Nishida Kitaro (1870-1945) is considered Japan's first and greatest modern philosopher. As founder of the Kyoto School, he began a rigorous philosophical engagement and dialogue with Western philosophical traditions, especially the work of G. W. F. Hegel. John W. M. Krummel explores the Buddhist roots of Nishida's thought and places him in connection with Hegel and other philosophers of the Continental tradition. Krummel develops notions of self-awareness, will, being, place, the environment, religion, and politics in Nishida's thought and shows how his ethics of humility may best serve us in our complex world.

The wisdom of Confucius, China's greatest teacher and sage, can guide each of us in our own time.

Twenty-six centuries after their origination, the principles laid down in the Analects of Confucius still act as the foundation of Chinese philosophy, ethics, society and government, and play a formative role in the development of many Eastern philosophies. In this intriguing look at the ethical and spiritual meaning of the Analects, Rodney L. Taylor, the foremost American researcher of Confucius as a religious and spiritual figure, explains their profound and universal wisdom for our own time. He shows how Confucius advocates learning and self-cultivation to follow the "path of the sage" or Way of Heaven a journey that promises to promote reason, peace and understanding.

Alongside an updated version of the classic translation by Sinologist James Legge, Taylor provides informative and accessible commentary that illuminates the meaning behind selected passages from the Analects and their insights on character development, respect and reverence, and the nature of learning, goodness, truthfulness and righteousness."

The first volume to offer a comprehensive scholarly treatment of Rand s entire corpus (including her novels, her philosophical essays, and her analysis of the events of her times), this Companion provides vital orientation and context for scholars and educated readers grappling with a controversial and understudied thinker whose enduring influence on American (and world) culture is increasingly recognized. * The first publication to provide an in-depth scholarly treatment ranging over the whole of Rand s corpus * Provides informed contextual analysis for scholars in a variety of disciplines * Presents original research on unpublished material and drafts from the Rand archives in California * Features insightful and fair-minded interpretations of Rand s controversial positions

The book revisits Gandhi in this era of turbulence. As rigidly held notions and practices fall to pieces, and as mechanisms of violence and politicking fail, Gandhi comes to picture. If Gandhi could change the course of history, there must be elements in his thought and action, which need re-examination for the benefit of human society. This collection of essays seeks to address the question: Is it possible to generate Gandhian optimism and faith in truth and nonviolence in the contemporary world? It argues that there is a need for sustained efforts to make an in-depth study of Gandhian principles to address global problems. The book is a useful addition to the literature in political science and international relations, economics, history, sociology, conflict and peace studies, and a guide for the advocates of peaceful means of conflict resolution.

Yang Guorong is one of the most prominent Chinese philosophers working today and is best known for using the full range of Chinese philosophical resources in connection with the thought of Kant, Hegel, Marx, and Heidegger. In The Mutual Cultivation of Self and Things, Yang grapples with the philosophical problem of how the complexly interwoven nature of things and being relates to human nature, values, affairs, and facts, and ultimately creates a world of meaning. Yang outlines how humans might live more fully integrated lives on philosophical, religious, cultural, aesthetic, and material planes. This first English translation introduces current, influential work from China to readers worldwide.

First Published in 1998. This is the proceedings of the International Conference held by The Institute of Jewish Studies, University College London, 1994, in Celebration of its Fortieth Anniversary. Dedicated to the memory and academic legacy of its Founder Alexander Altmann.

The reader's regular perusal, and intelligent contemplation of the spiritual 'Plums' that are strewn about in these books, promises to help the spiritualising process in all serious students of esoteric lore, as well as all seekers of God, to become ever more firmly rooted (mind and heart) in the Divine.

Despite his important stature in the history of philosophy, Averroes is a thinker whose work has been left largely unexplored in this century. It is the aim of this book to rectify this omission, and to argue that his philosophical output is of considerable philosophical as well as historical significance.

Written by the Han philosopher Xu Gan (A.D. 170-217), Balanced Discourses is an inquiry into the causes of political breakdown. It provides a unique contemporary account of the social, intellectual, and cosmological factors that Xu Gan identified as having precipitated the demise of the Han order. This edition of Zhonglun (or Balanced Discourses) contains the original Chinese text with annotations and, on facing pages, an English translation also accompanied by annotations. This collection of essays spans a range of topics, from Confucian cultivation to calendrical calculation. Xu's perspectives are of not only historical but also philosophical interest, for they reveal his belief in a special correlative bond that should exist between names and actualities and his understanding of what happens when that bond is broken. The translator, John Makeham, argues in his introduction that the essays display the same quality of balance that Xu Gan sees as essential to social and political equilibrium.

Abu'l-Barakat is often considered one of the most comprehensive philosophers of the Arabic-Jewish milieu in the medieval age. His extensive and unique philosophical theories, especially his theories in the particular sciences, were seen as a major challenge for the traditional conceptions of the Aristotelian school of thought during and after this period. 'Abu'l-Barakat al-Baghdadi's Scientific Philosophy' explores the core material of Abu'l-Barakat's scientific studies, found in his magnum opus the Kitab al-Mu'tabar. The book then locates these scientific theories within Abu'l-Barakat's philosophy more widely. Whilst providing a comprehensive critique of ancient philosophy, including the work of Aristotle, certain affinities between Abu'l-Barakat's work and that of more modern scientific conceptions are also examined. Containing vast amounts of previously untranslated text, 'Abu'l-Barakat al-Baghdadi's Scientific Philosophy' sheds new light on the philosopher's scientific theories, particularly with regards to his logical conceptions. For this reason, the book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of Jewish and Islamic Philosophy, whilst the scientific material will appeal to those studying the history of science.

This wide-ranging collection of essays elaborates on some of the most pressing issues in contemporary postcolonial society in their transition from conflict and contestation to dialogue and resolution. It explores from new angles questions of violent conflict, forced migration, trafficking and deportation, human rights, citizenship, transitional justice and cosmopolitanism. The volume focuses more specifically on the gendering of violence from a postcolonial perspective as it analyses unique cases that disrupt traditional visions of violence by including the history of empire and colony, and its legacies that continue to influence present-day configurations of gender, race, nationality, class and sexuality. Part One maps out the gendered and racialized contours of conflict zones, from war zones, prisons and refugee camps to peacekeeping missions and humanitarian aid, reframing the field and establishing connections between colonial legacies and postcolonial dynamics. Part Two explores how these conflict zones are played out not just outside but also within Europe, demonstrating that multicultural Europe is fraught with different legacies of violence and postcolonial melancholia. Part Three gives an idea of the kind of future that can be offered to post-conflict societies, defined as contact zones, by exploring opportunities for dialogue, restoration and reconciliation that can be envisaged from a gendered and postcolonial perspective through alternative feminist practices and the work of art and their redemptive power in mobilizing social change or increasing national healing processes. Though strongly anchored in postcolonial critique, the chapters draw from a range of traditions and expertise, including conflict studies, gender theory, visual studies, (new) media theory, sociology, race theory, international security studies and religion studies.

First published in 1932. One of the most astonishing features of the Confucian teaching to the modern reader is its anticipation of the Spencerian formula of evolution and its adaptation of this to a programme of progress. This volume shows that Confucius' teaching is still relevant in many of its features, not merely for China but also for the West. Contents include: The background of Confucian political philosophy; the state and its origin; political unity and organization; the principle of benevolent government; law and justice; democracy and representation, social evolution.

Sadradin Shirazi (1571-1640), known also as Mulla Sadra, spoke of the primacy of Being and promoted a new ontology, founding a new epistemology. Mulla Sadra's ontology is an important philosophical turn and contribution to the understanding of the development of Muslim philosophy and thought. This comprehensive study of Mulla Sadra's philosophical thought explores his departure from tradition; his turn to the doctrine of the primacy of Being; the dynamic characteristics of Being and the concept of substantial change; comparisons with Heidegger's fundamental ontology; and the influence of Mulla Sadra's ontology on subsequent Muslim philosophy. Of particular value to students of philosophy, Islamic and Middle Eastern studies, philosophy of religion, and general readers who seek to understand Muslim philosophy, this book explores the significance of the doctrine of Mulla Sadra and its impact on subsequent debates in the Muslim world.

The tradition of philosophy in the Persian-speaking world is extraordinarily rich, creative and diverse. This anthology, which is divided into three volumes, aims to communicate something of that richness and diversity. The term 'philosophy' is understood to in its widest sense to include theological debate, philosophical Sufism and philosophical hermeneutics (ta'wil). Extending over a period of more than two millennia, and showcasing translations by well-established scholars, the anthology offers full bibliographical references throughout. For anyone interested in exploring, in all their varied manifestations, the fascinating philosophical traditions of Persia, such a wide-ranging and ambitious work will be an indispensable resource. Volume 2 covers five centuries of Ismaili philosophy, and includes extracts from outstanding Ismaili works including the "Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa" ("Treatises of the Brethren of Purity") and the philosophical odes of Nasir Khusraw. It is of great siginificance that, in the early centuries of Islam, philosophers were influenced by Pythagorean and Hermetic ideas, which are usually associated with Shi'i thought in general and Ismailism in particular. Ismaili philosophy at this time was able to integrate strands of Greco-Alexandrian thought such as Hermeticism and Neo-Pythagoreanism, as well as aspects of Mazdaeism and Manichaeism. It also showed marked interest in Neo-platonism.

Throughout the history of Buddhism, little has been said prior to the Twentieth Century that explicitly raises the question whether we have free will, though the Buddha rejected fatalism and some Buddhists have addressed whether karma is fatalistic. Recently, however, Buddhist and Western philosophers have begun to explicitly discuss Buddhism and free will. This book incorporates Buddhist philosophy more explicitly into the Western analytic philosophical discussion of free will, both in order to render more perspicuous Buddhist ideas that might shed light on the Western philosophical debate, and in order to render more perspicuous the many possible positions on the free will debate that are available to Buddhist philosophy. The book covers: Buddhist and Western perspectives on the problem of free will The puzzle of whether free will is possible if, as Buddhists believe, there is no agent/self Theravada views Mahayana views Evidential considerations from science, meditation, and skepticism The first book to bring together classical and contemporary perspectives on free will in Buddhist thought, it is of interest to academics working on Buddhist and Western ethics, comparative philosophy, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of action, agency, and personal identity.

Jonardon Ganeri presents an account of mind in which attention, not self, explains the experiential and normative situatedness of human beings in the world. Attention consists in an organisation of awareness and action at the centre of which there is neither a practical will nor a phenomenological witness. Attention performs two roles in experience, a selective role of placing and a focal role of access. Attention improves our epistemic standing, because it is in the nature of attention to settle on what is real and to shun what is not real. When attention is informed by expertise, it is sufficient for knowledge. That gives attention a reach beyond the perceptual: for attention is a determinable whose determinates include the episodic memory from which our narrative identities are made, the empathy for others that situates us in a social world, and the introspection that makes us self-aware. Empathy is other-directed attention, placed on you and focused on your states of mind; it is akin to listening. Empathetic attention is central to a range of experiences that constitutively require a contrast between oneself and others, all of which involve an awareness of oneself as the object of another's attention. An analysis of attention as mental action gainsays authorial conceptions of self, because it is the nature of intending itself, effortful attention in action, to settle on what to do and to shun what not to do. In ethics, a conception of persons as beings with a characteristic capacity for attention offers hope for resolution in the conflict between individualism and impersonalism. Attention, Not Self is a contribution to a growing body of work that studies the nature of mind from a place at the crossroads of three disciplines: philosophy in the analytical and phenomenological traditions, contemporary cognitive science and empirical work in cognitive psychology, and Buddhist theoretical literature.

In this innovative volume contemporary philosophers respond to classic works of Jewish philosophy. For each of twelve central topics in Jewish philosophy, Jewish philosophical readings, drawn from the medieval period through the twentieth century, appear alongside an invited contribution that engages both the readings and the contemporary philosophical literature in a constructive dialogue. The twelve topics are organized into four sections, and each section commences with an overview of the ensuing dialogue and concludes with a list of further readings. The introduction to the volume assesses the current state of Jewish philosophy and argues for a deeper engagement with analytic philosophy, exemplified by the new contributions. Jewish Philosophy Past and Present: Contemporary Responses to Classical Sources is a cutting edge work of Jewish philosophy, and, at the same time, an engaging introduction to the issues that animated Jewish philosophers for centuries and to the texts that they have produced. It is designed to set the agenda in Jewish philosophy for years to come.

This book presents a close reading of four Indian narratives from different time periods (epic, Upanisadic, pre-modern and contemporary): Ekalavya's story from the Mahabharata (MBh 1.123.1-39), the story of Prajapati, Indra and Virochana from the Chandogya Upanisad (CU 8.7.1-8.12.5), the story of Sankara in the King's body from the Sankaradigvijaya, and A.R. Murugadoss's Hindi film Ghajini (2008), respectively. These stories are thematically juxtaposed with Patanjala-yoga, namely Patanjali's Yogasutra and its vast commentarial body. The sutras reveal hidden philosophical layers. The stories, on the other hand, contribute to the clarification of "philosophical junctions" in the Yogasutra. Through sutras and stories, the author explores the question of self-identity, with emphasis on the role of memory and the place of body in identity-formation. Each of the stories diagnoses the connection between self-identity and (at least a sense of) freedom. Employing cutting-edge methodology, crossing the boundaries of literary theory, story-telling, and philosophical reflection, this book presents fresh interpretations of Indian thought. It is useful to specialists in Asian philosophy and culture.

Recognizing the importance of the Kyoto School and its influence on philosophy, politics, religion, and Asian studies, Japanese and Continental Philosophy initiates a conversation between Japanese and Western philosophers. The essays in this cross-cultural volume put Kyoto School thinkers in conversation with German Idealism, Nietzsche, phenomenology, and other figures and schools of the continental tradition such as Levinas and Irigaray. Set in the context of global philosophy, this volume offers critical, innovative, and productive dialogue between some of the most influential philosophical figures from East and West.

Throughout much of Chinese history, Mencius (372-289 b.c.) was considered the greatest Confucian thinker after Confucius himself. Following the enshrinement of the Mencius (an edited compilation of his thought by disciples or disciples of disciples) as one of the Four Books by Sung neo-Confucianists, he was studied by all educated Chinese.
This study begins a reassessment of Mencius by studying his ethical thinking (how one should live) in relation to that of other early Chinese thinkers, including Confucius, Mo Tzu, the Yangists, and Hsun Tzu. It is the first of three planned studies on Mencius: the second volume will examine the reception and development of Mencian ideas by later thinkers, and the third will be a general philosophical discussion of Confucian ethics.

As early as the Warring States period in China (fourth through third centuries B.C.), debates arose concerning how and under what circumstances new institutions could be formed and legitimated. But the debates quickly encompassed more than just legitimation. Larger issues came to the fore: Can a sage innovate? If so, under what conditions? Where did human culture originally come from? Was it created by human sages? Is it therefore an artificial fabrication, or was it based in part on natural patterns? Is it possible for new sages to emerge who could create something better?
This book studies these debates from the Warring States period to the early Han (second century b.c.), analyzing the texts in detail and tracing the historical consequences of the various positions that emerged. It also examines the time's conflicting narratives about the origin of the state and how these narratives and ideas were manipulated for ideological purposes during the formation of the first empires.
While tracing debates over the question of innovation in early China, the author engages such questions as the prevailing notions concerning artifice and creation. This is of special importance because early China is often described as a civilization that assumed continuity between nature and culture, and hence had no notion of culture as a fabrication, no notion that the sages did anything other than imitate the natural world. The author concludes that such views were not assumptions at all. The ideas that human culture is merely part of the natural world, and that true sages never created anything but instead replicated natural patterns arose at a certain moment, then came to prominence only at the end of a lengthy debate.

For those searching for mindful moments or for a more engaged way of navigating life in the twenty-first century, Buddhism for Beginners opens the door to understanding Buddhism's key concepts and practices. The authors tap into their years of training and study in meditation, martial arts and Eastern philosophy to bring readers a comprehensive introduction to the spiritual tenets and attainments that mark the pathway to enlightenment. In this new hardcover edition, the authors explain in clear and simple terms: The history of Buddhism The key themes and belief systems (the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, Mahayana, nirvana and more) Ways of integrating Buddhist principles and philosophy into the everyday The organizing notions and overarching thesis of Buddhism: to live fully aware in the moment, to see things as they truly are, and to recognize yourself as part of the whole Buddhism's relevance today Buddhism for Beginners then completes this introduction to meditation and mindful moments by offering simple exercises, practices and prompts reflective and supportive of the Buddhist teachings and tenets laid out in the volume, including filling- and clearing-the-mind meditations, performing acts of compassion and inner-peace and conflict-resolution exercises. An essential purchase for people looking to integrate Buddhist principles into their lives or for those seeking a more meaningful, mindful or meditative path.

The timeless wisdom of this classic Taoist text can become a companion on your own spiritual journey. The Chuang-tzu is the second major text of the Taoist tradition. It was compiled in the third century BCE and follows the lead of the best-known and oldest of all Taoist texts, the Tao-te-ching (Book of the Tao and Its Potency). Representing the philosophy of its main author, Chuang Chou, along with several other early Taoist strands, the text has inspired spiritual seekers for over two thousand years. Using parable, anecdote, allegory and paradox, the Chuang-tzu presents the central message of what was to become the Taoist school: a reverence for the Tao—the "Way" of the natural world—and the belief that you are not truly virtuous until you are free from the burden of circumstance, personal attachments, tradition and the desire to reform the world. In this special SkyLight Illuminations edition, leading Taoist scholar Livia Kohn, PhD, provides a fresh, modern translation of key selections from this timeless text to open up classic Taoist beliefs and practices. She provides insightful, accessible commentary that highlights the Chuang-tzu's call to reject artificially imposed boundaries and distinctions, and illustrates how you can live a more balanced, authentic and joyful life—at ease in perfect happiness—by following Taoist principles.

Explicates early Chinese thought and explores the relationship between language and thought.

This book maintains that early Chinese philosophers, whatever their philosophical school, assumed common principles informed the natural and human worlds and that one could understand the nature of man by studying the principles which govern nature. Accordingly, the natural world rather than a religious tradition provided the root metaphors of early Chinese thought. Sarah Allan examines the concrete imagery, most importantly water and plant life, which served as a model for the most fundamental concepts in Chinese philosophy including such ideas as dao, the "way", de, "virtue" or "potency", xin, the "mind/heart", xing "nature", and qi, "vital energy". Water, with its extraordinarily rich capacity for generating imagery, provided the primary model for conceptualizing general cosmic principles while plants provided a model for the continuous sequence of generation, growth, reproduction, and death and was the basis for the Chinese understanding of the nature of man in both religion and philosophy.

"I find this book unique among recent efforts to identify and explain essential features of early Chinese thought because of its emphasis on imagery and metaphor". -- Christian Jochim, San Jose State University

First published in 1958 These volumes analyze modern Chinese history and its inner process, from the pre-western plateau of Confucianism to the communist triumph, in the context of many themes: science, art, philosophy, religion and economic, political, and social change. Volume One includes: * The critique of Idealism * Science and Ch'ing empiricism * The Ming style, in society and art * Confucianism and the end of the Taoist connection * Eclecticism in the area of native Chinese choices * T'i and Yung * The Chin-Wen School and the classical sanction * The modern Ku-Wen opposition to Chin-Wen reformism * The role of nationalism * Communism * Western powers and Chinese revolutions * Language change and the problem of continuity