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Int. Confucian Stud. 2022; 1(1): 7–25

Roger T. Ames*
Reflections on Lao Sze-Kwang and His
Double-Structured “Intra-Cultural”

Philosophy of Culture

https://doi.org/10.1515/icos-2022-2003

Abstract: In his own time, Lao Sze-Kwang formulated his own intra-cultural
approach to the philosophy of culture that begins from the interdependence
and organic nature of our cultural experience. In this article, I will address three
questions: Why did Lao abandon his early reliance on the Hegelian model of
philosophy of culture and formulate his own “two-structured” theory? Again,
given Lao’s profound commitment and contribution to Chinese philosophy and its
future directions, why is it not proper to describe him as a “Chinese philosopher”?
And why is the much accomplished Lao Sze-Kwang not installed in the Chinese
University of Hong Kong pantheon as yet one more of the great “New Confucian”
philosophers that are associated with this institution?

Keywords: intra-cultural, philosophy of culture, Hegel, new-confucian philoso-
phers, double-structured philosophy of culture, “aspectual” language

Lao Sze-Kwang (劳思光 1927–2012) was an “intra-cultural” philosopher. As the
progeny of a distinguished and much accomplished family lineage, Lao in his
early years had had the benefit of a traditional Chinese education that set the
foundation for his continuing studies. He attended Peking University and then
Taiwan University for his studies in philosophy. Beyond this formal training, he
as a consummate teacher over a long lifetime continued to pursue his prodigious
intellectual intimacy with both the Western and Chinese philosophical canons.
He was thus philosophically ambidextrous, as comfortable with Confucius as he
was with Kant. And through an assiduous personal discipline, his singular
contribution to the best kind of “intra-cultural” or “world philosophy” has made
him one of most distinguished philosophers of culture in our times.

Article note: This article was first published in Chinese in Issue 1, Volume 1 of International Studies
on Confucianism (I国际儒学J) in 2021. Some updates and adaptation have been made for this
English version.

*Corresponding author: Roger T. Ames, Department of Philosophy, Peking University, Beijing,
China. E-mail: rtames@hawaii.edu

Open Access. © 2022 the author(s), published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.