As a research field that has begun to gain attention only recently in the international academic circle, global intellectual history is still in search of its subjects and possible paradigms. From a global perspective, Europe has played a key role in the formation of the modern world order, which renders it necessary to return to Europe in global intellectual history studies, as an alternative to the present approach that mostly proceeds from non-European regions. Global intellectual history should explore the intellectual origins of the modern world order and examine the intellectual content that has shaped the modern world order. The return to Europe, to be sure however, is not to treat Europe as the world's center but to rethink about ideas and thoughts in the process of their global circulations and interactions. In addition, the research should not be confined to a historical mode of thinking only, but also becomes future oriented, excavating intellectual resources for the construction of a future world order.