“China” and the Emergence of Religious Toleration in Enlightenment Philosophers, Part II: Voltaire's Project of Universal Toleration and the Legacy of Intercultural Self‐Critique

ABSTRACT This article explores the significance of engaging in intercultural reversals of perspectives by reconstructing Voltaire's reflections on the relationship between China and Europe. It highlights the ensuing ethics of universal religious tolerance in this civilizational comparison. Volt...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophy compass 2024-11, Vol.19 (11), p.n/a
Main Authors: Hui, Xianzhe, Wenning, Mario
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
China
intercultural self‐critique
religious toleration
the Enlightenment
voltaire
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Summary:ABSTRACT This article explores the significance of engaging in intercultural reversals of perspectives by reconstructing Voltaire's reflections on the relationship between China and Europe. It highlights the ensuing ethics of universal religious tolerance in this civilizational comparison. Voltaire employed China as a heuristic model primarily to criticize the intolerance and fanaticism of French Catholics. He also used the methodology of intercultural reversals of perspectives to articulate his arguments for universal religious toleration. This paper's focus on the philosophical reception of China reveals the emergence of what we call “intercultural self‐critique” and an important conception of religious toleration during the European Enlightenment.
ISSN:1747-9991
1747-9991
DOI:10.1111/phc3.70013