Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 5, 2025

From the Empirical World to the Objective World: A Philosophical Exploration beyond Subjectivism

(Abstract)

Yang Lihua

After more than a century of immersion in translated Western philosophy, the intellectual context of contemporary Chinese thought has undergone profound transformation. Within this new landscape, one of the core challenges for constructing a renewed metaphysical framework in China lies in striking a balance: on the one hand, it is necessary to engage with the insights and conceptual foundations of Western philosophy—especially modern thought—while on the other hand, it is crucial to avoid falling into various forms and degrees of subjectivism. One pathway forward begins with the empirical world. By analyzing and interpreting phenomena such as change, time and space, mind and body, and self and other within the framework of pure experience, it becomes possible to illuminate the philosophical dimensions of objectivity, as well as the integrity and universal interrelatedness of the empirical realm. Building on this foundation, the inquiry turns to fundamental principles—such as the universality and constancy of change—that cannot be fully grasped within empirical experience alone. These principles serve as key points of philosophical argumentation, enabling a critical overcoming of the limitations of empiricism. Through such speculative reasoning, the objectivity presupposed by ordinary thought can be reaffirmed, and a transcendence of subjectivism can be philosophically realized.