Thinking of the “banner” of the latest version of old-school philosophy. It could be called “relationalism” or “communication philosophy.”
Earlier, I preferred “pluralism” and “perspectivism,” and felt that “relativism” was too extreme or too forceful. But now it suddenly strikes me: why not translate “relativism” as “relationalism”? That better matches the original meaning of “relate,” and it can also express a line of thought that suits my taste more.
When people hear “relativism,” they’re likely to shout: “Huh? Everything is relative?” But if I say “everything is related,” doesn’t that feel rather different? If “absolutism” pursues the “absolute,” then what does “relativism” pursue? What does it mean to “pursue the relative”? It sounds rather opaque. The result is that relativism comes to feel similar to the self-abandonment of nihilism: it pursues nothing at all. But “relationalism” is unquestionably “loving,” isn’t it? It is precisely the pursuit of “relation”!
I say that the love of wisdom is a kind of romantic activity, so what exactly does love’s pursuit pursue? Is it not simply pursuing this “relation”? Encountering relations, establishing relations, maintaining relations, developing relations, getting into relations… isn’t this just the activity of romance?
Absolutism pursues the “completion” of “relation,” arriving at a despotic kind of “possession.” Relationalism, by contrast, never lets “relation” reach its end; it always lets relation keep developing and changing, and it never fully “possesses” the other party,
And “philosophy” is “communication.” I mean especially communication at the level of intellect and language. Although this is not the whole of “relation,” it is after all an important part of it. The precondition of communication is “relation,” and the purpose of communication is also “relation.” People are always situated within relations and are constantly changing and developing those relations.
As for “relation” and “communication,” I have recently spoken about them on many occasions, and for the time being I won’t write too much about them on the blog. Let me just raise the topic for now.
March 24, 2009
Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.
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