Dialogue and Humanism

In this paper I will discuss some aspects of a humanistic perpsective on love which include both elements, idealistic (e.g. concepts of oneness) as well as realistic (e.g., social anthropology) ones. I will argue, that any experience of love is directly affected by an individual's love of self-awareness that enables a person to recognize the origins of his feeelings and allows him to act upon them in an intentional manner. Through such realizations, an individual can remain an autonomous actor, utilizing his knowledge of oneself to explore one's emotions beyond the limits of social restraints. For it is the authentic experience of one's awareness that enables a rational person to master the existential absurdity of one's existence. I will claim that the origin of love does not reside in the realm of emotionality. Instead, love relates directly to an individual's state of self-awareness.

This paper looks into the recent trends leading towards a renewed world order and proposes some distinct ways to promote it. The contemporary global problematique is symptomatic of a revolutionary period of transition from the modern to the post-modern era. During this thne of upheaval and instabiUty, many outdated structures are being dismantled and various innovative systems are being attempted. Only when the winners have been determined and the major choices made, will the new social system settle down into a relative peace once again.

Chinese culture may be identified as Confucian in that the ideas initiated by Confucius and reinterpreted by Confucius' defenders have overwhelmingly molded the Chinese way of life since the Han dynasty. There are elements which, in the long evolutionary process in both theory and practice, can be considered universal in terms of sustaining, enjoying and searching for the meaning of life. This paper attempts to single out such characteristics in Chinese culture for references for universality. They are: 1) the twofold complementary and contradictory world view, 2) the concept of self-realization of the creative mind to practice reciprocity in resolving human relations, and 3) the attempt to establish a universal state, and 4) the potential of Chinese written characters as a universal computer language.