Proceedings of the XXIII World Congress of Philosophy

Volume 10, 2018

Contemporary Philosophy

Lai He
Pages 77-80

The Democratizing Trend of Philosophy
An Important Dimension of Understanding the Spirit of Modern Philosophy

A significant achievement in thought, reached with the change from theoretical to practical philosophy, is that the popular taste for aristocratism is on the wane. Meanwhile, philosophy is turning away from authoritarianism towards democracy. This is a radical change in the spiritual character and disposition of philosophy. The desire of privileged class and the noble men lies in philosophy as a traditionally rooted complex, which is represented by an idea of truth (that conception is being), an idea of values (that idea is the perfect good) and an idea of history (that reason is the road). Philosophy’s renouncement of noble mentality does not mean the degradation of philosophical development, but indicates a kind of theoretical self-consciousness and self-enlightenment regarding the rational mode of philosophy and its function. This keeps us alert for the dogmatism and arbitrariness of philosophy. And also it shows that it is vital to highlight the democratic spiritual disposition of philosophy both for philosophy and for those who work on it.