Explored the historical evolution of the issue of things in both Eastern and Western philosophy, from the ancient Chinese concept of the unity of opposites between humans and things, to the Western classical era's theory of the unity of humans and things, the Renaissance era's theory of using things for oneself, the Romantic era's theory of the unity of humans and things, and the postmodern theory of material power. With the establishment of Descartes' subjectivity, the relationship between humans and things became estranged, and things were objectified, instrumentalized, and empowered. However, the development of science, technology, and artificial intelligence has challenged the material view under the background of Newtonian classical physics. New materialism has emerged, emphasizing the return of the subjectivity of things, challenging the binary framework of human object opposition with quantum entanglement mode, and breaking away from the anthropocentric material theory mode.

Introduction to New Materialism

Introduced the origin and development of new materialism, emphasizing its importance as a methodology, conceptual framework, and political stance. New materialism opposes linguistic paradigms and emphasizes the specificity and complexity of entities in social power relations. Since Delanda and Braidotti proposed the concept of new materialism in the 1990s, this theory has gradually gained recognition in the academic community and been linked to the post humanistic paradigm, reflecting on and criticizing anthropocentrism and binary oppositional thinking. The new materialism attempts to eliminate the opposition between people and things, nature and society, subject and object, break down the barriers between science and humanities, and resist binary, hierarchical, and linear discourse. Scholars use different terms to describe new materialism, such as speculative realism, active realism, etc., but collectively oppose static, a priori, and closed material views, advocating for active, generative, and relational material views. The relationship between new materialism and historical materialism has also been discussed, with some scholars emphasizing the differences between the two, while others see an inherent connection. The characteristics of new materialism include sportiness, processuality, and relatedness, with its scientific nature, critical thinking of Western modernity, and Chinese characteristics being its novelty. In addition, the differences between New Materialism and Derrida's Deconstructionism and Deleuze's Generative Philosophy are closely related, focusing on the deconstruction of centrism, dualism, hierarchy, and linear discourse, as well as the crisis and crisis awareness of Western modern civilization. New materialists also seek ways to find solutions to the dilemma of Western modern civilization from Eastern culture and philosophical traditions, promoting exchanges and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations.

The Scientificity of New Materialism

The scientificity of new materialism is reflected in its close connection with natural sciences, especially in fields such as complexity theory, chaos theory, and quantum physics. The new materialism emphasizes the objectivity, objectiveness, and instrumentality of things, and compared with the philosophy of things in the 19th century, it places greater emphasis on the deep integration of science and humanities. Theorists such as Deleuze, Ballard, Mayasu, and Latour attempted to integrate natural sciences such as mathematics and physics with humanities, challenging the traditional binary oppositional model. Crockett proposed the concept of energy materialism, emphasizing the dynamism, uncertainty, and intrinsic life states of things, combined with the second law of thermodynamics, highlighting the scientific characteristics of new materialism. Scholars such as Haravi and Malabu have integrated science and technology, biology, feminism, and philosophy to explore the human-machine relationship and the new materialism of biology in the era of artificial intelligence. Haier's unconscious cognitive ecology provides a scientific basis for new materialism and challenges anthropocentrism. The new materialism attempts to address the crisis of modernity, calling for a return to the subjectivity of things, repairing the gap between human and object separation, and bringing things back to their subject status and inner state of life.

New Materialism: Reflections on Western Modernity

The new materialism has deeply pondered on Western modernity, criticizing the concepts of instrumental rationality, rationality, science, progress, and subjectivity in the philosophical system of modernity, which serve colonialism and imperialism and are closely related to linear and progressive narratives. The new materialism aims to deconstruct these narratives, break binary oppositions and centrism, restore the ontological status of things, and emphasize the overall interrelationships of humanity as a part of the world. Its internal posture is cross cutting, promoting interdisciplinary integration, transcending Saussure's paradigm of language construction, and rejecting the ontology and epistemology of transcendentalism. The new materialism challenges Eurocentrism and progressivism, criticizing the rift between man and nature caused by capitalism and colonialism, as well as the erasure of indigenous civilizations by modern European civilization. Crockett particularly emphasized the role of colonialism in modern European civilization, believing that the task of new materialism includes achieving decolonization at the ontological level, and its energy materialism inherits the criticism of capitalism from Marxist historical materialism and Deleuze philosophy.

The Chinese Characteristics of New Materialism

The chapter on the Chinese nature of New Materialism explores how New Materialism can address the crisis of Western modernity by integrating traditional Chinese thought and showcasing Chinese characteristics. Prigogin and Stangs advocate for the integration of natural sciences and social sciences, as well as cultural traditions from the West and China, in order to establish a new alliance between humanity and nature. He Wei interprets the new materialist monism through ancient Chinese sericulture, challenging the binary opposition between nature and society. Cai Xi believed that Deleuze's philosophy met with Chinese thought, transcending the anthropocentric perspective and forming a diverse, open, and generative cultural concept. Han Qiqun pointed out the similarities between Western new materialism and traditional Chinese thought, especially the philosophical ideas of yin and yang arising from each other and making life easy. In the 19th century, American transcendentalists Emerson and Thoreau sought solutions to natural crises from Confucianism. In the 20th century, American representative of imagism and whirlpools, Pound, affirmed China's traditional agricultural life and the idea of homogenization by rewriting Chinese stories. Deleuze was deeply influenced by ancient Chinese philosophy and established a dynamic generative philosophy, replacing hierarchical political thought with nomadic politics, subverting Western binary opposition and anthropocentric thinking. The basic problem of ancient Chinese Yi learning is variability rather than existence. Yi learning focuses on the relationship between heaven and earth, with the core being in the realm of transcending boundaries to achieve the unity of things and oneself. The idea of Yi Xue's transformation has influenced Deleuze and is related to Heidegger's new materialist theory. Heidegger's philosophy of focusing on things has roots in ancient Chinese thought. Zhuangzi advocates the theory of the dual transformation of things and themselves, emphasizing the natural state of things. Heidegger attempted to subvert the Western binary oppositional logical framework by using Zhuangzi's idea of harmonizing things, in order to distinguish Western anthropocentrism. Haman further elaborated on Heidegger's basis that the materiality of things does not lie in human given, but rather in the ontological meaning and vitality of things that retreat from human cognition. Crockett named his work after energy and change, reflecting a dialogue with traditional Chinese change thinking. Crockett reflected on and criticized the binary opposition between Western traditional spirit and matter through Zhang Zaiqi's ontological monism. New materialists constantly learn from traditional Chinese thought to challenge and subvert binary oppositions and anthropocentrism. The main reason is that the philosophical ideas of change, transitivity, and transformation in traditional Chinese thought, as well as the concepts of harmony between heaven and man, the theory of the unity of things, and the concept of nature centeredness, are very compatible with the demands of exploring the materiality of new materialism. The development of new materialism has challenged and overturned the binary opposition framework of Western modernity and anthropocentrism from multiple perspectives, expressing a new material and life view in the context of the rapid development of science and technology and artificial intelligence in the post humanistic era.