什么是文明?文明概念的语境差异与统一模型 Rethinking, Civilization: Contextual Divergence and a Unified Theoretical Framework

本研究系统梳理“文明”概念在三种主要学术语境中的差异:人类学/考古学语境、中文文史哲语境与历史哲学语境。文章指出,这三种语境分别对应不同的理论预设与观察角度,导致“文明”在结构复杂性、伦理教化与文化生命周期等方面呈现出不可通约的含义。基于此,本文提出“意义—结构—周期”的文明—文化统一模型,将文化视为意义系统,将文明视为文化的结构化外化,并将文明的生命周期纳入整体分析框架。该模型旨在为跨学科的文明研究提供一个可通约的理论基础。

This work provides a systematic analysis of the concept of “civilization” across three major scholarly contexts: the anthropological/archaeological context, the Chinese philological-philosophical tradition, and the philosophy of history. Each context embodies distinct theoretical assumptions, producing divergent and often incommensurable meanings of civilization—ranging from social complexity and institutional structures to moral-ritual refinement and late-stage cultural morphology. Building on these distinctions, the paper proposes a unified “Meaning–Structure–Cycle” model, conceptualizing culture as a meaning system, civilization as the structural externalization of meaning, and civilizational development as a cyclical process. The model aims to offer a cross-disciplinary and commensurable framework for future civilization studies.