Title: Humanistic Reflections on Modern Civilization

Speaker: Liu Senlin, Distinguished Professor, Shandong University; Former Dean, School of Philosophy and Social Development, Shandong University; Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor of the Ministry of Education; Taishan Scholar Distinguished Professor of Shandong Province. He has long been engaged in academic research on basic philosophical theories, modern nihilism, Marx and the Western tradition. He serves as Vice President of the Chinese Society of Dialectical Materialism, President of the Shandong Provincial Society of Philosophy and the Shandong Provincial Society of Logic. He undertakes major projects of the National Social Science Foundation of China such as "Expansive Research on the Relationship between Marx and Classical German Philosophy" and key projects such as "The History of Modern Nihilism and Its Criticism". He has published monographs such as "Matter and Nothingness", "Dialectic of Enlightenment", "Anxious Enlightenment" and "Pursuing the Subject", and has published 24 papers in "Social Sciences in China" and "Philosophical Research". He has won the Outstanding Scientific Research Achievements Award in Higher Education Institutions of the Ministry of Education six times (including second and third prizes), and also won awards such as the Fok Ying Tung Young Teachers Award (Research Category), the National Hundred Excellent Doctoral Dissertations Award, and the Baosteel Excellent Teacher Award.

Abstract: This lecture focuses on humanistic reflections on modern civilization, exploring the spiritual connotation, historical evolution, and practical value of modern civilization from a philosophical perspective. It deeply discusses the profound impacts of modernization on human values, social relations, and the relationship between humans and nature, and analyzes the challenges of alienation, value confusion, and cultural conflicts faced by modern civilization. Meanwhile, it puts forward insights on how to inherit the essence of traditional culture, absorb the beneficial achievements of global civilization, and promote the healthy and sustainable development of modern civilization, providing theoretical references for the construction of a humanistic society in the new era.

Date & time: 25 September 2025, 10:20-11:40

Venue: B321, Zhixin Building, Central Campus, Shandong University