在全球視野中審視東亞：超越普遍主義和相對主義

East Asia in the Globe: Beyond Universalism and Relativism

在跨文化理解中，普遍主義和相對主義是互相對立的兩種範式，而在當代學術研究中，相對主義佔有主導地位。與維柯之歷史主義相比，當代相對主義不僅承認文化的多元，而且堅持文化之間不可相通，於是懷疑跨文化理解及交往之可能。本文通過考察彼得‧溫奇、理查‧尼斯貝特等人之議論，揭示相對主義理論範式之局限和內在矛盾，主張超越普遍主義與相對主義之對立，以更開闊的眼光看待全球與東亞之關係。

In cross-cultural understanding, universalism and relativism are two opposite paradigms, of which relativism predominates in contemporary scholarship. In comparison with Vico's historicism, contemporary relativism does not just acknowledge cultural diversity, but it insists on cultural incommensurability, thereby questioning the possibility of cross-cultural understanding and communication. By examining the arguments of Peter Winch, Richard Nisbett and others, this essay exposes the limitations and internal difficulties of the relativist paradigm and argues for a broader perspective on East Asia in the globe well beyond the dichotomy between universalism and relativism.