The concept of disobedient consciousness and the rebellious Socratic mind that grows out of this book is, above all, a product of Ramin Jahanbegloo's life meetings with the two apparently contradictory worlds of philosophy and politics. More precisely, it is the result of approaching the public realm in terms of a philosophical quest for truth and justice. This restless quest for truth and justice has a history that continues to bear upon us, however much we choose to ignore it. We can think about the current situation of philosophy by exploring that history. The image of Socrates represents a mid-point between politics and philosophy; the Socratic mind, exemplified by the presence of the public gadfly in history, finds itself at the beginning of a new struggle for truth. The journey to this struggle started with the trial of Socrates, followed by the experiences of Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Albert Camus. But the forging of the rebellious mind and the sustaining of the civic task of philosophy are goals which impose themselves to each of us whenever we are reminded by the urgency of critical thinking in our own dark times. The future of humankind necessarily requires convictions and commitments, but it also requires Socratic rebels, of the mind and of action, who have the courage to swim against the tide. Examining dissent in the history of philosophy, this book will appeal to scholars of political theory and political philosophy and to scholars and students of political and intellectual history.

Comparative Political Theory and Cross-Cultural Philosophy: Essays in Honor of Hwa Yol Jung explores new forms of philosophizing in the age of globalization by challenging the conventional border between the East and the West, as well as the traditional boundaries among different academic disciplines. The essays in this volume examine diverse issues, encompassing globalization, cosmopolitanism, public philosophy, political ecology, ecocriticism, ethics of encounter, and aesthetics of caring. They examine the philosophical traditions of phenomenology of Hursserl, Merleau-Ponty, and Heidegger; the dialogism of Mikhail Bakhtin; the philosophy of mestizaje literature; and Asian philosophical traditions. This rich comparative and cross-cultural investigation of philosophy and political theory demonstrates the importance of cultural and cross-cultural understanding in our reading of philosophical texts, exploring how cross-cultural thinking transforms our understanding of the traditional philosophical paradigm and political theory. This volume honors the scholarship and philosophy of Hwa Yol Jung, who has been a pioneer in the field of comparative political theory, cross-cultural philosophy, and interdisciplinary scholarship. In one of his earliest publications, The Crisis of Political Understanding (1979), Jung described the urgency and necessity of breakthrough in political thinking as a crisis, and he followed up on this issue for his half century of scholarship by introducing Asian philosophy and political thought to Western scholarship, demonstrating the possibility of cross-cultural philosophical thinking. In his most recent publications, Jung refers to this possibility as "transversality" or "trans(uni)versality," a concept which should replace the outmoded Eurocentric universality of modernist philosophy. Jung expounds that in "transversality," "differences are negotiated and compromised rather than effaced and absorbed into sameness." This volume is a testimony to the very possibility of

Comparative Political Theory and Cross-Cultural Philosophy: Essays in Honor of Hwa Yol Jung explores new forms of philosophizing in the age of globalization by challenging the conventional border between the East and the West, as well as the traditional boundaries among different academic disciplines. The essays in this volume examine diverse issues, encompassing globalization, cosmopolitanism, public philosophy, political ecology, ecocriticism, ethics of encounter, and aesthetics of caring. They examine the philosophical traditions of phenomenology of Hursserl, Merleau-Ponty, and Heidegger; the dialogism of Mikhail Bakhtin; the philosophy of mestizaje literature; and Asian philosophical traditions. This rich comparative and cross-cultural investigation of philosophy and political theory demonstrates the importance of cultural and cross-cultural understanding in our reading of philosophical texts, exploring how cross-cultural thinking transforms our understanding of the traditional philosophical paradigm and political theory. This volume honors the scholarship and philosophy of Hwa Yol Jung, who has been a pioneer in the field of comparative political theory, cross-cultural philosophy, and interdisciplinary scholarship. In one of his earliest publications, The Crisis of Political Understanding (1979), Jung described the urgency and necessity of breakthrough in political thinking as a crisis, and he followed up on this issue for his half century of scholarship by introducing Asian philosophy and political thought to Western scholarship, demonstrating the possibility of cross-cultural philosophical thinking. In his most recent publications, Jung refers to this possibility as 'transversality' or 'trans(uni)versality, ' a concept which should replace the outmoded Eurocentric universality of modernist philosophy. Jung expounds that in 'transversality, ' 'differences are negotiated and compromised rather than effaced and absorbed into sameness.' This volume is a testimony to the very possibility of transversality in our scholarship and thinking.

In The Politics of Affective Relations, editors Daniel Bell and Hahm Chaihark refine our understanding of the East Asian conception of the self by examining how that conception was formulated, reproduced, and utilized throughout history. Sparked by a strong dissatisfaction with the state over many discourses regarding East Asian politics, this volume moves beyond the simplistic exchange of polemics regarding "Asian Values" and reaches a more nuanced understanding of "relationality." By bringing together a collection of articles authored by experts in a variety of academic disciplines, Bell and Hahm scrutinize how the East Asian emphasis on "relationality" manifests itself in various real-life settings such as the family, the economy, politics, and the legal system. This volume will provide readers with a broader perspective on and a deeper appreciation for the pervasive nature of "relationality" in East Asia.

In The Politics of Affective Relations, editors Daniel Bell and Hahm Chaihark refine our understanding of the East Asian conception of the self by examining how that conception was formulated, reproduced, and utilized throughout history. Sparked by a strong dissatisfaction with the state over many discourses regarding East Asian politics, this volume moves beyond the simplistic exchange of polemics regarding 'Asian Values' and reaches a more nuanced understanding of 'relationality.' By bringing together a collection of articles authored by experts in a variety of academic disciplines, Bell and Hahm scrutinize how the East Asian emphasis on 'relationality' manifests itself in various real-life settings such as the family, the economy, politics, and the legal system. This volume will provide readers with a broader perspective on and a deeper appreciation for the pervasive nature of 'relationality' in East Asia.