Prof K. K. Phua
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Theunderstanding and definition of creativity between the Eastern and Westerncultures may differ, as traditional Asian culture is more conservative, whilemodern culture of the West is more liberal. But in terms of creativethinking,their influences are equally significant.
For the pastcouple of years, the Singapore government is actively encouraging and promotingcreativity at the sametime as it is improving the education system. Some recentmedia reports in Hong Kong were also of the view that perhaps creativity ismore important than the development ofhigh technology.
Creativityis a very wide scope that covers all fields. Creativity is the driving forcebehind the development of technology, the economy, the arts and culture. Thisarticle attempts to look at the issue of creativity from the technological,cultural and historical perspectives.
As an Asiancountry, we are naturally concerned about the relationship between the historyand culture of the Eastand creativity. In the East, especially in East Asiawhere Chinese culture was the mainstream, there were many illuminating examplesof creativity and inventiveness in 5,000 years of Chinese history. For example,the invention of paper, gunpowder, printing and the compass. There were alsogreat thinkers like Confucius, Mencius, Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi. But theseachievements go back a thousand years, or even earlier in the Spring and AutumnPeriod, the WarringStates Period, the Qin and the Han Dynasties. Way backduring the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Periods,the contentionamong the Hundred Schools of Thought not onlycreated a favourable milieu forthe advancement of science and technology, it also laid the foundation for thevarious categories of ancient science and technology in China, making it acharacteristic of tradition.
However,there hasn‘t been a likewise breakthrough for the last 1,000 years. What causedthis stagnancy is an issuefor us to ponder over. Throughout its history,Chinese culture has two obvious historical traits. One is that it had a verylong period of feudalism. Only after 2,000 years of feudalism from the ZhouDynasty right up to the early Republican period, did the class-based societywith its strict ethical codes began to change. The second trait is that theImperial Examination System was too rigid and deeply entrenched. Therefore,when we discuss the issue of creativity, we should take these two traits as ahistorical backdrop, so as to analyse the positive and negative effectsofEastern and Western cultures on creativity.
The feudalperiod in Europe was, by comparison, shorter.It was followed by over 200 years(14th to 16th century A.D.) of the Renaissance, a movement spurred on by thecall to revive the arts of classical Greece. It was a revolution inintellectual thought and inventiveness. The Enlightenmentand the IndustrialRevolution that followed caused a tumultuous transformation in Europe. Shakingoff its feudal shackles in ideology and social systems, Europe created a bravenew world for itself. Under such circumstances, Europeproduced many newcreations and inventions in the realms of art, science, music, architecture andso on. In the last 200years, the United States created many new opportunitiesfor self-development. Its favourable conditions attracted many immigrants ofhigh calibre, it was able to achieve many breakthroughs and unearth many newideas in economics, science and culture, making it the only superpower in theworld today. On the whole, the historical circumstances in the West over thepast few centuries provided very favourable conditions for creativity andinventiveness.
There is adifference in understanding and defintion of creativity between the East andthe West. Although Asian traditions are conservative in comparison, and thesocial climate and ideological make-up of the West are more liberal, each ofthem has valid contributions towards creativity. The most prominent Chinesescientist in the 20thcentury, Prof Yang Chen-Ning has more than once mentionedthe fact that he was an amalgation of Eastern and Western cultures. His newscientific ideas and theories are a resultof the clash of Eastern and Westerncultures and the resolution of this conflict. Whether it is Hegel’s idealism orEngels‘ materialism, they all converge at a common point:the resolution ofconflict. Creativity is a multi-level and complex thought process, involvingmany different factors. Prof Yang’s idea to glean the best from both the Eastand the West to resolve the conflict is something we should think seriouslyabout.
Modernscience originated from Europe. Therefore, we must know the characteristics ofWestern culture and its effect on creativity. The characteristics of Westerncultureis reflected in making bold hypotheses followed by the meticulous searchfor evidence. The basis of science is the experiment. A scientific experimentis to test a hypothetical theory in the laboratory. Not only can the experimentverify the soundness of the hypothesis, it can also improve or debunk it. It isdue to these cultural traits that Westerners are more used to making boldhypotheses. As a result, many important and revolutionary discoveries weremade. The disadvantage of this is that someof these new ideas and hypothesesmay not have solid foundations, but this fault is a minor one where creativityis concerned.
Anothercharacteristic of Western culture is the emphasis on individual contribution.Perhaps there may be some historical or religious reasons, but the mainstay ofWestern culture is the individual. This trait is manifested in the adulation ofindividual heroes in Western culture andcreativity. The individual‘s heroicexploits and contributions are placed above collective effort. The advantage ofthis is that it can spur people on to greater heights. The flaw is that itresults in self-centred individualism, which affects creativity indirectly.
Up to somelevel, creativity requires the coordination of all sides. Eastern culture canplay a positive role in this. We can look at the issue at two levels:
Thetraditional Eastern system emphasises building a solid foundation, and thenbuild up the basic knowledge stepby step. However, Eastern tradition places toomuch emphasison foundations. The insistence on rote learning robbed theinitiative to make bold hypotheses about new situations and new problems. Inthe modern world, a solid foundation is nota bad thing for creativity. Anothertrait of Eastern cultureis humility in learning.
The 21stcentury will witness an explosion of human knowledge and technology. Studentscan no longer know everything. Under such circumstances, the unique and innovativeideas that creativity requires, as well as the grasp of new ideas and newsituations, are all difficult to come by. They require the full understandingof the problem,sometimes from the surface to its core, from a superficialknowledge to a comprehensive understanding. Humility and prudence will no doubtprove valuable to such a comprehensive thought process and assist creativeinnovators.
Therelationship between Eastern and Western cultures and creativity ismulti-faceted. We only seek to offer some simple preliminary opinions.Singapore, Hong Kong, indeed the whole of Asia should stress the importance ofcreativity. The Singapore government’s active encouragement of creativity is atestiment to its far-sightedness. The TanKah Kee Young People‘s InventionAward, set up more than 10 years ago, was suggested by Prof Yang himself. Thisis to encourage young people to be creative. I believe that if we synergize theessence of Eastern and Western cultures, and seek a new direction amidst theclashes and contradictions, we can achieve a greater breakthrough in creativityvis a vis the West.
创新与东西方文化
潘国驹教授
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东西方文化对创新的内涵有不同理解和定义，亚洲传统比较保守，西方近代的社会环境和意识形态则比较开明，但两者在影响力方面则各有千秋。
近一、两年新加坡政府在发展教育的同时大力鼓励各种创新活动。香港近期一些媒体也认为鼓励创新或许比发展高科技更重要。
创新是很广泛的范畴，任何领域都会牵涉到，创新是推动科技、发展经济及提高艺术文化的主要意念。本文的重点是从科技、文化和历史的角度来看创新的问题。
作为亚洲国家，我们自然十分关心东方历史文化与创新的关系。
在东方，特别是东亚文化中，主流是中华文化。中国在五千年历史中有过很辉煌的创新与发明，如造纸、火药、印刷术和指南针，也出现了像孔子、孟子、老子、庄子这些伟大的思想家。然而这些都是在一千年以前，甚至远至春秋战国、秦汉时代的成就；早在春秋战国时期，学术上的诸子百家争鸣不仅为科学技术的进步创造了有利的条件，而且奠定了中国古代科技各大门类的体系基础，形成了传统的特征。
然而近千年中都没有类似的突破，是什么因素造成这种停滞不前的现象，这个问题值得我们深思。纵观历史，中华文化有两个显著的历史因素，其一是中国有很长的封建时期，二千多年的封建制度自周代开始直至民国初，等级和礼教森严的社会体系才开始有所转变；其二是中国的科举制度严格而根深蒂固。所以，我们在探讨创新时，应将这两个特点作为历史背景来分析东方文化对创新的正面、负面的作用。
比较而言，欧洲的封建制度历史较短，其后以复兴古希腊文艺为口号的文艺复兴时期历时二百余年（公元14-16世纪），实则是一次思想意识和发明创造的革命。相续的启蒙运动和工业革命使到欧洲有了翻天覆地的变革，尤其是在意识形态、社会制度方面大大超脱了封建束缚，使欧洲呈现出一个崭新的局面。在这种环境下，欧洲在各个领域出现了大量的创新发明，特别是体现在美术、科学、音乐、建筑等方面。
在近二百年中，美国因自身发展所需制造了许多新机会，以优厚条件吸收了大批优秀移民，因而在经济、科技、文化各个方面有许多重大突破，发掘了不少新意念，使之成为当今世界上唯一的超级强国。总的来说，西方近几百年的历史环境为创新和发明提供了非常好的条件。
其实东西方文化对创新的内涵有不同理解和定义。虽然亚洲传统比较保守，西方近几百年的社会环境和意识形态则比较开明，但它们对创造发明的积极影响则各有千秋。20世纪科学领域最有成就的华裔物理学家杨振宁教授不只一次提到他的成就是东西方文化结合所致，是在东西方文化冲突与矛盾统一的情况下而得到新的科学构想与理论。其实，无论黑格尔的唯心论或者恩格思的唯物论都强调了一个共同点，即寻求矛盾的统一。创新是一个多层而复杂的思维过程，牵涉许多因素。杨振宁教授所谓吸收东西文化优势、寻求矛盾的统一，值得我们深入分析。
现代科学起源是欧洲，因此我们需要了解西方文化的特点及其在创新方面的作用，西方文化特点反映在科技方面为大胆假设，细心求证。而且科学基础重视以实验为主，所谓科学实验就是将这个假设理论拿到实验室检验。实验的过程不但可以检验其正误，往往还可能提升或推翻这个理论。正因为这些文化传统，西方人士比较习惯提出大胆假设，因而产生了许多重要的、革命性的成果，而其缺点是一些新想法或假设也许没有很好的基础，不过相对大胆的假设而言，这个缺点在创新发明中是比较次要的。
西方文化的另一个特点是强调个人的贡献，或许这有历史与宗教的原因。以个人为主是西方传统风格，演变到今日表现在西方文化和创造发明中往往是制造个人英雄，并将其英雄作风和贡献突出于集体之上。其好处是启发人的进取心，弊端是导致以个人为中心，间接影响创新。
创新，到达一定程度之后须要各方面的配合。东方文化则在这方面会起积极作用。这可以从两方面来看：
东方传统教育强调脚踏实地建立学问的基础，注重将基础知识一步一步建立起来。然而东方传统中过于重视基础，强调死记硬背，无形中影响了对新现象、新问题的大胆设想、求证。现代社会中，稳固全面的知识基础对创新而言并非坏事。东方文化传统另一个特点是强调做学问的谦虚态度。
到了21世纪，人类知识技术达到爆炸的时代，求学者无法尽善尽美。在这种情况下，创新所需要的具有独特与新的见解以及抓到新问题新现象则更为不易，这要求全面了解问题的实质，有时要从表面至内部，从片面至全面。谦虚谨慎的态度无疑会对这种深入全面的思考过程有很大帮助，对创新者有直接的帮助。
东西方文化和创新的关系是多方面的，我们只是简单地提出以上初步的意见，新加坡、香港甚至整个亚洲确应强调创新的重要性，新加坡政府近年来大力鼓励创新发明是高瞻远瞩的。早在十多年前设立的陈嘉庚青少年发明奖就是在杨振宁教授的倡议下成立的，以鼓励年轻人具有创新精神。相信如果我们善加结合东西方文化精粹，在东西文化传统的矛盾与冲突中寻求新方向，应比西方社会在创新方面有更大的突破。