«Xuan Logic» (玄) and «Tragic Logic» as the Foundations of Aesthetic-Technical Thinking in Europe and Asia in Yuk Hui’s Philosophy: The Problem of Overcoming the Dichotomy

Abstract

This article attempts a comprehensive analysis of the philosophical and cultural concept of the contemporary Hong Kong philosopher Yuk Hui, which is focused on the problem of the fundamental difference in the foundations of aesthetic and technical thinking in Europe and East Asia. The aim of the study is to identify and contrast two modes of thinking — “xuan logic” (玄), characteristic of the Chinese tradition, and «tragic logic,» which, according to Hui, underlies European techno-cultural development. Methodologically, the article relies on comparative analysis, hermeneutics, and a macrosociological approach, allowing for the examination of phenomena of culture and technology within a broad historical and philosophical context. Based on a detailed examination of Yuk Hui’s key works («Art and Cosmotechnics,» «The Question Concerning Technology in China,» etc.), it is demonstrated how these logics, being universal structures, manifest differently in the art, technology, and philosophy of the two regions, forming distinct cosmotechnical universes. In conclusion, the thesis is argued that Hui’s project is aimed not at a synthesis or a choice of one logic over the other, but at establishing dialogical relations between them through the concepts of recursivity and contingency, which opens up the possibility of overcoming the persistent Orientalist dichotomy of «East-West» and forming a pluriversal, rather than universal, model of the future.