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Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Non-Western philosophy
Naturalism, Human Flourishing, and Asian Philosophy: Owen Flanagan
and Beyond is an edited volume of philosophical essays focusing on
Owen Flanagan's naturalized comparative philosophy and moral
psychology of human flourishing. Flanagan is a philosopher
well-known for his naturalized approach to philosophical issues
such as meaning, physicalism, causation, and consciousness in the
analytic school of Western philosophy. Recently, he develops his
philosophical interest in Asian philosophy and discusses diverse
philosophical issues of human flourishing, Buddhism and
Confucianism from comparative viewpoints. The current volume
discusses his philosophy of human flourishing and his naturalized
approaches to Buddhism and Confucianism. The volume consists of
five sections with eleven chapters written by leading experts in
the fields of philosophy, religion, and psychology. The first
section is an introduction to Flanagan's philosophy. The
introductory chapter provides a general overview of Flanagan's
philosophy, i.e., his philosophy of naturalization, comparative
approach to human flourishing, and detailed summaries of the
following chapters. In the second section, the three chapters
discuss Flanagan's naturalized eudaimonics of human flourishing.
The third section discusses Flanagan's naturalized Buddhism. The
fourth section analyzes Flanagan's interpretation of Confucian
philosophy (specifically Mencius's moral sprouts), from the
viewpoint of moral modularity and human flourishing. The fifth
section is Flanagan's responses to the comments and criticisms
developed in this volume.
This essential book critically examines the various ways in which
Eastern spiritual traditions have been typically stripped of their
spiritual roots, content and context, to be more readily
assimilated into secular Western frames of Psychology. Beginning
with the colonial histories of Empire, the author draws from the
1960s Counterculture and the subsequent romanticising and
idealising of the East. Cohen explores how Hindu, Buddhist and
Daoist traditions have been gradually transformed into forms of
Psychology, Psychotherapy and Self-Help, undergoing processes of
'modernisation' and secularisation until their respective
cosmologies had been successfully reinterpreted and reimagined. An
important component of this psychologisation is the accompanying
commodification of Eastern spiritual practices, including the
mass-marketing of mindfulness and meditation as part of the
burgeoning well-being industry. Also presenting emerging voices of
resistance from within Eastern spiritual traditions, the book ends
with a chapter on Transpersonal Psychology, showing a path for how
to gradually move away from colonisation and towards collaboration.
Engaging with the 'mindfulness movement' and other practices
assimilated by Western culture, this is fascinating reading for
students and academics in psychology, philosophy and religious
studies, as well as mindfulness practitioners.
Understanding and treating hypertension has progressed
significantly during the past 40 to 50 years. This progress has
made a major contribution to health care concerns such as quality
of life, prevention of disability, and mortality. In the past,
hypertension and hypertensive disease had been a "silent scourge,"
but it is presently an industry. Research on hypertension has
expanded into a variety of fields including epidemiology,
endocrinology, surgery, pharmacology, and behavioral medicine.
Therapeutic accomplishments have made hypertension a leading source
of income for the pharmaceutical industry; the field of clinical
pharmacology originated with the development of drugs to treat
hypertension. Increasingly, specific drugs to treat specific
mechanisms which raise blood pressure have moved from the
laboratory to the bedside. A constant awareness has been present
that emotional stress, both from within the individual as well as
from environmental sources, plays a role in the "three Ps" --
predisposition,precipitation, and perpetuation -- of hypertension.
Arguments range from stating that such stress may be the major
cause of at least some forms of hypertension, to allowing that
although some effect is present from stress, it is only a minor
perturbation of no significance in the overall pattern of the
disease. Advocates of stress theory may be biased by a lack of
detailed knowledge or experience with the physiology and
biochemistry involved in the establishment of this disorder. On the
other hand, those who deny the importance of stress factors may be
unaware of the large body of data that indicate the role of these
factors in any comprehensive understanding of hypertension.
Following the Mosaic Theory, this book's approach to hypertension
shows that multiple factors can be invoked in understanding the
etiology and management of hypertension, where the strength of
individual factors vary depending on genetic background, acquired
diseases, and environmental influences. Stress can be involved in
predisposition by affecting a genetically programmed person, in
precipitation by supplying the stimulus to bring the disease to a
clinical level, and in perpetuation by maintaining or exacerbating
the clinical disease. This volume attempts to integrate what is
known about the effects of stress on blood pressure with the
overall mosaic of hypertension making use of the aforementioned
"three Ps" as part of the framework for this integration.
From a Marxist philosophical perspective, this collection of essays
investigates the maturing self-consciousness and self-assertion of
Chinese academia, especially within the humanities and social
sciences, permitting more penetrating insights and critical
engagement with the social reality of China. The author elaborates
on the relationship between Hegel and Marx's philosophy and their
concepts of reality, thereby accounting for the historic and
philosophical conditions for the autonomy of Chinese academia.
Drawing on intellectual resources from both Eastern and Western
archives, including phenomenology, philosophical hermeneutics,
Western Marxism, and China's pacifist tradition, the book refutes
Huntington's speculation about Chinese imperialism and delineates
how China's development can contribute to a fundamental critique of
capitalist civilisation and a new paradigm of global governance. In
addition, the book challenges the thinking of Chinese neo-liberals
and nationalist-conservatives and their understandings of the
history and social reality of China. Hence, the author advocates a
reconstruction of the spiritual and intellectual realm within
society based on Marxism, in order to counter Sinophobia,
neo-liberalism, and nationalism at the same time. The book will
appeal to readers interested in social and political philosophy,
philosophy of history, Marxism, and China studies.
The critical condition and historical motivation behind Time
Studies The concept of time in the post-millennial age is
undergoing a radical rethinking within the humanities. Time: A
Vocabulary of the Present newly theorizes our experiences of time
in relation to developments in post-1945 cultural theory and arts
practices. Wide ranging and theoretically provocative, the volume
introduces readers to cutting-edge temporal conceptualizations and
investigates what exactly constitutes the scope of time studies.
Featuring twenty essays that reveal what we talk about when we talk
about time today, especially in the areas of history, measurement,
and culture, each essay pairs two keywords to explore the tension
and nuances between them, from "past/future" and
"anticipation/unexpected" to "extinction/adaptation" and
"serial/simultaneous." Moving beyond the truisms of postmodernism,
the collection newly theorizes the meanings of temporality in
relationship to aesthetic, cultural, technological, and economic
developments in the postwar period. This book thus assumes that
time-not space, as the postmoderns had it-is central to the
contemporary period, and that through it we can come to terms with
what contemporaneity can be for human beings caught up in the
historical present. In the end, Time reveals that the present is a
cultural matrix in which overlapping temporalities condition and
compete for our attention. Thus each pair of terms presents two
temporalities, yielding a generative account of the time, or times,
in which we live.
This book addresses this gap by offering a philosophical and
contextual study of this aspect of al-Ghazali's ethics and of the
conception of moral beauty that emerges from it. It will be of
interest to scholars and students in Islamic ethics, Islamic
intellectual history and the history of ethics.
Gandhi was perhaps the most influential yet misunderstood figure of
the twentieth century. Drawing close attention to his last years,
this book explores the marked change in his understanding of the
acceptance of non-violence by Indians. It points to a startling
discovery Gandhi made in the years preceding India's Independence
and Partition: the struggle for freedom which he had all along
believed to be non-violent was in fact not so. He realised that
there was a causal relationship between the path of illusory
ahimsa, which had held sway during the freedom struggle, and the
violence that erupted thereafter during Partition. In the second
edition of this much-acclaimed volume, Chandra revisits Gandhi's
philosophy to explain how and why the phenomenon of the Mahatma has
been understood and misunderstood through the years. Calling for a
rethink of the very nature and foundation of modern India, this
book throws new light on Gandhian philosophy and its far-reaching
implications for the world today. It will interest not only
scholars and researchers of modern Indian history, politics and
philosophy, but also lay readers.
M. Hakan Yavuz offers an insightful and wide-ranging study of the
Gulen Movement, one of the most imaginative developments in
contemporary Islam. Founded in Turkey by the Muslim thinker
Fethullah Gulen, the Gulen Movement aims to disseminate a
''moderate'' interpretation of Islam through faith-based education.
Its activities have fundamentally altered religious and political
discourse in Turkey in recent decades, and its schools and other
institutions have been established throughout Central Asia and the
Balkans, as well as western Europe and North America. Consequently,
its goals and modus operandi have come under increasing scrutiny
around the world.
Yavuz introduces readers to the movement, its leader, its
philosophies, and its practical applications. After recounting
Gulen's personal history, he analyzes Gulen's theological outlook,
the structure of the movement, its educational premise and promise,
its financial structure, and its contributions (particularly to
debates in the Turkish public sphere), its scientific outlook, and
its role in interfaith dialogue. Towards an Islamic Enlightenment
shows the many facets of the movement, arguing that it is marked by
an identity paradox: despite its tremendous contribution to the
introduction of a moderate, peaceful, and modern Islamic outlook-so
different from the Iranian or Saudi forms of radical and political
Islam-the Gulen Movement is at once liberal and communitarian,
provoking both hope and fear in its works and influence.
This is the first English-language book on the philosophy of Ji
Kang. Moreover, it offers the first systematic treatment of his
philosophy, thus filling a significant gap in English-language
scholarship on early medieval Chinese literature and philosophy.
David Chai brings to light Ji Kang's Neo-Daoist heritage and
explores the themes in his writings that were derived from
classical Daoism, most notably the need for humanity to return to a
more harmonious co-existence with Nature to further our own
self-understanding. His analysis is unique in that it balances
translation and annotation with expositing the creative
philosophizing of Neo-Daoism. Chai analyzes the entirety of Ji
Kang's essays, exploring his philosophical reflections on music,
aesthetics, ethics, self-cultivation, and fate. Reading Ji Kang/s
Essays will be of interest to scholars and students of Chinese
philosophy and literature. It offers the first comprehensive
philosophical examination of a heretofore neglected figure in
Neo-Daoism.
This essential book critically examines the various ways in which
Eastern spiritual traditions have been typically stripped of their
spiritual roots, content and context, to be more readily
assimilated into secular Western frames of Psychology. Beginning
with the colonial histories of Empire, the author draws from the
1960s Counterculture and the subsequent romanticising and
idealising of the East. Cohen explores how Hindu, Buddhist and
Daoist traditions have been gradually transformed into forms of
Psychology, Psychotherapy and Self-Help, undergoing processes of
'modernisation' and secularisation until their respective
cosmologies had been successfully reinterpreted and reimagined. An
important component of this psychologisation is the accompanying
commodification of Eastern spiritual practices, including the
mass-marketing of mindfulness and meditation as part of the
burgeoning well-being industry. Also presenting emerging voices of
resistance from within Eastern spiritual traditions, the book ends
with a chapter on Transpersonal Psychology, showing a path for how
to gradually move away from colonisation and towards collaboration.
Engaging with the 'mindfulness movement' and other practices
assimilated by Western culture, this is fascinating reading for
students and academics in psychology, philosophy and religious
studies, as well as mindfulness practitioners.
Western philosophy and science are responsible for constructing
some powerful tools of investigation, aiming at discovering the
truth, delivering robust explanations, verifying conjectures,
showing that inferences are sound and demonstrating results
conclusively. By contrast reasoning that depends on analogies has
often been viewed with suspicion. Professor Lloyd first explores
the origins of those Western ideals, criticises some of their
excesses and redresses the balance in favour of looser, admittedly
non-demonstrative analogical reasoning. For this he takes examples
both from ancient Greek and Chinese thought and from the materials
of recent ethnography to show how different ancient and modern
cultures have developed different styles of reasoning. He also
develops two original but controversial ideas, that of semantic
stretch (to cast doubt on the literal/metaphorical dichotomy) and
the multidimensionality of reality (to bypass the realism versus
relativism and nature versus nurture controversies).
Yoga is many things to many people. However, the basics of yoga are
worth understanding given its popularity and the benefits of the
practice. This includes understanding yoga's roots, its origins,
its development within and outside India as well as the research
involving yoga as an integrative therapeutic modality. The author
introduces the topic of yoga to healthcare officials,
practitioners, skeptics, and a range of curious people in between.
For yoga practitioners and those interested in the practice, The
Politics and Promise of Yoga: Contemporary Relevance of an Ancient
Practice outlines a condensed view of traditional yoga practices
and provides a glimpse into the origin of yoga within Indian
history and philosophy. The author hopes that policymakers will be
interested in this evidence-based scientific practice so that it
can be systematically incorporated into mainstream biomedical
systems around the globe. This book also serves to confirm existing
knowledge and historical nuances about yoga and also addresses
contemporary debates and politics which revolve around the
practice.
RGVV (History of Religion: Essays and Preliminary Studies) brings
together the mutually constitutive aspects of the study of
religion(s)-contextualized data, theory, and disciplinary
positioning-and engages them from a critical historical
perspective. The series publishes monographs and thematically
focused edited volumes on specific topics and cases as well as
comparative work across historical periods from the ancient world
to the modern era.
This book explores how beliefs and practices have shaped the
interactions between different ethnic groups in Western Hunan, as
well as considering how religious life has adapted to the
challenges of modern Chinese history. Combining historical and
ethnographic methodologies, chapters in this book are structured
around changes that occurred during the interaction between Miao
ritual traditions and religions such as Daoism, with particular
focus on the commonalities and differences seen between Western
Hunan and other areas of Southwest China. In addition,
investigation is made into how gender and ethnicity have shaped
such processes, and what these phenomena can teach about larger
questions of modern Chinese history. As such, this study transcends
existing scholarship on Western Hunan - which has stressed the
impact of state policies and elite agendas - by focusing instead on
the roles played by ritual specialists. Such findings call into
question conventional wisdom about the 'standardization' of Chinese
culture, as well as the integration of local society into the state
by means of written texts. Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender in
Western Hunan during the Modern Era will prove valuable to students
and scholars of history, ethnography, anthropology, ethnic studies,
and Asian studies more broadly.
This book traces ideological trends in China through a range of
historical and comparative perspectives, spanning the ancient
belief systems of Confucianism, Legalism, and Taoism to political
ideologies of the present day. Chapters in this edited volume are
divided into four parts: traditional Chinese ideology, ideology of
the Republic, Maoism as an ideology and post Mao ideology, zoning
in on specific historical periods from the Qing and Republic
periods to the reform era, as well as the period after the founding
of the PRC - through which Mao Zedong's political thought is
notably discussed from the perspective of epistemology and the
global impact of Maoism. Key topics include Sun Yat-sen as the
Father of the Republic, Li Dazhao, the early Marxist theoretician,
Chiang Kai-shek and his nationalist Fascism, Liang Qichao's
emotional appeals through liberal political discourse, Jiang
Zemin's theory of 'Three Represents' de-emphasising the Marxist
concept of class, Hu Jintao's theory of 'Harmonious Society' and Xi
Jinping's political thought. Contributions from world-leading
scholars take both comparative and critical approaches, examining
not only how studies of ideology are relevant, but how Chinese
ideologies have retained their own characteristics distinct to the
West. As the first comprehensive study of this subject in the
English language, Chinese Ideology will appeal to students and
scholars of philosophy, political science, history, and Asian
studies more broadly.
This thematic introduction to classical Islamic philosophy focuses
on the most prevalent philosophical debates of the medieval Islamic
world and their importance within the history of philosophy.
Approaching the topics in a comprehensive and accessible way in
this new volume, Luis Xavier Lopez-Farjeat, one of the co-editors
of The Routledge Companion to Islamic Philosophy, makes classical
Islamic philosophy approachable for both the new and returning
student of the history of philosophy, medieval philosophy, the
history of ideas, classical Islamic intellectual history, and the
history of religion. Providing readers with a complete view of the
most hotly contested debates in the Islamic philosophical
tradition, Lopez-Farjeat discusses the development of theology
(kalam) and philosophy ( falsafa) during the 'Abbasid period,
including the translation of Aristotle into Arabic, the philosophy
and theology of Islamic revelation, logic and philosophy of
language, philosophy of natural science, metaphysics, psychology
and cognition, and ethics and political philosophy. This volume
serves as an indispensable tool for teachers, students, and
independent learners aiming to discover the philosophical problems
and ideas that defined the classical Islamic world. Key Features *
Offers readers a broad, thorough view of the history of Islamic
philosophy by using a thematic approach. * Traces the dialogues
between philosophers and theologians about important and
controversial topics. * Offers both historical descriptions of the
key debates in classical Islamic philosophy and current
interpretations by contemporary scholars. * Includes extensive
lists for further reading at the end of each chapter, directing
curious students to the best avenues for further research.
This thematic introduction to classical Islamic philosophy focuses
on the most prevalent philosophical debates of the medieval Islamic
world and their importance within the history of philosophy.
Approaching the topics in a comprehensive and accessible way in
this new volume, Luis Xavier Lopez-Farjeat, one of the co-editors
of The Routledge Companion to Islamic Philosophy, makes classical
Islamic philosophy approachable for both the new and returning
student of the history of philosophy, medieval philosophy, the
history of ideas, classical Islamic intellectual history, and the
history of religion. Providing readers with a complete view of the
most hotly contested debates in the Islamic philosophical
tradition, Lopez-Farjeat discusses the development of theology
(kalam) and philosophy ( falsafa) during the 'Abbasid period,
including the translation of Aristotle into Arabic, the philosophy
and theology of Islamic revelation, logic and philosophy of
language, philosophy of natural science, metaphysics, psychology
and cognition, and ethics and political philosophy. This volume
serves as an indispensable tool for teachers, students, and
independent learners aiming to discover the philosophical problems
and ideas that defined the classical Islamic world. Key Features *
Offers readers a broad, thorough view of the history of Islamic
philosophy by using a thematic approach. * Traces the dialogues
between philosophers and theologians about important and
controversial topics. * Offers both historical descriptions of the
key debates in classical Islamic philosophy and current
interpretations by contemporary scholars. * Includes extensive
lists for further reading at the end of each chapter, directing
curious students to the best avenues for further research.
1) This is a comprehensive book presenting the political thoughts
of prominent Indian thinkers like Ambedkar, Nehru, Gandhi, Lohia
etc. 2) Written by experts in the field it discusses concepts like
nationalism, secularism, social and gender justice etc. 3) This
book will be of interest to departments of South Asian studies
across UK and USA.
In China, political philosophy is still a comparatively new
academic discipline. While there is no such phrase as "political
philosophy" in ancient Chinese texts, there are elements within
them that could be considered part of that field. Central questions
of Chinese ancient political philosophy include the legitimacy of
the source of political power, the foundation of moral rationality
for the use of political power, and the purpose of political
activities. This book explores the ideas of rights, the foundations
of law, transference of power, democracy and other topics as
debated in ancient times. Focusing on important political thinkers
in Chinese history, such as Kongzi, Laozi, Xu Fuguan, Liang Qichao,
and Li Dazhao, the book explains characteristics that are
particular to China, such as the system of abdication, the general
will of the people, and the society of Great Harmony. While making
comparisons between Chinese and Western political philosophy, the
book also discusses how to establish a Chinese modern state and how
to promote Chinese culture today so that it can influence more and
more people around the world. The book will be a valuable reference
for scholars of Chinese philosophy, political philosophy, and
Chinese culture.
It is well known that Jung's investigation of Eastern religions and
cultures supplied him with an abundance of cross-cultural
comparative material, useful to support his hypotheses of the
existence of archetypes, the collective unconscious and other
manifestations of psychic reality. However, the specific literature
dealing with this aspect has previously been quite scarce. This
unique edited collection brings together contributors writing on a
range of topics that represent an introduction to the differences
between Eastern and Western approaches to Jungian psychology.
Readers will discover that one interesting feature of this book is
the realization of how much Western Jungians are implicitly or
explicitly inspired by Eastern traditions - including Japanese -
and, at the same time, how Jungian psychology - the product of a
Western author - has been widely accepted and developed by Japanese
scholars and clinicians. Scholars and students of Jungian studies
will find many new ideas, theories and practices gravitating around
Jungian psychology, generated by the encounter between East and
West. Another feature that will be appealing to many readers is
that this book may represent an introduction to Japanese philosophy
and clinical techniques related to Jungian psychology.
This book introduces readers to Indian philosophy by presenting the
first integral English translation of Vaisesikasutra as preserved
by the earliest canonical commentary of Candrananda (7th century
AD) on the old aphorisms of the Vaisesika school of Indian
philosophy. The present monograph offers a canonical description of
the fundamental categories of ontology and metaphysics, among which
the category of 'particularity' (visesa) plays a major role in the
'problem of individuation' of the 'nature' of substance in both
Indian as well as Western metaphysics. This commentary should be
read primarily in relation to Aristotle's Categories. It is
structured in 3 parts. Chapter 1 contains a general introduction to
Indian philosophy and the Vaisesika system. Chapter 2 is a
textual-philological discussion on the commentary itself, since its
first publication in 1961 by Muni Jambuvijayaji up to the present
day. Chapter 3 is a 'philosophical translation' that reads
Vaisesika in the global context of Comparative Philosophy and aims
to render this text accessible and comprehensible to all readers
interested in ontology and metaphysics. A new reference work and a
fundamental introduction to anyone interested in Indian and
Comparative Philosophy, this volume will be of interest to scholars
and students in Classical Studies, Modern Philosophy, and Asian
Religions and Philosophies.
The book is a wide-ranging collection of essays on Indian classical
dance, which include writings on dance appreciation, the criticism,
theory and philosophy of dance, as well as some historical and
light controversial articles. Also included is a seminal and unique
monograph on the contribution of Sanjukta Panigrahi to the
development of Odissi. The book approaches the subject from an
internationalist point of view and opens up new possibilities for
the appreciation of Indian dance in the context of a global
intercultural critique. In addition, it is beautifully illustrated
with a number of photographs captured by Arun Kumar. It will enrich
and provide new ways of understanding for classical Indian dance,
both for the dance community and for the general reader.
This volume brings together the finest research on aesthetics and
the philosophy of art by stalwart critics and leading scholars in
the field. It discusses various themes, such as the idea of
aesthetic perception, the nature of aesthetic experience, attitude
theory, the relation of art to morality, representation in art, and
the association of aesthetics with language studies in the Indian
tradition. It deliberates over the theories and views of Aristotle,
Freud, Plato, Immanuel Kant, T. S. Eliot, George Dickie, Leo
Tolstoy, R. G. Collingwood, Michael H. Mitias, Monroe C. Beardsley,
and Abhinavagupta, among others. The book offers a comparative
perspective on Indian and Western approaches to the study of art
and aesthetics and enables readers to appreciate the similarities
and differences between the conceptions of aesthetics and
philosophy of art on a comparative scale detailing various aspects
of both. The first of its kind, this key text will be useful for
scholars and researchers of arts and aesthetics, philosophy of art,
cultural studies, comparative literature, and philosophy in
general. It will also appeal to general readers interested in the
philosophy of art.
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