Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2003

DISTINGUISHED LECTURES Reflections on the Enlightenment and Neo-Confucianism (29th October) Prof. Tu We i m i ng Director, Harvard-Yenching Institute World-renowned Confucian scholar a n d p r o f e s s or of Ea st A s i a n philosophy and history at Ha r v a rd University, Prof. Tu Weiming said that the E n l i g h t e nme nt as a t h o u g ht movement originating in the West and spreading to the rest of the world, may ha ve been the mo st i n f l u e n t i al ideology in history. A n d rationality a r i s i n g f r o m t h e c o n c e p t o f Enlightenment has been accepted by scholars as a universal value. Yet the challenges that mankind have to face are b e y o nd wh at the k now l edge, values, behaviour, and institutions created by the Enlightenment (as movement, concept and mentality) can handle. His lecture pointed out the weaknesses of the Enlightenment, explaining that ‘transcendent Enlightenment' meant expanding its intellectual vision and strengthening its ethical foundations. Prof. Tu also discussed what philosophical resources Confucian humanity can provide to the Enlightenment. The Bases for Hope in Spinal Cord Injury (5th December) Prof. Wise Young Chair, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, W.M. Keck Center of Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Celebrated neuroscientist Prof. Wise Young gave an account of new advances in the clinical treatment of spinal cord injury and the clinical trials underway. I n the past seven years, the field of spinal cord injury research has transformed from one of pessimism to hope. Two d e e p ly e n t r e n c h ed d o gmas concerning the central nervous system have been overturned. In 1996, most scientists thought that no new neurons c o u ld be b o rn i n the a d u lt central nervous system. N ow it is k n own that neuropoiesis occurs in the adult brain a nd s p i n al c o r d. L i k e w i s e, mo st scientists thought that the spinal cord could not regenerate. Yet many therapies have been shown to be able to regenerate the spinal cords of animals. Advances in surgery, rehabilitation, and medicine have also revolutionized the clinical treatment of spinal cord injury. 40th Anniversary Celebrations 13