Introduction to Eastern Thought

by Stepaniants, Marietta

• ISBN13: 9780742504332
• ISBN10: 0742504336
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-05-07
• Publisher: AltaMira Press

Summary

Marietta Stepaniants' introductory text allows a distinctively Eastern way of thinking to come forth. Four interpretive essays open the book showing how Indian, Chinese and Islamic traditions responded to these questions: How did philosophy arise? What is the origin of order in the universe? What is human nature? What is truth ? A fifth, unique, essay shows how Eastern thought has dealt with Western contact in the 19th and 20th centuries. Comparisons within and across traditions makeIntroduction to Eastern Thought an excellent text for students familiar with Western philosophy or beginning philosophy students.

Author Biography

Marietta Stepaniants is the director of the Center for Oriental Philosophies Studies at the Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Eliot Deutsch
Preface	xiii
PART 1: Interpretive Essays
The Birth of Philosophy	3	(8)
The Age of Sramanas	3	(1)
The ``Warring States'' Period in China	4	(1)
The Beginning of Internal Polemics in Islam	5	(1)
The Genesis of Philosophy East and West: Some Points of Contrast	6	(5)
The Universe: Its Origin and Structure	11	(24)
The Universe in Indian Mythology	11	(7)
The Self-Developing Universe of the Chinese	18	(4)
The Universe in Islamic Tradition	22	(13)
Human Nature	35	(28)
Human Nature in Indian Tradition	35	(6)
Human Nature in Chinese Tradition	41	(6)
Predestination and Free Will in Islam	47	(16)
In Search of the Truth	63	(24)
The Search for Truth in Indian Tradition	63	(3)
The Search for Truth in Chinese Tradition	66	(3)
The Search for Truth in Islamic Tradition	69	(10)
``Oriental'' Mentality	79	(8)
Tradition and Modernity	87	(20)
Eastern ``Westernizers''	87	(2)
East-West Synthesis	89	(1)
The Impact of the Protestant Paradigm	90	(6)
``Eastern Socialism''	96	(2)
Religious Fundamentalism	98	(1)
The Japanese ``Miracle''	99	(1)
Gandhi's ``Nonviolent Civilization''	100	(7)
PART 2: Primary Sources
Indian Tradition	107	(66)
Hindu Sacred Texts	107	(6)
Buddhist Philosophy in India	113	(7)
Jainism	120	(4)
The Carvaka (Lokayata)	124	(6)
Samkhya-Yoga	130	(12)
Nyaya	142	(7)
Vaisesika	149	(5)
Vedanta-Mimamsa	154	(4)
Modern Indian Philosophy	158	(15)
Chinese Tradition	173	(60)
Confucianism	173	(5)
Mencius	178	(8)
Taoism	186	(10)
The Mohist School	196	(7)
Chinese Buddhism	203	(5)
Neo-Confucianism	208	(15)
Modern Chinese Philosophy	223	(10)
Islamic Tradition	233	(52)
Kalam	233	(9)
Abu Nasr Al-Farabi	242	(5)
Ibn-Sina (Avicenna)	247	(4)
Al-Ghazali	251	(9)
Sufism	260	(9)
Ibn Rushd (Averroes)	269	(6)
Ibn Khaldun	275	(4)
Modern Islamic Thought	279	(6)
Index	285	(8)
About the Author	293