This book expands the current axiology of theism literature by assessing the axiological status of alternative conceptions of God and the divine. To date, most of the literature on the axiology of theism focuses almost exclusively on the axiological status of theism and atheism. Specifically, it focuses almost entirely on monotheism, typically Judeo-Christian conceptions of God, and atheism, usually construed as ontological naturalism. This volume features essays from prominent philosophers of religion, ethicists, and metaphysicians addressing the value impact of alternative views such as ultimism, polytheism, pantheism, panentheism, and idealism. Additionally, it reflects a wider trend in analytic philosophy of religion to broaden its scope beyond the Judeo-Christian tradition. Value Beyond Monotheism will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in the philosophy of religion, ethics, and metaphysics.

The Ethical Foundations of Early Daoism: Zhuangzi's Unique Moral Vision presents a comprehensive study of the normative dimensions of early Daoism in general and the classic text Zhuangzi in particular. Lee argues that our inclination to view Daoism as an amoral tradition stems from Orientalist assumptions about Daoism as well as our received assumptions about the nature of morality. By enlarging the scope of morality, Lee suggests that early Daoist texts like the Zhuangzi can be read as works of moral philosophy that speak to specifically moral concerns in ethics, government, and society. Lee casts the moral imperative of the Zhuangzi as an ethics of attunement to the Way and develops this thesis in the context of friendship, government, death, and human flourishing.

The title is a collection of essays centering on the topic of intercultural communication between Chinese and Western cultures by Tang Yijie, one of the most renowned philosophy scholars in China. Comprised of five parts, the author discusses how Chinese culture should modernize itself through borrowing from Western culture premised on a self-awareness of Chinese culture per se. The book begins by critiquing theories of the so-called clash of civilizations and new empires and argues for the coexistence of cultures and a global consciousness instead. Chapters in the second part revisit contemporary Chinese culture in transition and call for the cultural integration of China and the West, with China defined in both its ancient and modern guises. By providing reflections on the cultural trends of the 1980s and 1990s, the third part illustrates the inevitable growth of diversified cultural development while analyzing cases of cultural dialogue in history, philosophy and religion. The fourth part demonstrates the significance of culture diversity and interaction while the fifth provides thoughts and reflections on some real-life cultural issues. This title will appeal to all levels of readers interested in Chinese culture, cross-cultural studies and topics of cultural pluralism.

The Routledge Handbook of South Asian Religions presents critical research, overviews, and case studies on religion in historical South Asia, in the seven nation states of contemporary South Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, and in the South Asian diaspora. Chapters by an international set of experts analyse formative developments, roots, changes and transformations, religious practices and ideas, identities, relations, territorialisation, and globalisation in historical and contemporary South Asia. The Handbook is divided into two parts which first analyse historical South Asian religions and their developments and second contemporary South Asia religions that are influenced by both religious pluralism and their close connection to nation states and their ideological power. Contributors argue that religion has been used as a tool for creating nations as well as majorities within those nations in South Asia, despite their enormous diversity, in particular religious diversity. The Handbook explores these diversities and tensions, historical developments, and the present situation across religious traditions by utilising an array of approaches and from the point of view of various academic disciplines. Drawing together a remarkable collection of leading and emerging scholars, this handbook is an invaluable research tool and will be of interest to researchers and students in the fields of Asian religion, religion in context, and South Asian religions.

The present book by Hu Baozhu explores the subject of ghosts and spirits and attempts to map the religious landscape of ancient China. The main focus of attention is the character gui , an essential key to the understanding of spiritual beings. The author analyses the character gui in various materials - lexicons and dictionaries, excavated manuscripts and inscriptions, and received classical texts. Gui is examined from the perspective of its linguistic root, literary interpretation, ritual practices, sociopolitical implication, and cosmological thinking. In the gradual process of coming to know the otherworld in terms of ghosts and spirits, Chinese people in ancient times attempted to identify and classify these spiritual entities. In their philosophical thinking, they connected the subject of gui with the movement of the universe. Thus the belief in ghosts and spirits in ancient China appeared to be a moral standard for all, not only providing a room for individual religiosity but also implementing the purpose of family-oriented social order, the legitimization of political operations, and the understanding of the way of Heaven and Earth.

This book addresses prominent views on the nature of the self in Indian philosophical traditions and presents Buddhist critiques of those conceptions through the translation and commentary on Santaraksita's chapter in the Tattvasamgraha on theories of a self and Kamala-sila's commentary on it in his Tattvasamgrahapanjika. The book is comprised of an introduction presenting the theories of a self in the Indian Buddhist Middle Way philosophies and in the different philosophical schools Santaraksita and Kamalasila study and offers a background for the translation. The detailed translation that follows reveals the theories of a self that are explained in the philosophical schools in India called the Nyaya-Vaisesika, Mimamsa, Samkhya, Jain, Advaita Vedanta, and Vatsiputriya. It is complemented by a thorough commentary by the author which brings the text to light for a modern audience. A useful contribution to Indian philosophy and global philosophy, this book will be of interest to researchers in the fields of Philosophy, Religious Studies and Buddhist Studies.

This title critically examines Mou Zongsan's philosophical system of moral metaphysics on the level of metaphysics and history philosophy, which combines Confucianism and Kantianism philosophy. Mou Zongsan (1909-1995) is one of the representatives of Modern Confucianism and an important Chinese philosopher of the twentieth century. The two-volume set looks into the problems in the moral metaphysics by Mou and his systematic subversion of Confucianism on three levels: ethics, metaphysics and historical philosophy. In this second volume the author critiques Mou's philosophical development of Confucianism on the latter two levels. The first part analyzes Mou's view on conscience as ontology and his interpretation of the heavenly principles in Confucianism, arguing that his theory in fact abolishes Confucian cosmology based on modern scientific concepts and speaks for modern humanity. The second part focuses on Mou's remolding of historical philosophy based on the concept of freedom of Kant, Hegel, and modern Western philosophy, then assesses his ideological distortions of historical and political concepts in the Confucian tradition. The title will appeal to scholars, students and philosophers interested in Chinese philosophy, Confucian ethics, Neo-Confucianism, and Comparative Philosophy.

'One of the fiercest books I've ever read' - Jasbir K. Puar Discourse around Muslims and Islam all too often lapses into a false dichotomy of Orientalist and fundamentalist tropes. A popular reimagining of Islam is urgently needed. Yet it is a perhaps unexpected political philosophical tradition that has the most to offer in this pursuit: anarchism. Islam and Anarchism is a highly original and interdisciplinary work, which simultaneously disrupts two commonly held beliefs - that Islam is necessarily authoritarian and capitalist; and that anarchism is necessarily anti-religious and anti-spiritual. Deeply rooted in key Islamic concepts and textual sources, and drawing on radical Indigenous, Islamic anarchistic and social movement discourses, Abdou proposes 'Anarcha-Islam'. Constructing a decolonial, non-authoritarian and non-capitalist Islamic anarchism, Islam and Anarchism philosophically and theologically challenges the classist, sexist, racist, ageist, queerphobic and ableist inequalities in both post- and neo-colonial societies like Egypt, and settler-colonial societies such as Canada and the USA.

This book focuses on the philosophy of Chinese martial arts film, arguing that philosophy provides a key to understanding the whole genre. It draws on Chinese philosophical ideas derived from, or based on, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and other schools of thought such as Mohism and Legalism, examines a cluster of recent Chinese martial arts films centering on the figure of the xia-the heroic protagonist, the Chinese equivalent of medieval Europe's knight-errant-and outlines the philosophical principles and themes undergirding the actions of xia and their narratives. Overall, the author argues that the genre, apart from being an action-oriented entertainment medium, is inherently moral and ethical.

The Third Birth of Confucius deals with the Chinese sage and philosopher Confucius and his philosophical and politico-cultural legacies. As the title suggests, Confucius has once again taken birth in China. Confucius 'died' for the first time when he gave way to Buddhism in the tenth century, but was reinvented again (Neo-Confucianism). This was the second birth of Confucius. In the twentieth century, under the influence of western ideas, China's liberals and Marxists abandoned Confucius again. But how long can a civilization live without any ideational orientation? Hence, the third birth of Confucius from AD 2000 onwards. Confucius is emerging as a proxy word for cultural nationalism. In fact, it is not one Confucius who is taking birth in China but two. One is the common man's Confucius, which is authentic and genuine. The other Confucius is promoted by the Chinese Government. The author believes that soon either China will embrace democracy or it may implode and disintegrate like the former Soviet Union. This book is an attempt to unravel the muddled reality of China and will definitely prove a landmark work in the field of Chinese Studies.

Nei Gong is the practice leading to attainment of real internal skill and transformation, and the philosophical art of change that runs through all Daoist practice. This book provides a unprecedented insight into the entire Nei Gong process, expanding upon the foundations laid in the author's previous widely read book, Daoist Nei Gong, to provide a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the practice. Going into unparalleled detail whilst remaining accessible, it explains the philosophy at the heart of Nei Gong , and the steps whereby transformation is achieved. A foundational knowledge of Chinese medicine will help the reader appreciate the explanation more deeply, but is not required for understanding. Essential reading for anyone seriously interested Qi Gong, Chinese martial arts, and the Daoist tradition, the book will also be an invaluable resource for practitioners of Chinese medicine, or advanced meditation.

The renaissance of Shi'i Islam began in the 9th/15th century when the Ismailis experienced the Anjudan revival and Twelver Shi'i traditions were also renewed. This renaissance gained further strength when the Safavids succeeded in establishing a state in the early decades of the 10th/16th century, making Ithna'ashari Shi'i Islam their official religion. The chapters in this open access book represent the most recent scholarship on the intellectual and spiritual life of the age and discuss what prepared the ground for its appearance as well as its achievements. Although the political and artistic developments of the Safavid era of the 10th-12th/16th-18th centuries have been extensively studied, the complexities of the different groups, movements and strands of thought in the renaissance of Shi'i Islam still remain largely unexplored. The major themes that characterised the Shi'i renaissance are explored, including: popular reactions to messianic movements; the development of legal theories and concepts; the investigation of theological and philosophical problems, above all by the 'School of Isfahan'; Shi'i-Sufi interactions and intra-Shi'i relations; the collection of Shi'i hadith and its application in Shi'i exegesis; and the interplay between political considerations and religious beliefs. The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by The Institute of Ismaili Studies.

With extensive research and creative interpretations, Dasan's Noneo gogeum ju (Old and New Commentaries of the Analects) has been evaluated in the academia of Korean Studies as a crystallization of his studies on the Confucian classics. Dasan (Jeong Yak-yong: 1762-1836) attempted through this book to synthesize and overcome the lengthy scholarly tradition of the classical studies of the Analects, leading it not only to represent one of the greatest achievements of Korean Confucianism but also demonstrate an innovative prospect for the progress of Confucian philosophy, positioning it as one of the ground-breaking works in all Confucian legacies in East Asia. Originally consisting of forty volumes in traditional book binding, his Noneo gogeum ju contains one hundred and seventy-five new interpretations on the Analects, hundreds of "arguments" about the neo-Confucian commentaries, hundreds of references to the scholarly works of the Analects, thousands of supportive quotations from various East Asian classics for the author's arguments, and hundreds of philological discussions. This book is an English translation of Noneo gogeum ju with the translator's comments on the innovative ideas and interpretations of Dasan on the Analects.

This book examines the influence of Indian socio-political thought, ideas, and culture on German Romantic nationalism. It suggests that, contrary to the traditional view that the concepts of nationalism have moved exclusively from the West to the rest of the world, in the crucial case of German nationalism, the essential intellectual underpinnings of the nationalist discourse came to the West, not from the West. The book demonstrates how the German Romantic fascination with India resulted in the adoption of Indian models of identity and otherness and ultimately shaped German Romantic nationalism. The author illustrates how Indian influence renovated the scholarly design of German nationalism and, at the same time, became central to pre-modern and pre-nationalist models of identity, which later shaped the Aryan myth. Focusing on the scholarship of Friedrich Schlegel, Otmar Frank, Joseph Goerres, and Arthur Schopenhauer, the book shows how, in explaining the fact of the diversity of languages, peoples, and cultures, the German Romantics reproduced the Indian narrative of the degradation of some Indo-Aryan clans, which led to their separation from the Aryan civilization. An important resource for the nexus between Indology and Orientalism, German Indian Studies and studies of nationalism, this book will be of interest to researchers working in the fields of history, European and South Asian area studies, philosophy, political science, and IR theory.

Incredibly thorough overview of Indian Buddhist philosophy, organised by thinker to give a comprehensive overview of texts and themes Very strong team of editors and international line up of contributors Focus on Indian Buddhist philosophy allows each thinker to explored in depth, in contrast to competing volumes

An ambitious comparative introduction to Asian thought, expertly written for undergraduate courses in Asian Studies, Asian philosophy and neighboring disciplines Recent decades have witnessed a sharp increase of interest in the cultures and regions of South and East Asia, owing in part to the prominent role Asian economies have played in the era of globalization. Asian Worldviews: Religions, Philosophies, Political Theories is a unique, reader-friendly introduction to the intellectual heritage of the region. Assuming no previous background in Asian cultural history, Asian Worldviews moves beyond chronological and geographic boundaries to present an integrated treatment of the beliefs, teachings, and ideologies that have shaped the worldviews of approximately half of the global population. Rein Raud explores forms of knowledge in China, India, Tibet, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia, providing balanced coverage of all historical periods from antiquity to the modern day. Asian Worldviews embraces the connections rather than the divisions between the religious and philosophical dimensions of South and East Asian thought, and emphasizes a robust engagement with each culture's political, social, and economic contexts. Clear, accessible chapters discuss the development of religious, philosophical, and political thought in India, China, and Japan, and provide succinct overviews of the history of ideas in Korea, Tibet, and Southeast Asia. Throughout the book, Raud uses a comparative approach to examine the mutual influence and productive dialogue, past and present, between Asian cultures as well as with the West, and considers the impact of various worldviews on the development of modern Asian societies. Comprehensive and well-informed by recent developments in the scholarship, Asian Worldviews: Religions, Philosophies, Political Theories is an unparalleled resource for a broad range of courses in Asian studies, philosophy, religious studies, and global politics, as well as an excellent introduction for non-specialist readers looking for a contextual foothold in the rich cultural and intellectual history of South and East Asia.

This Key Concepts pivot examines the fundamental Chinese ideas of 'Civilization' and 'culture', considering their extensive influence both over Chinese society and East Asian societies. The pivot analyses the traditional connotations of those two concepts and their evolution in the Sino-Western exchanges as well as their renewed interpretation and application by contemporary Chinese scholars. It analyses how the years 1840-1900 which mark a period of major transition in China challenged these concepts, and highlights how the pursuit of innovation and international perspective gave birth to new values and paradigm shifts, and culminated in the May Fourth New Culture Movement. Considering the underlying humanistic ideas in the key concepts of traditional Chinese civilisation and culture, this pivot contributes to this series of Chinese Key Concept by offering a unique analysis of the conceptual evolutions brought about by the change of values in 21st century China.

Swami Vivekananda, the nineteenth-century Hindu monk who introduced Vedanta to the West, is undoubtedly one of modern India's most influential philosophers. Unfortunately, his philosophy has too often been interpreted through reductive hermeneutic lenses. Typically, scholars have viewed him either as a modern-day exponent of Sankara's Advaita Vedanta or as a "Neo-Vedantin" influenced more by Western ideas than indigenous Indian traditions. In Swami Vivekananda's Vedantic Cosmopolitanism, Swami Medhananda rejects these prevailing approaches to offer a new interpretation of Vivekananda's philosophy, highlighting its originality, contemporary relevance, and cross-cultural significance. Vivekananda, the book argues, is best understood as a cosmopolitan Vedantin who developed novel philosophical positions through creative dialectical engagement with both Indian and Western thinkers. Inspired by his guru Sri Ramakrishna, Vivekananda reconceived Advaita Vedanta as a nonsectarian, life-affirming philosophy that provides an ontological basis for religious cosmopolitanism and a spiritual ethics of social service. He defended the scientific credentials of religion while criticizing the climate of scientism beginning to develop in the late nineteenth century. He was also one of the first philosophers to defend the evidential value of supersensuous perception on the basis of general epistemic principles. Finally, he adopted innovative cosmopolitan approaches to long-standing philosophical problems. Bringing him into dialogue with numerous philosophers past and present, Medhananda demonstrates the sophistication and enduring value of Vivekananda's views on the limits of reason, the dynamics of religious faith, and the hard problem of consciousness.

This book presents a systematic unifying-pluralist account-a "constructive-engagement" account-of how cross-tradition engagement in philosophy is possible. The goal of this "constructive-engagement" account is, by way of reflective criticism, argumentation, and methodological guiding principles, to inquire into how distinct approaches from different philosophical traditions can talk to and learn from each other for the sake of making joint contributions to the contemporary development of philosophy. In Part I of the book, Bo Mou explores a range of fundamental theoretic and methodological issues in cross-tradition philosophical engagement and philosophical interpretation. In Part II, he analyzes several representative case studies that demonstrate how relevant resources in the Western and Chinese philosophical traditions can constructively engage with each other. These studies cover issues in philosophical methodology, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language and logic, and ethics. The book's theoretical and practical approaches expand the vision, coverage, and agenda of doing philosophy comparatively, and promote worldwide joint efforts of cross-tradition philosophical inquiries. Cross-Tradition Engagement in Philosophy will be of interest to graduate students and scholars interested in comparative philosophy and the intersection of Chinese and Western philosophy. It will also appeal to those who are interested in the ways in which cross-tradition philosophical engagement can enhance contemporary philosophical debates in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language and logic, and ethics.

Draws on Tomans Aquinas' theory to interpret Confucian view of partial relationships. Provides cogent arguments in terms of familial partiality and egalitarian impartiality. Proposes a binary metrics to understand the Confucian family-oriented ethics. The approach to Confucianism in this book is interdisciplinary and quite new to readers.

This book analyzes the contemporary global revival of Nondual Saivism, a thousand-year-old medieval Hindu religious philosophy. Providing a historical overview of the seminal people and groups responsible for the revival, the book compares the tradition's medieval Indian origins to modern forms, which are situated within distinctively contemporary religious, economic and technological contexts. The author bridges the current gap in the literature between "insider" (emic) and "outsider" (etic) perspectives by examining modern Nondual Saivism from multiple standpoints as both a critical scholar of religion and an empathetic participant-observer. The book explores modern Nondual Saivism in relation to recent scholarly debates concerning the legitimacy of New Age consumptive spirituality, the global spiritual marketplace and the contemporary culture of narcissism. It also analyzes the dark side of the revived tradition, and investigates contemporary teachers accused of sexual abuse and illegal financial activities in relation to unique features of Nondual Saivism's theosophy and modern scholarship on new religious movements (NRMs) and cults. This book shows that, although Kashmir Saivism has been adopted by certain teachers and groups to market their own brand of "High Tantra," some contemporary practitioners have remained true to the system's fundamental tenets and teach authentic (albeit modern) forms of Nondual Saivism. This book will be of interest to academics in the fields of religion and Asian philosophies, especially South Asian, tantric, neo-tantric and yoga philosophies, alternative and New Age spiritualities, religion and consumerism, and NRMs and cults. Winner of the inaugural 2021 New Zealand Asia Society Book Award, second prize.

This volume features new perspectives on the implications of cross-linguistic and cultural diversity for epistemology. It brings together philosophers, linguists, and scholars working on knowledge traditions to advance work in epistemology that moves beyond the Anglophone sphere. The first group of chapters provide evidence of cross-linguistic or cultural diversity relevant to epistemology and discuss its possible implications. These essays defend epistemic pluralism based on Sanskrit data as a commitment to pluralism about epistemic stances, analyze the use of two Japanese knowledge verbs in relation to knowledge how, explore the Confucian notion of justification, and surveys cultural differences about the testimonial knowledge. The second group of chapters defends "core monism"-which claims that despite the cross-linguistic diversity of knowledge verbs, there is certain core epistemological meaning shared by all languages-from both a Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) and skeptical perspective. The third cluster of essays considers the implications of cultural diversity for epistemology based on anthropological studies. These chapters explore real disparities in folk epistemology across cultures. Finally, the last two chapters discuss methods or perspectives to unify epistemology despite and based on the diversity of folk intuitions and epistemological concepts. Ethno-Epistemology is an essential resource for philosophers working in epistemology and comparative philosophy, as well as linguists and cultural anthropologists interested in the cultural-linguistic diversity of knowledge traditions.