This book presents a creative approach to the problem of individual authenticity. What is authenticity? What are its necessary conditions? How is an authentic self possible in society? What are the relationships of authenticity, morality, and happiness? The book examines a wide range of questions in Eastern and Western thought, to which it gives novel answers.

Found in this volume is a systematic digest of the doctrines of the Chinese philosopher, Mencius. The original text is classified and translated, with notes and explanations. In his researches into human nature, Mencius will be found to have anticipated many of the results of modern psychological study. The appeal made by both Mencius and Confucius, in support of their alleged divine mission, to the conformity of their doctrines with the essentials of the human mind as discovered by observation, rather than to any external credentials. Partial Contents: detailed analysis of the system of Mencius; elements of moral science; concerning properties; virtues and corresponding duties; practical exhibition of moral science; in the individual character; ethio social relations; result aimed at in moral development; the organization of the state.

This remarkable treatise is a translation from one of the numerous works of the Arabian philosopher, Abou Hamid Mohammed ben Mohammed al Ghazzali, who flourished in the 11th century. Mohammedan scholars of the present day still hold him in high respect. This treatise on the alchemy of happiness is well-adapted to extend our knowledge of the writings of Ghazzali and of the opinions current then and now in the Oriental world. In form, the book contains a treatise on practical piety and the author finds a place for observations reaching far wide of his apparent aim, making many observations which develop his notions in anatomy, physiology, natural philosophy and natural religion.

Found in this work is the wisdom of the Vedic hymns, the Brahamanas, the Upanishads, the Maha Bharata and Ramayana, the Bhagavas Gita, the Vedanta and Yoga philosophies, as well as wisdom from the ancient and modern literature of India. Mr. Brown has selected some of the finest section of the Indian literature and gives them the proper arrangement in order that the person without any knowledge of the subject may easily become familiar with the literature of ancient and modern India. Illustrated.

In Confucius, we have one of the world's most interesting characters - a fountain of ethics and moral philosophy; an inspirer of the highest type, yet purely human. Although the editorials and sayings of Confucius are fragmentary, we can so arrange and connect them that they may come into a system or systems of thought. The social ideal of Confucius is harmony. It is his own ethical system that draws us closer to Confucius. We feel more at home with him when we come to his ethics. His ethical sayings are simply, homely and practical. They are universal, mostly applicable in all times.

This work is demonstrated not only from the nature of things, but from the undoubted experience of the Chinese under their first Founder Fohi, and his illustrious successors, Hoam Ti and Xin Num. Added to this dissertation by way of notes from the other philosophical works of Mr. Wolff, the principles and definition he refers to in this dissertation. Due to the age and scarcity of the original we reproduced, some pages may be spotty, faded or difficult to read. Written in Old English.

For nearly eight centuries this work served as a primer of psychology and philosophy in Ceylon and Burma, and a whole literature of exegesis grew up around it. This Compendium is a concise statement of the view of things, with purely theoretical analysis, and is a invaluable textbook for students of Buddhism.

Or the symbols of the Chinese logic of changes. The uses of Yi have been kept an esoteric secret by philosophers mainly as a precaution against abuses, and therefore have remained a mystery. In this book, the author attempts to solve the mysteries of Yi by showing these discoveries through Exhibits, which demonstrate the facts mathematically, physically, astronomically and logically. Includes a study of the symbols.

"The Struggle for Meaning" is a landmark publication by one of African philosophy's leading figures, Paulin J. Hountondji, best known for his critique of ethnophilosophy in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In this volume, he responds with autobiographical and philosophical reflection to the dialogue and controversy he has provoked. He discusses the ideas, rooted in the work of such thinkers as Husserl and Hountondji's former teachers Derrida, Althusser, and Ricoeur, that helped shape his critique.
Applying his philosophical ideas to the critical issues of democracy, culture, and development in Africa today, he addresses three crucial topics: the nexus between scientific extraversion and economic dependence; the nature of endogenous traditions of thought and their relationship with modern science; and the implications--for political pluralism and democracy--of the emergence of "philosophies of subject" in Africa.
While the book's immediate concern is with Africa, the densely theoretical nature of its analyses, and its bearing on current postmodern theories of the "other," will make this timely and elegant translation of great interest to many disciplines, especially ethnic, gender, and multicultural studies.

This book introduces readers to the Buddhist-based philosophy of education of Daisaku Ikeda. Ikeda's philosophy of education offers human revolution, value creation, and dialogue as counterweights to the violence lurking in today's classrooms. Where education becomes wisdom-based, it transforms learners into keen assessors of their inner lives and establishes a foundation for global citizenship.

In 1968--a time when young Americans were intensely questioning the values of their society--Krishnamurti gave a series of talks to college students in the United States and Puerto Rico, exploring the true meaning of freedom and rebellion. Collected in this book, these lectures are perhaps even more compelling today, when both adults and young people are searching for the key to genuine change in our world.

Available for the first time in the English language, this is a complete and annotated translation of a key work by the twelfth-century Muslim philosopher, Averroes (Ibn Rushd). Acknowledged as the leading transmitter of Aristotelian th ought, Averroes also held controversial views about the re lationship between faith and reason, arguing that religion should not be allowed to impose limits on the exercise of rational thought. His theory of rationality, along with others on language, justice and the interpretation of religious texts, is clearly presented here, in a work that provides the most comprehensive picture available of Averroes's great intellectual achievements.

The philosophical, religious, and sociopolitical teachings of Confucianism have played a central role in East Asian culture for many centuries. This book presents a selection of passages from leading Chinese thinkers of the later Ming dynasty (sixteenth-seventeenth centuries), a peak period of Confucian creativity influenced by Buddhism and Taoism. Chosen for their practical interest and universal appeal, the passages are concerned with how to develop the personality, conduct social relations, and order society. In contrast to the common misconception of Confucianism as a formalistic ideology linked to authoritarian political regimes, these passages emphasize the cultivation of spiritual qualities as a means of operating harmoniously and successfully in the world.

Unique insights into a 1,000 year old text about T'ai Chi and oriental philosophy from the Grand Master of Hwa Yu T'ai Chi Ch'uan. Learn the secrets of an ancient system for health and self defense created in the mountains of China at the beginning of the Sung Dynasty and now practiced around the world.

In the main, the Vedanta agrees with the teaching of Parmenides and the early Eleatics of his school, and has many points of contact with Plato's idealism. But whereas the Greek philosophers were only professors, the Vedanta has always had a deep practical significance.

The twelfth-century Persian philosopher Suhrawardi was the key figure in the transition of Islamic philosophy from the neo-Aristotelianism of Avicenna to the mystically oriented Islamic philosophy of later centuries. Suhrawardi's "Illuminationist" philosophy was a vigorous reassertion of Neoplatonism at a time when Sufism was becoming a major presence in Islamic thought and society.

This book traces the intellectual background of Suhrawardi's thought and of the Greek roots of non-Aristotelian philosophy in the Islamic world. Suhrawardi placed himself in an intellectual tradition that sprang From the "Ancients, " the philosophical and mystical tradition of Hermes Trismegistus and his successors in both Greece and the Orient. The author argues that Suhrawardi typifies an approach to philosophy characteristic of Neoplatonism, in which Pythagoras is the key pre-Socratic, Plato is the central figure in the history of philosophy, Aristotle is respected but corrected by reference to Pythagoras and Plato, and philosophy is ultimately an eclectic revelation known symbolically by different nations. Mystical intuition is a key philosophical tool and symbolism is of particular importance.

The Leaven of the Ancients provides a translation of Suhrawadi's famous dream, in which Aristotle reveals the epistemological foundations of Suhrawardi's Illuminationist system. The book also analyzes the role played by Suhrawardi and his approach to philosophy in turning Islamic civilization away from physical science toward a subtle mystical psychology.

Written by an international assembly of leading philosophers, this volume offers students, teachers and general readers a rich and sophisticated introduction to the major non-Western philosophical traditions - particularly Chinese, Indian, Buddhist and Islamic philosophies. African and Polynesian thinking are also covered by way of historical and contemporary survey articles.

The text is organized around a series of central topics concerning conceptions of reality and divinity, of causality, of truth, of the nature of rationality, of selfhood, of humankind and nature, of the good, of aesthetic values, and of social and political ideals. Outstanding scholars present essays that articulate the distinctive ways in which these specific problems have been formulated and addressed in the non-Western traditions against the background of their varied historical and cultural presuppositions.

Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677)-often recognized as the first modern Jewish thinker-was also a founder of modern liberal political philosophy. This book is the first to connect systematically these two aspects of Spinoza's legacy. Steven B. Smith shows that Spinoza was a politically engaged theorist who both advocated and embodied a new conception of the emancipated individual, a thinker who decisively influenced such diverse movements as the Enlightenment, liberalism, and political Zionism. Focusing on Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise, Smith argues that Spinoza was the first thinker of note to make the civil status of Jews and Judaism (what later became known as the Jewish Question) an essential ingredient of modern political thought. Before Marx or Freud, Smith notes, Spinoza recast Judaism to include the liberal values of autonomy and emancipation from tradition. Smith examines the circumstances of Spinoza's excommunication from the Jewish community of Amsterdam, his skeptical assault on the authority of Scripture, his transformation of Mosaic prophecy into a progressive philosophy of history, his use of the language of natural right and the social contract to defend democratic political institutions, and his comprehensive comparison of the ancient Hebrew commonwealth and the modern commercial republic. According to Smith, Spinoza's Treatise represents a classic defense of religious toleration and intellectual freedom, showing them to be necessary foundations for political stability and liberal regimes. In this study Smith examines Spinoza's solution to the Jewish Question and asks whether a Judaism, so conceived, can long survive.

Contents: The Science of Knowing the Future; The Development of Seership; Laws Governing Seership; Great Universe Beyond; Development of the Mystic Sense; Crystal-Seeing by Seers of All Ages; How to Go Into the Silence; How to Interpret the Present and Future; Psychic Telepathy; Ghosts of the Living and Dead; Future Evolution of Humanity; Seership Builds a Constructive Life; Higher Being Aided by Seership; Spiritual Evolution of Man; and How to Gain Personal Knowledge of the Higher Truths of Seership.

This is the second volume in a new series of classic readings in philosophy and collects together the central texts in the history of moral philosophy thus representing many of the most important topics in the field. It will serve as an invaluable resource for students of all levels taking courses in ethics or moral theory.

The texts selected range from Plato to Stevenson, and include the classics of western moral philosophy such as Aristotle's remarks on man's proper "function," Kant's discussion of "the good will" and Nietzsche's notorious "genealogy" of our moral concepts. The volume also includes some classics from other traditions such as the debate between the two Confucians, Mencius and Hsun Tzu, and the early chapters from "The Bhagavad Gita."

The editor provides guidance to both the field and to each reading by including a substantial general introduction on the nature and history of philosophical ethics. There are also informative short introductions to the individual texts.

This volume provides a wide-ranging and lucid introduction to the major ethical theories found in the history of Western philosophy.

The book begins with the ethical thought of Socrates and the Sophists in the fifth century BCE and concludes with the philosophy of Nietzsche at the end of the nineteenth century CE. An epilogue traces parallels between twentieth century ethical theories and those found in the previous history of the subject. Special attention is given to theories that have exerted considerable influence on contemporary ethics, namely those of Aristotle, Hobbes, Butler, Hume, Kant, and Mill.

It is an ideal text for all introductory courses in ethics and moral philosophy.

The enneagram is an ancient nine-pointed diagram which symbolizes the evolution of any process. Like the I Ching hexagrams or the Kabalistic Tree of Life, the enneagram can be used for understanding many different areas of endeavour, and to enhance our intuition, our capacity to see situations holistically, and our ability to find connections between different areas of knowledge and experience. This book explains its potential and discusses the fundamental ideas woven into the symbol. The author then applies the insights of the enneagram to various topics ranging from sex to the solar system.

"Hountondji... writes not as an 'African' philosopher but as a philosopher on Africa.... Hountondji's deep understanding of any civilization as necessarily pluralistic, and often even self-contradicting as it evolves, is simply magisterial.... This is a precious gem of a book for anyone who wishes to reflect on civilization and culture." Choice

In this incisive, original exploration of the nature and future of African philosophy, Paulin J. Hountondji attacks a myth popularized by ethnophilosophers such as Placide Tempels and Alexis Kagame that there is an indigenous, collective African philosophy separate and distinct from the Western philosophical tradition. Hountondji contends that ideological manifestations of this view that stress the uniqueness of the African experience are protonationalist reactions against colonialism conducted, paradoxically, in the terms of colonialist discourse. Hountondji argues that a genuine African philosophy must assimilate and transcend the theoretical heritage of Western philosophy and must reflect a rigorous process of independent scientific inquiry. This edition is updated with a new preface in which Hountondji responds to his critics and clarifies misunderstandings about the book's conceptual framework."

Partial Contents: Polar catastrophe; Cause of expedition; Beginning the voyage; Entering the polar gulf; Day becomes night and night day; We discover the interior world; Extraordinary loss of weight; Afloat on the interior ocean; Visit from inhabitants of Plutusia; Marching in triumph; Journey to Calnogor; REceptonby the King; Throne of the Gods; Worship of Lyone; Audience with the Supreme Goddess; Escaping the cyclone; Twin Soul; A revelation; Voyages of Mercury and Aurora Borealis; History concluded.

Contents: Reincarnation; Heredity and Reincarnation; Evolution and Reincarnation; Which is Scientific, Resurrection or Reincarnation?; Theory of Transmigration.