Life has not only KPIs, but also the taste of cherries

Liu Qing is a well-known scholar. Professor of East China Normal University, Director of the Center for World Politics. His research interests include political philosophy, the history of Western thought, modern and contemporary Western thought and international political issues. Representative works such as "The Age of Strife" and "The Moment of Suspense". Since 2003, he has written an annual review of Western thought, which is a must-read article for many scholars every year.

On the afternoon of June 19th, Get Books and Sisyphus Bookstore Beijing Lize Tianjie Store jointly held a new book sharing and signing meeting of "Liu Qing's Lecture Notes on Western Modern Thought" in Beijing Lize Tianjie, and the author of the book, Professor Liu Qing of East China Normal University, attended the event. At the new book sharing signing meeting, Professor Liu Qing shared the theme of "Thinking about what useless problems will bring you". He clarified the concepts of "modern" and "modern man", outlined the current plight of modern man, shared his views on philosophy, and talked about how to create a life of individuality in a society where values tend to be single.

How exactly do we live is more meaningful

Professor Liu Qing believes that modern people face a very big dilemma, on the one hand, there are many options, there are many freedoms, you can change various jobs, you can change various identities, you can live in different places, and you can even change gender; on the other hand, it is difficult to achieve these freedoms, because people's abilities are limited, and their abilities are bound by many frameworks. "On the one hand, it is too cool, on the other hand, it is too difficult, this is the situation of modern people."

The philosophical or general humanities explore the question of "how do we live to be more meaningful?" There is no universal answer to this question, Liu Qing said: "The answer is given to you, it is very principled, you do not feel that it is useful to yourself right away; it is highly contextual, need to explore and think for yourself, and this answer may often be denied and changed." ”

There are also many middle groundes between the "Special Volumes" and the "Special Buddhist Lineage"

Talking about the current competitive workplace environment and the survival pressure faced by young people, Liu Qing said, "All our attention is focused on the dimensions related to KPIs and KPIs, and life is rich, life has other things, there is a taste of cherries, and there is a spiritual journey. ”

He said that there are many middle groundes between the "special volumes" and the "special Buddhist system" that make it possible for you to obtain a rich life of your own. "But it's difficult because you need support, you need your own support first, you need important partners around you to support you, saying that life is pretty good, you have to give yourself some confidence, you have to have a popular evaluation model that is independent of the current particular mainstream." I think it's important, and philosophical thinking is what will help you establish your own standards that are different from the dominant standards of the mainstream. ”

After the theme sharing, Professor Liu Qing set aside nearly 1 hour to communicate with the book friends who participated in the event and make new bookmarks. In "Lecture Notes on Modern Western Thought", Liu Qing introduced 19 thinkers from a modern perspective, and extensively and systematically discussed the advantages and disadvantages of instrumental rationality, how to face nihilism, the alienation of consumerism to people, the fairness and justice of wealth distribution, and globalization.

Q&A

I'm still a teacher and scholar of "Strange Story" is just an event I attend

Q: As far as you know, what reflections have the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the intellectual community? Does it have the potential, even subtly, to change the course of human civilization?

Liu Qing: Contemporary European philosophers have placed special emphasis on the concept of "events.". Instead of happening, the event created a rift in your original pattern and convention, making it impossible for the original pattern to be maintained smoothly. You have to make huge adjustments, reinventions, and even break them up and start over.

So covid-19 has raised new questions and challenges. For us, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised some questions about the original model of globalization in the world. We are global, but in the process of our global cooperation, each country still thinks more in the position of nation-state, that is, our national interests and your national interests, we can cooperate for win-win results, and everyone gets benefits. If we cannot cooperate for a win-win situation, we will find ways to compete, compromise, negotiate, and strive for our own interests as much as possible. But such a model is not very applicable to the problem of the epidemic and to the problem of global warming.

The outbreak of the epidemic has revealed the limitations of the original model very deeply and clearly, and it raises the question, how should we humans cooperate? In this sense we are the closest to the concept of humanity as a community of destiny, and such a reflection is particularly important.

Q: You are now a multi-identity, a university professor, a scholar, a tutor of "Strange Story", and the director of the APP, which identity do you think is closer to your real self, which identity makes you particularly enjoyable?

Liu Qing: One is the real self, this statement itself is problematic, it seems to give a singular number of the real self, in fact, everyone is multi-faceted, of course, there is a primary and secondary.

For me, I don't think the mentor of "Strange Story" is an identity, and I don't understand why the last show had such a big impact, and people would use this label to label me. I feel like it's an event I've been to, and it's been more impactful, and I've been to many, many events that don't make me who I am. But society sees it this way, and slowly it will constitute my identity.

Regarding the nature of a person, such as a person's self, you are not who you think you are, you are not what others think you are, you are what you think you are in the eyes of others. So I always thought that if others saw me this way, I might become like this later.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm still a university teacher and scholar, and that's one thing, and then a derivative extension of other things is at least to this day. I have a very good friend who is a scientist, and he says I don't have to worry about you because you now have some ideas of your own that are worth sharing, and second, you're too old to be completely impacted by this market or whatever, and you've been modeled. It's still the case, so I think "Strange Story" is a kind of enjoyment activity for me, and my enjoyment of "Strange Story" and the exchange with everyone are still an extension of a major framework taught by a scholar.

sound

All our attention is focused on those KPIs and KPIs related dimensions, and life is abundant, life has something else, there is a taste of cherries, there is a spiritual journey.

There are many middle groundes between the "Special Scrolls" and the "Special Buddhist Lineage", making it possible for you to attain a rich life of your own.

I don't think the Mentor of Stranger Things is an identity, I think it's an event I attended.

Written by: Nandu reporter Huang Qian