Innovation and Tradition in the Philosophy of the East and the West
In many places in the world, success stories and innovation patterns link to narratives rooted in the historical tradition of a cultural sphere. Generally speaking, we can recognize two fundamental methods to deal with one’s cultural heritage: Either acknowledging the past as a rich source of cultural identity or as the origin of behaviorist patterns that strengthen or even enforce a positive development leading to innovation or a brighter future; or, conversely, perceiving the tradition as a heavy burden from the past that one needs to get rid of, whereby this emancipatory process can again serve as a stimulus of innovation.
Both in the Western World and in East Asia, individual philosophers and schools of thought have found argumentative ways to deal with this issue, which often led again to new discourses. Furthermore, innovative and traditionalist positions interacted with historical trends and social developments. Awareness and investigations of how these strategies interweave and create various senses of continuity and discontinuity shall restore narratives and arguments to their proper historical context and enrich our understanding of the long-lasting impact the successful instances have had.
interface –Journal of European Languages and Literatures is inviting original unpublished papers written in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, or Italian for interface Issue 22, to be published in November 2023.
We welcome contributions from established researchers, postdoctoral and early-career scholars, and postgraduate students.
Topics may include (but are not limited to):