­
dom in the Philosophy of Eut and West," Phiksopb,, ,md Phenoffl#nologictd R•t1•ch, VIII, No.
4 ( 1948), 557-572.
"Note, e.g., r.be resemblance between such concepc, u $inytllil, Nm,i,iJ--,/,u N;ch11 (Heideg­
ger), le nunt (Sartre); p.,,,;;;;;, bodJ,i,.....r.,,isunlUIU<' Bsw,.s,ulin (Heidegger), &isunzMhslltM1t
(}aspen); ,,.,;,,;;,,., dup!h...-di, S<>rgs (Heidegger), I,,_,,. (Same), and especially their
emotional and e<isteotial upeas.
MBTHODS OF COMPAllATIVB PHILOSOPHY 1�

excavations are of importance to the understanding of philosophy, especially

in its historical and socio-cultural setting. By talcing into account the inffu­
ences of social conditions and rultural patterns on the development of
philosophical thoughts and their acceptance by the masses, a closer and
more adequate evaluation may be attained. As such an attempt may be
mentioned H. G. Creel's study of Confucius.12
H. The total-integrative approach. When we consider philosophy as phi­
losophy of life with all its correlations to all possible realms of being, we
may speak of a total approach, intrinsically human. From such a "total
perspective" we may evaluate the rich and varied heritage of both East
and West. In all attempts of this kind there are tendencies toward a uni­
versal philosophy which is more than a formal absttaction from existent
systems, more than a universalized formulation of old problems, and more
than a schematic comparison of schools of thought. The total approach in
comparative philosophy is a conscious and repeated effort aimed at a
merging of supplementary phases into an ever-richer totality where specific
characteristics are not neglected but maintained and yet coherently con­
nected. Significant attempts at such an integral evaluation are to be found
in Fung Y uIan's- A Comparative Study of Life ldeal118 and Charles .A.
Moore's "Comparative Philosophies of Life.'"u
Without the integrating force of philosophy the realms of life lie scat­
tered and confused. Hence, philosophy is the most fundamental means of
uniting the nations and of regaining our faith in life. But the scope of
philosophy is so enlarged that participation in it cannot be the concern of
any single man. Co-operation and co-ordination and methodical approach
are necessary in this field of thought. For this reason philosophy is the
meeting place for thinking men-not a meeting by accident but by con­
scious effort and complete devotion, a meeting not in the land of dreams
and fancies but in the simple and concrete reality of everyday life.
"Con/,uiu,, the Mtm ,mJ 1he M:,1h (New York: John Day Co., Joe., 1949).
u Shanghai: The Commercial Press, 1926.
"Phiiou,ph,-&sl •"" West, ch. 10.