> I'll end by saying: it's hard to judge China through a western perspective.
I have respected a lot of your contributions to this site and have historically been impressed by your comments, but this one I can't accept. It essentially boils down to a courtier's reply, except that there is no way to gain the experience necessary to comment according to your criterion.
I was a little distracted when I wrote this, I admit; it probably wasn't the most thought-out statement. I don't mean you should adopt another perspective (that'd be silly).
You're right - it's inescapable that we need some perspective on which to judge and formulate opinions, but sometimes we just need to take things in passively, and think--without forming opinions.
I'm not entirely sure whether this makes sense, or whether it just seems like philosophical nonsense.
I have respected a lot of your contributions to this site and have historically been impressed by your comments, but this one I can't accept. It essentially boils down to a courtier's reply, except that there is no way to gain the experience necessary to comment according to your criterion.