Talk:Liang Shuming

Form of Article

The article is a nice outline of the main points of Liang's life and work. I think that may of the key points are brought up - such as the distinction between Western and Eastern culture, Liang's theory on how will dictates different cultures, and the essential different of ethics based culture vs. individual based culture. I was a little confused about the use of the word "culture" because first it refers to distinct cultures of different types of people, and then (I think) it refers to STAGES of culture that a nation passes through... I'm not quite sure - some sort of differentiation between the two concept would be really helpful.

Additionally, while all the information seemed relevant, I was a little confused about how it all fit together. I like the organization and how it's clear and distinct topics, but if there were some sort of transitions to help me understand Liang as a whole that would be helpful. For example, I feel like his interested in religion and Buddhism must have something to do with his philosophy/must have influenced his philosophy at some point or in some way, and I would love to know why. His views on the East vs. West were better incorporated into his philosophy (via views on different cultures etc.) Maybe an intro background paragraph tying it all together in the beginning would be helpful...

General comment

The general information presented on the articles are accurate, and it broadly covers what one needs to know about Liang Shuming at the very basic level. In a sense, it very well serves the purpose of Wikipedia. It is a good article to start reading when one is first learning about the scholar. However, there is definitely room for improvement. Despite offering an appropriate amount of general information about Liang Shuming, for example his date of birth, where he received his education, his occupation, and etc., there should definitely be more descriptions of his ideas and contributions to modern Chinese philosophy that have made him known for. For instance, Liang's nickname, "the last confusion," and how he came about acquiring such title should be mentioned in the entry. More specifically, the entry should more clearly point out that Liang believes that one is driven by his or her “Will,” and that there are three ideal cultural ways existing in a hierarchy: the Western model, the Chinese model, and the Indian model. As mentioned in the article "Eastern and Western Cultures" by Guy S. Alitto, culture is the way of life, or essentially how “people resolve the contradiction between the Will’s demands and the obstacles presented by the environment.” Hence, cultural differences are due to “the way the Will attempts to deal with the environment." As such, I would like to see a clearer exposition in the "Eastern and Western Cultures and Their Philosophies" section. For example, the something in the nature of the following paragraph could be added;

The three cultures constitute (Western, Chinese and Indian) on a different location of the philosophical spectrum. The cultural relativism has resulted in the unleveled condition and welfare of nations of the world. Liang believes the Western countries are currently prevailing due to the suitability of their culture to the current era, as they began with the first course and consequently were able to attain basic needs, and solve practical problems. The Chinese and the Indian, on the other hand, skipped the first course without having transcended it. This was his primary reason why the Eastern nations did not modernize like those of the West. According to Alitto's article, he believes that if “culture is in its entirely is an expression of a distinct underlying direction that the Will may take, then individual cultural products—such as European science or Chinese ethics—cannot be detached or added. The people can produce the products of a certain culture only if they hold the underlying attitude of that culture.”

Also, it would be nice to include scholars' views on his ideologies. An example is Guy S. Alitto, who argues that Liang contradicts himself in the idea of culture blending. Such additions would enhance the article by providing it with more perspective. Nevertheless, the writer shall keep in mind that this is an encyclopedia, hence he or she still needs to maintain objectivity in the writing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Achirathivat (talk • contribs) 18:37, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Abfinard (talk) 18:24, 14 May 2012 (UTC)