David Bartosch

General systems theory played a major role in the history of the sciences and the humanities since the 1950s. But the origins of general systems theory are blurred. While the major initiator of 20th-­ century general systems theory, Ludwig von Bertalanffy, acknowledged philosophical inspirations but ignored concrete precursors, subsequent scholars chose to ignore both. This study identifies an early formulation of general systems theory in Johann Heinrich Lambert's Systematologie (1767). An analysis of Lambert's systematology, contextualized by his philosophy, which includes historical and structural touch points with Kant's subsequent critical conception of systematicity, demonstrates that the essential ground for general systems theory had already been established as early as the 1760s. Bertalanffy's own theoretical development cannot be treated exhaustively here. Rather, this paper uses his approach and historical position, which is rooted in a cognate and partly continuous traditional European philosophical background inspired by Kant and others, as a 20th-­ century comparative frame of reference to spot the true conceptual beginnings of general systems theory. This investigation corrects the historical record and shows that Bertalanffy and others did not invent the discipline but have in fact reinvented it in a new context and in a seemingly novel form.

This chapter provides an overview of late antique and medieval transformative philosophies. The first section discusses the following key topics: Plotinus’s transformative system of philosophy, his development of key elements of Plato’s thought, and his own unique positions; methodological modifications and changing contexts in the Neoplatonic transformation of the soul in Porphyry and Iamblichus; Augustine’s Judeo-Christian adaptation and alteration of such key elements of transformative philosophy; and Proclus’s system of anagogic self-transformation toward the One–Good. The second section focuses on additional aspects of transformative philosophy in medieval Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Neoplatonic lore, namely regarding Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Boethius, Eriugena, Isaac Israeli, Ibn Sina, Master Eckhart, Nicolaus de Cusa, and others.

In diesem Kapitel werden wichtige transkulturelle und multizivilisatorische Grundlagen für eine weit ausgreifende Philosophie des kosmischen Lebens aus einer systematischen und zugleich historisch rückgebundenen Perspektive präsentiert. Auf eine „Anakrusis“ bezüglich des Ursprungs des philosophischen Terminus ‚kosmisches Leben‘ folgt eine systematische Grundlegung in Bezug auf Gotthard Günthers Konzepte der Polykontexturalität sowie einer transklassischen Wissenschaft. Dies wird durch Ansichten weiterer Denker ergänzt. Vor diesem Hintergrund erfolgt die Einführung eines neuen Begriffes: ‚Panenbiotismus‘ („Alles-im-Leben-Lehre“). In Korrelation mit ‚kosmisches Leben‘ bildet dieser die Grundlage für eine transkulturell vergleichende Diskussion philosophischer Positionen aus antiken hellenischen und chinesischen Quellen sowie aus süd- und westasiatischen als auch europäischen Kontexten. Diese weitreichende und breitere Erörterung des Themas ist in Form von drei Hauptsegmenten organisiert, welche entsprechend drei fundamentale konzeptuelle Dimensionen des Themas ‚kosmisches Leben‘ vorstellen. Jeder dieser Hauptabschnitte wird entlang der Trajektorien relevanter Unterthemen entwickelt. In diesem Sinne präsentiert das erste Hauptsegment mehrere Ansichten verschiedener Zeiten und Orte, in deren Kontext (kosmisches) Leben als Ausdruck des Prinzips einer unaufhörlichen Selbst(re)kreation qua metabolischer Prozesse und partieller, progressiv-transformatorischer Selbstverzehrung reflektiert wird. In der zweiten Hauptsektion wird der transkulturell komparative Fokus auf mehrere Perspektiven und Variationen des Themas des kosmischen Lebens als eines integralen Merkmals eines unermesslichen bzw. unendlichen Universums ausgerichtet. Schließlich präsentiert der dritte Hauptabschnitt familienähnliche Ansichten kosmischen Lebens im Sinne eines integralen Aspektes kosmischen ‚Lichtes‘. Hierbei wird die Diskussion auch mit einigen sehr innovativen Theorien unserer Zeit verknüpft. Die zentrale These des vorliegenden Kapitels, die hierbei zugleich aus vielen unterschiedlichen Perspektiven erschlossen wird, lautet, dass eine zukünftige Philosophie des kosmischen Lebens auf eine Vielzahl philosophischer Traditionen aus verschiedenen Zivilisationen rekurrieren sollte. Im Geiste uneingeschränkter Offenheit sollte es vor diesem Hintergrund darum gehen, die Unabschließbarkeit bzw. Unerschöpflichkeit aller wissenschaftlichen Bestrebungen in eine produktivere intellektuelle Realität innerhalb des erweiterten Rahmens eines im Sinne Günthers transklassisch zu nennenden, neuartigen Wissenschaftskonzepts zu übersetzen. [In this chapter, important transcultural and multi-civilizational foundations for a comprehensive philosophy of cosmic life are presented from a systematic and at the same time historical perspective. An “anacrusis” regarding the origin of the philosophical term ‘cosmic life’ is followed by systematic groundwork in relation to Gotthard Günther’s concepts of poly-contexturality and trans-classical science. These are extended and complemented by the views of other thinkers. Against this background, the new term ‘panenbiotism’ (“all-in-life-doctrine”) is introduced. Like ‘cosmic life,’ this term is then used as the basis for a transcultural comparative discussion of positions from ancient Hellenic and Chinese contexts, from South and West Asia, and from Europe. This discussion is organized in the form of three main sections which correspond to three basic themes concerning ‘cosmic life.’ Each of these is developed along the trajectories of related subtopics. In this sense, the first main section presents several views from various times and places in the context of which (cosmic) life is seen as an expressed principle of incessant self-(re)creation through metabolism and partial self-consumption. In the second main section, the transcultural comparative angle is applied to multiple perspectives and variations on the theme of cosmic life as an integral feature of a vast or infinite universe. Finally, the third main section presents family-resemblant views of cosmic life as an integral aspect of cosmic ‘light.’ This last section also links the discussion with some unorthodox and very innovative hypotheses of our time. The main thesis of this chapter is that a future philosophy of cosmic life must draw on a variety of philosophical traditions from different civilizations and, in a spirit of unrestricted openness, translate the ultimate inexhaustibility of all scientific endeavors into a more productive intellectual reality within the expanded scope of a new kind of trans-classical concept of science.]

Dieses einführende Kapitel des Buches Auf dem Weg zu einer Philosophie des kosmischen Lebens: Neue Diskussionen und interdisziplinäre Sichtweisen bietet einen Überblick über einen multidisziplinären, multitheoretischen und transkulturellen Polylog zwischen sechs Autorinnen und Autoren aus drei Kontinenten. Ziel dieses Diskurses ist es, besonders innovative Perspektiven vorzustellen und neue Grenzgebiete für die Entwicklung philosophischer Reflexionen und wissenschaftlicher Grundlagen für die Emergenz eines geteilten kosmischen Bewusstseins, einer integralen Ökologie sowie einer kooperativen, planetarischen Zivilisation der Menschheit zu erkunden. Das Kapitel enthält kurze biographische Profile der Autorinnen und Autoren sowie Synopsen ihrer Beiträge. Der rote Faden, der sich durch das Spektrum der hier skizzierten Ideen und Standpunkte zieht, wird durch die allen zugrunde liegende Ansicht bereitgestellt, dass Leben keine zufällige Erscheinung in einer ansonsten leblosen Unendlichkeit darstellt, sondern den Ausdruck bzw. die Manifestation eines sich von selbst entfaltenden kosmischen Lebensprinzips, welches mithin als impliziter, aber zentraler und allgemeiner Faktor bei der Entstehung von allem wirkt. [This introductory chapter to the book Towards a Philosophy of Cosmic Life: New Discussions and Interdisciplinary Views provides an overview on a multidisciplinary, multitheoretical, and transcultural dialogue among six authors from three continents. The aim of this discourse is to establish highly innovative perspectives and to explore new frontiers for the development of philosophical reflections and scientific foundations for the emergence of a common cosmic consciousness, an integral ecology, and a cooperative planetary civilization of humanity. The chapter includes brief profiles of the authors and chapter summaries. The golden thread running through the spectrum of ideas and points of view outlined here is provided by the underlying view that life is not an accidental emergence in an otherwise exanimate infinity, but an expression or manifestation of a self-unfolding cosmic life principle, namely as an implicit but central and general factor in the formation of everything.]

[221 pages] Wie die sechs Äste eines Schneekristalls in regelmäßigen Proportionen auf ihr gemeinsames Zentrum zulaufen, so deuten die sechs Beiträge dieses Buches eine zukünftige Philosophie des kosmischen Lebens an. In diesem Sinne stellt diese Aufsatzsammlung einen multidisziplinären und transkulturellen Polylog renommierter Autoren aus drei Kontinenten dar, der darauf abzielt, höchst innovative Perspektiven zu etablieren und neue Grenzbereiche für die Entwicklung philosophischer Reflexionen und wissenschaftlicher Grundlagen für die Herausbildung eines gemeinsamen kosmischen Bewusstseins, für eine integrale Ökologie und für eine kooperative planetarische Zivilisation der Menschheit auszuloten. John B. Cobb jr. beschreibt auf prozessphilosophischer Grundlage Leben als lebendige Ereignisse, die Neuheit ausdrücken, und den Kosmos als Prozess einer Selbstanreicherung und Selbstentwicklung von "Leben an sich". Chandra Wickramasinghe entfaltet seine naturwissenschaftlich-philosophische Perspektive zum Thema kosmisches Leben in zwölf aufeinanderfolgenden Schritten und bietet eine breite Palette von Argumenten und Einsichten, die eine zeitgemäße Theorie der Panspermie unterstützen. Attila Grandpierre präsentiert die Idee eines kosmischen Lebensprinzips und einer darauf basierenden ganzheitlichen Wissenschaft, die untrennbar mit der Vorstellung einer heilen und kooperativen Zivilisation, den biologischen Gesetzen der Natur, den Gesetzen der Logik und der Steigerung des Wohlergehens von Menschen und ökologischen Gemeinschaften verbunden ist. Chunyou Yan stellt den Ansatz seiner holographischen Philosophie vor, der zufolge das Universum als eine unermessliche lebendige Entität verstanden werden muss, in der jeder Aspekt Leben widerspiegelt. Bei Peng zeigt, dass die Proportionen der Energiemeridiane in der traditionellen chinesischen Medizin musikalischen Intervallen entsprechen und demonstriert auf dieser Basis die Analogie des menschlichen Körpers zu makrokosmischen Phänomenen. David Bartosch untersucht drei wichtige systematische Grundlagen für eine poly-kontexturale, transkulturelle Philosophie des kosmischen Lebens mit Anknüpfungspunkten in griechischen, chinesischen, süd- und westasiatischen sowie europäischen Denktraditionen. [ Just as the six branches of a snow crystal converge in regular proportions toward their common center, the six contributions to this book point toward a future philosophy of cosmic life. In this sense, this edited volume represents a multidisciplinary and transcultural polylogue of distinguished authors from three continents, which aims to establish highly innovative perspectives and open new frontiers of developing philosophical reflections and scientific foundations for the emergence of a common cosmic consciousness, for an integral ecology, and for a cooperative planetary civilization of humanity. John B. Cobb, Jr. uses a process-philosophical foundation to describe life as living events expressing novelty and the cosmos as a process of self-enriching and self-evolving “Life Itself.” Chandra Wickramasinghe unfolds his scientific and philosophical perspective on cosmic life in twelve successive steps, offering a wide range of arguments and insights that support an up-to-date theory of panspermia. Attila Grandpierre presents the "Cosmic Life Principle" and the comprehensive science based upon it that is inextricably linked to the healthy and cooperative civilization, to the biological laws of nature, to the laws of logic, to the uplifting of the well-being of people and ecological communities. Chunyou Yan introduces the approach of his holographic philosophy, according to which the universe must be understood as a vast living entity, every aspect of which represents life. Bei Peng shows that the proportions of energy meridians in traditional Chinese medicine correspond to musical intervals, and on this basis she demonstrates the analogy of the human body to macrocosmic phenomena. David Bartosch offers an examination of three important systematic foundations for a poly-contextural, transcultural philosophy of cosmic life with roots in Greek, Chinese, South and West Asian, and European traditions of thought.]

This study aims to provide a window into current developments in curatorial practice and museum studies regarding a multicultural topic within China. Our case concerns a new kind of collection of musical instruments and its unique context in a leading archaeological and cultural heritage institution. It consists of 203 traditional musical instruments, primarily of more recent origin, from all around the world with a primary focus on Eurasia. It is the only collection of this scope and theme in China. It was assembled over decades by the renowned Chinese scholar Ziye Fan and curated by the authors at the Yungang Academy in Datong, China, in 2024. The Yungang Academy is situated at the Yungang Grottoes, a 5th-century Buddhist UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is also known for its music-related, multicultural Silk Road iconography. The study begins by analyzing this context, followed by an introduction to the collection. It then proceeds with a critical reflection on the curation process regarding preservation, documentation, classification, organological analysis, and the creation of a new Chinese musical instrument nomenclature. Within the Chinese museum landscape, this project can be characterized as a pioneering undertaking. The ethical provenance and unique placement context of the collection, which resonates with the collection’s topic, invite new research perspectives. The study investigates whether the collection can serve as a pioneering postcolonial model for curating world heritage in a Chinese context. We discuss the collection’s acquisition history and the symbolic value of its placement. As a result, the collection is established as an example of a novel postcolonial approach in China, bearing great symbolic significance for equal cultural exchanges and dialogue.

The work Xingli zhenquan tigang (Sing lii jen ciyan bithei hešen) was written in Chinese and Manchu by the French Jesuit Alexandre de la Charme (1695–1767) and published in Beijing in 1753. The first two sections of this paper provide an introduction to de la Charme’s work biography and to further textual and historical contexts, explore the peculiarities of the subsequent early German reception of the work almost 90 years later, and introduce the content from an overview perspective. The third section explores the most essential con‐ tents of Book 1 (of 3) of the Manchu version. The investigation is based on Hans Conon von der Gabelentz’s (1807–1874) German translation from 1840. Camouflaged as a Confucian educational dialogue, and by blurring his true identity in his publication, de la Charme criticizes Neo‐Confucian positions from an implicitly Cartesian and hidden Christian perspective, tacitly blending Cartesian views with traditional Chinese concepts. In addition, he alludes to Manchu shamanic views in the same regard. De la Charme’s assimilating rhetoric “triangulation” of three different cultural and linguistic horizons of thought and spirituality proves that later Jesuit scholarship reached out into the inherent ethnic and spiritual diversity of the Qing intellectual and political elites. Hidden allusions to Descartes’s dualistic concepts of res cogitans and res extensa implicitly anticipate the beginnings of China’s intellectual modernization period one and a half centuries later. This work also provides an example of how the exchange of intellectual and religious elements persisted despite the Rites Controversy and demonstrates how the fading Jesuit mission influenced early German sinology. I believe that this previously underexplored work is significant in both systematic and historical respects. It is particularly relevant in the context of current comparative research fields, as well as transcultural and interreligious intellectual dialogue in East Asia and around the world.

I argue that most of the premodern Chinese schools of thought contain elements of humor that can be analyzed in a differentiated and systematic way. This article is the second of two parts of this investigation. The first part outlined the foundations of humor in the thought of Confucius and Zhuangzi. After an introduction that summarizes some of the systematic foundations which were already presented in more detail in the introduction to the first part, this part of the investigation complements the former by directing the attention to the field of Chan Buddhism. Here, I refer to a humorous anecdote about Deng Yinfeng. To further complete the overall picture, I discuss examples of humor in other ancient schools of Chinese thought, namely in various texts of Han dynasty Confucianism, in Legalism (which also has a Daoist dimension to it), in surviving text fragments of the School of Names (which is implicitly related to Mohist thought), and in The Annals of Lü Buwei (Syncretism). The present article should be read in conjunction with the first part, which was published in last year’s issue of this yearbook.

We explore the topic of self-translation in migration through the biography of Fritz A. Kuttner, a German Jewish economist who became a musicologist during the years he spent in his native country just before he managed to escape from the Nazis. His interest in musicology intensified as an immigrant in Shanghai from 1939 to 1949, where he also studied pre-modern Chinese musical culture. After his emigration and becoming a US citizen, Kuttner emerged as a pioneer in this new field. We trace Kuttner’s path as a whole, but focus especially on his Shanghai years. Among other things, these are marked by his study of the Chinese language, life in the multilingual Jewish refugee community, music as a meeting point between East and West, his growing understanding of a connection between Chinese language, music and culture as a whole, and his efforts to translate his understanding of the semiotics of ancient Chinese music into the language and theoretical perspective of Western musicology. In addition to documenting his experiences and academic self-translation, we argue in favour of a broader concept of self-translation as being relevant to an intercultural sense of self.

The advent of AI calls for an existential self-redefinition of humanity. It necessitates the establishment of a pluralistic global humanist culture that enables us to coexist in the new world of active media and autopoietic technology. In this paper, related philosophical questions give rise to the proposal of a novel metaculture that elevates human heritages and cultural memories to the plane of a digital AI- based infrastructure. I argue for a balanced and holistic approach to human-to-human and human–AI interactions and metaculture that can be developed in the form of combinatorial “metagames” that reflect the potential of human consciousness, transcend the boundaries between technology, human embodiment and biology, the arts, sciences and humanities, and philosophy, and, finally, include the element of meaningful coincidence and spontaneity “in the second potency.” Hermann Hesse’s final novel, The Glass Bead Game, offers a key to understanding this basic idea. His vision is extremely relevant today. Based on this, the concept of cultivating global cultural memories through innovative aesthetic-epistemic “Glass Bead Games 2.0” is discussed further from a systematic angle. To complement this, reference is also made to Hesse’s own source of inspiration: Novalis’s “encyclopedist” approach interlinks aesthetic and epistemic productivity in a way that could become a major starting point to create a new holistic metaculture in the Age of AI.

I argue for a transformative revival or actualization of the very core of an integrative, methodologically secured form of intellect‑mystical asceticism. This approach draws on traditional sources that are re‑examined from a systematic—synthetic and transcultural—philosophical perspective and in light of the multi‑civilizational global environment of the 21st century. The main traditional points of reference in this paper are provided by Nicolaus de Cusa and Ibn Sīnā, and I refer toa few others, such as Attar of Nishapur, in passing. I begin by developing a basic concept of intellect‑mystical asceticism. It is distinguished from mystification, science, scientism, and modes of everyday communication and cognition. Then, I make the case for an updated, transcultural approach to intellect‑mysticism that can foster the internal (social) and external (environmental) reintegration of the human noosphere and technosphere in future planetary development. In this context, a modern intellect‑mystical philosophical notion of “knowing non‑knowing” (wissendes Nichtwissen, docta ignorantia) is developed. It is inspired by Nicolaus de Cusa and contextualized from a systematic transcultural angle at the same time. Finally, I discuss the problem of the practical, or rather ascetic, realization of the related possibilities of intellect‑mystical self‑enfolding. Here, the preceding steps of the reflection are mapped onto an outline regarding distinct developmental stages of such a transformative intellect‑mystical practice in Ibn Sīnā’s Remarks and Admonitions (al‑Ishārāt wat‑Tanbīhāt).

I argue that most of the pre-modern Chinese schools of thought contain elements of humor that can be analyzed in a differentiated and systematic manner. This article provides the first of two parts of this investigation. As a preparatory part, its scope is outlined on the basis of a traditional ideograph that represents the basic Chinese schools of thought as a whole. This is followed by an introduction to the present analytical framework. It is shown that it is compatible with the most basic ancient and modern concepts in the Chinese philosophy of humor. Based on this, the investigation turns to the Analects. It is shown that Confucius uses elaborate forms of humor as an allusive manner of teaching. Afterwards, the parallel Confucian refusal of comical entertainment and mass humor is discussed. A comparative discussion of evolved forms of humor in Confucian contexts and the Daoist classic Zhuangzi provides the transition to the more specific perspectives in the narrative of “Huzi, the Face Changer.” This is followed by a further in-depth comparison of Confucius and Zhuangzi’s high-level transformative humor. This leads to the discussion of the shielding function of humor as alluded to in the Daoist story of Hundun in the Zhuangzi.

In this transdisciplinary investigation, we focus on the invention and development of gunpowder. We aim to answer the questions regarding (1) the inspiration behind the invention, including historical, mythological, and intellectual backgrounds, (2) how it came about in concreto, and (3) its impact on the history of science in China. We argue that the invention has to be viewed in a broader context and that various factors come into play with regard to the above questions. The discussion starts by examining the preconditions of the invention of gunpowder in ancient Chinese mythology, natural philosophy, and the idea of life extension. After that, the invention, its direct contexts, and historical developments during the first millennium CE are investigated. To complement the former analysis of historical worldviews, the modern perspective of chemistry is applied in this context. From the angle of the additional question of “open individuals,” namely as agents of progress, this is also taken into consideration from the perspective of personality analysis. Finally, we investigate how the development of scientific understanding was embedded in the innovative philosophical developments of Song dynasty Neo-Confucianism. In our view, the early Chinese gunpowder research exemplifies the preceding and contemporary development of the scientific stratum that is part of the concept of the “investigation of things” (gewu) in the sense of the teachings of Zhu Xi (1130–1200).

This first contribution to the special issue “Understanding Chinese Culture in the World” represents a philosophical proem regarding the format and general aim of the Young Experts Symposium 2022 (YES 2022), which was held online at Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai (China) and provided a platform for topics related to classical, modern, futuristic, and comparative perspectives on Chinese culture—across generations, cultures, and disciplines. Furthermore, it outlines the basic content of the six papers in this special issue that resulted from this event, including some basic information about the contributors.

20世纪初是德语世界正式出版关于中国哲学史著作的起点。1909—1924年之间德语世界出版了若干关于中国哲学史的论文和专著，通过调查作者们的教育背景和研究成果，以及其代表作的写作背景、内容框架及其影响，可以勾勒出这一时期德语学界中国哲学研究的概况。从分析当时德语学界对中国哲学的认识范围和中国哲学史框架构建的一般情况，可以看出欧洲对中国哲学和哲学史研究的一些核心问题所在。前现代中国哲学史在德语地区接纳和传播的过程与方式，这一至今德国与中国学界尚未涉足的空白领域，值得研究并填补。[The beginning of the twentieth century was the starting point for the production of works on the history of Chinese philosophy in the German-speaking world. Between 1909 and 1924, a number of essays and monographs on the history of Chinese philosophy were published in the German-speaking contexts, and by investigating the educational backgrounds and research results of the authors, as well as the backgrounds of the authors, the frameworks for presenting the content, and the influence of these works, an overview of the study of Chinese philosophy in in the German language during that period can be outlined. By analyzing the scope of knowledge of Chinese philosophy and the general construction of the framework for the history of Chinese philosophy in German-speaking academia at that time, it is possible to discern some of the core issues at stake in the study of Chinese philosophy and the history of philosophy in Europe. The process and manner of the reception and dissemination of the history of pre-modern Chinese philosophy in the German-speaking region, a field that has not yet been addressed sufficiently by German and Chinese academics, deserves to be studied and completed.]