Learning from Asian Philosophy

by Kupperman, Joel J.

• ISBN13: 9780195128321
• ISBN10: 019512832X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-11-04
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In an attempt to bridge the vast divide between classical Asian thought and contemporary Western philosophy, Joel J. Kupperman finds that the two traditions do not, by and large, supply different answers to the same questions. Rather, each tradition is searching for answers to their own set of questions--mapping out distinct philosophical investigations. In this groundbreaking book, Kupperman argues that the foundational Indian and Chinese texts include lines of thought that can enrich current philosophical practice, and in some cases provide uniquely sophisticated insights. Special attention is given to the ethical issues of formation and fluidity of self, the nature and possibilities of choice, the compartmentalization of life implicit in some ethical systems, the variations of ethical demands from person to person, and the nature of philosophy itself as a communicative activity. This study will provide a wealth of information for philosophers seeking a closer knowledge of Asian philosophy and general readers with an interest in Eastern thought.

Author Biography

Joel J. Kupperman is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut, and has been a visiting professor at colleges in Oxford and Cambridge. His previous books include Ethical Knowledge (1970), The Foundations of Morality (1983), Character (1991), and Value . . . And What Follows (1999).

Table of Contents

Introduction	3	(14)
PART I The Formation of Self as an Ethical Problem
The Psychology and Ethics of Self	17	(9)
Confucius and the Problem of Naturalness	26	(10)
Tradition and Community in the Formation of Self	36	(16)
The Formation of Self: Afterword	52	(5)
PART II The Fluidity of Self
Debates over the Self	57	(9)
Falsity, Psychic Indefiniteness, and Self-Knowledge	66	(13)
Spontaneity and Education of the Emotions in the Zhuangzi	79	(11)
Fluidity and Character: Afterword	90	(7)
PART III Choice
Choice and Possibility	97	(5)
Confucius, Mencius, Hume, and Kant on Reason and Choice	102	(17)
Reason and Choice: Afterword	119	(4)
PART IV The Scope of Ethics
The Compartmentalization of Western Ethics	123	(8)
Tradition and Moral Progress	131	(14)
The Emotions of Altruism, East and West	145	(11)
Varieties of Ethical Judgment: Afterword	156	(5)
PART V The Demands of Ethics
Expecting More of Some People	161	(3)
Confucius and the Nature of Religious Ethics	164	(7)
The Supra-Moral in Religious Ethics: The Case of Buddhism	171	(6)
The Elective ``Ought'': Afterword	177	(4)
PART VI Philosphy as Communication
Philosophy and Enlightenment	181	(3)
Not in So Many Words: Zhuangzi's Strategies of Communication	184	(8)
Philosophy as Psychic Change: Afterword	192	(3)
Bibliography	195	(10)
Index	205