本文指出，在全球化趨勢裡，研究者必須採取新的角度來檢視文化並重建身分認同，此一過程勢必會遭遇「文化差異」的問題，此時就需要發展出新的研究策略，使得參與文明對話的所有角色均能了解並欣賞這些差異。所謂的人文學科，就是發展這種研究策略的領域。人文之為一種學術訓練，起源於十八世紀末、十九世紀初的歐洲。由於歐洲勢力拓展日廣，對於異文化的接觸日趨頻繁，促使學者發展出一套研究與歸類方法，以解釋歐洲與其他世界的文化差異；從這套研究方法衍生出來的思維與認知模式，很快就被賦予「放諸四海皆準」的價值。究其實，這種人文研究預設了一套能夠全面概括的世界史，並仰賴固定的詮釋學步驟以進行分析，這些都只是近代西方學術產物。 本文目的在於描述歐洲人文研究的特徵，指陳其長處與侷限，並嘗試更新其慣常的研究模式及詮釋策略，進而分析跨文化理解的基本原則，而所謂的跨文化理解，才符合真正的「人文主義精神」。當代的世界文化由許多不同的傳統構成，他們對於何謂「人類」，何謂「人文」，各自有不同的理解；當這些文化均各持己見，以為自身傳統牢不可破，則彼此間的傾軋、衝突便無可避免。為了平息類似紛爭，我們必須調整人文研究的視角，將文化間的互動關係理解成「包容」而非「排斥」，進而全盤重構研究方法以及詮釋策略。

The paper starts with a diagnosis of new needs for cultural orientation in the globalizing process. The challenge of cultural difference in processes of identity formation demands a strategy of understanding and recognizing this difference, which can be accepted by all participants in intercultural communication. The place for developing such a strategy is the humanities. The humanities as academic disciplines emerged at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century in Europe. Their main task was to come to terms with the growing experience of cultural difference in space and time. In order to fulfil their task as institutionalized places for understanding cultural difference they developed cognitive strategies, which claimed for universal validity. These strategies mainly consisted of a concept of universal history and a method of hermeneutics. Both elements are deeply influenced by modern humanism. The paper describes the basic elements of this humanism, its advantages and limits. It critically picks up the tradition of this humanism attempting to re-new its basic patterns and methods of interpretation. This will be demonstrated by analyzing the basic category of intercultural understanding-the idea of humanity. Present-day cultural orientation is deeply influenced by different ideas of humanity and humankind stemming from different cultural traditions. Within the unbroken validity of these traditions different ideas of humankind and humanities each scooped each other. This mutual exclusion has caused tensions, even clashes. In order to overcome them the logic of understanding brought about by the humanities has to be changed from an exclusive to an inclusive interrelationship of the concepts of the humanities and of its related methods of research and interpretation.