International Social Science Journal (Chinese Edition)

No.1, 2025

 

 

Fran?ois Jullien

 

Julian arrived in China from Europe in the late 1970s in search of a way to integrate European and Chinese thought. He chose to engage in philosophy from the outside, and through the intellectual otherness, with a l’écart rather than an internal retrospective approach, he broke away from the Greek tradition of the centralism of logos and the familiar framework of European thought, and thus reflected on and reconstructed the unthought and the possibilities of Western thought. This approach does not aim to write the history of ideas or locate a common source, but rather to draw on the diversity of languages and ideas, counteracting the inert convergence brought about by globalization. Unlike conventional thinking, Julien emphasizes that differences confined within a framework of sameness cannot truly encompass the dynamic tension and diversity of culture. Instead, l’écart has a disruptive effect and can open up more resources for utilization. The author defends fécondité and believes that only by transcending belonging and essentialization can genuine dialogue and human self-reflection be achieved.