The Unity of Body and Mind in Xu Fuguan’s Theory

Abstract

The present article deals with the philosophical theory and epistemological methodology of the Modern Confucian Xu Fuguan (1903–1982), a significant Taiwanese philosopher of the 20th century whose theoretical contributions are in the center of academic interests in China and Taiwan, though almost completely unexplored in the West. The article’s main focus is on Xu’s interpretation of the concepts of bodily recognition and the creative potential qi that are forming the basis of the unification of body and mind as a fundamental method of traditional Chinese perception of reality. For Xu Fuguan, this unification represented the proper way to achieve the awareness of the Moral Self and to thoroughly act in accordance with humanness (ren).

Keywords

• bodily recognition
• qi
• Xu Fuguan
• Chinese philosophy
• Chinese epistemology