文明概念辨析

“文明”概念在东(主要指中国)西方何时出现,没有一个权威的说法。比较一致的看法是,在中国,“文明”一词的出现较西方为早,但对“文明”较早进行系统研究的是西方人。关于文明的定义,可以说是众说纷纭,莫衷一是,不同的学派和不同的理论,对“文明”的理解也各不相同,但“文明”都具有以下的基本含义:文明是和蒙昧、野蛮相对应的一个概念,指的是人类的一种进化状态;文明和政治同源,文明具有政治的意义,具有价值、制度、组织等多方面的涵义。

The Distinguishing and Analysis of the Concept of Civilization

Up to now,there is no clear evidence as to when the concept of"civilization"appeared in the East(mainly in China) or in the West.Generally,a consistent view is that it appeared earlier in China than in the West.However,"civilization"was studied systematically earlier by the Western scholars.There are different schools of thought and different theorists to interpret it.Yet,civilization cannot be away from the following basic senses.It is opposite to the ignorance and savage;it refers to a kind of"human progress";and it comes out of the same source as politics.Therefore,it has political significance and is involved with value,system,organization and the like.