Synopses & Reviews
This volume on Asian philosophy is the 7th volume in the series Contemporary Philosophy. The main objective of the series is to review the philosophical research over the last 20-30 years in the countries concerned. Quite a few surveys in the present volume also contain original contributions to the discussion of the various topics. The bulk of the contributions are written by scholars from India, Japan, and Korea. A main tenet in nearly all articles is the deep interest in classical philosophy and religious movements. Central topics in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and also Shamanism are discussed. These traditions are certainly distinct from classical metaphysics in the European philosophy, as is extensively shown by Panikkar in the case of classical Indian thinking. At the same time it is well known that, for instance, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism have exerted a significant influence on many European philosophers, particularly from Plotinus onwards. Spinoza, Leibniz and Hegel are great mediators between Asian and European philosophical traditions. Besides metaphysical issues, the authors discuss well known topics in moral and political philosophy as well as philosophy of logic and language. The volume no doubt invites to a crosscultural philosophical discussion.
Synopsis
The present publication is a continuation of two earlier series of chronicles, Philosophy in the Mid-Century (Firenze 1958/59) and Contemporary Philosophy (Firenze 1968), edited by Raymond Klibansky. As with the earlier series the present surveys purport to give a survey of significant trends in contemporary philosophical discussion. The need for such surveys has, I believe, increased rather than decreased over the last years. The philosophical scene appears, for various reasons, rather more complex than ever before. The continuing process of specialization in most branches, the emergence of new schools of thought, particularly in philosophical logic in the philosophy of language, and in social and political philosophy, the increasing attention being paid to the history of philosophy in discussions of contem porary problems as well as the increasing interest in cross-cultural philosophical discussion, are the most important contributory factors. Surveys of the present kind are a valuable source of knowledge about this complexity and may as such be of assistance in renewing the understanding of one's own philosophical problems. The surveys, it is to be hoped, may help to strengthen the Socratic element of modern philosophy, the world wide dialogue or Kommunikationsgemeinschaft. So far, six volumes have been prepared for the new series. The present surveys in Asian Philosophy (Vol. 7) follow the surveys in the Philosophy of Language and Philosophical Logic (Vol. I), Philosophy of Science (Vol. 2), Philosophy of Action (Vol. 3), Philosophy of Mind (Vol. 4), African Philosophy (Vol. 5), and Medieval Philosophy Part 1-2 (Vol. 6)."
Table of Contents
I: India. Satapathapraj&nmacr;â. Should We Speak of Philosophy in Classical India? A Case of Homeomorphic Equivalents; R. Panikkar. Emerging New Approaches in the Study of Classical Indian Phylosophy; D. Krishna. Indian Metaphysics; M. Chatterjee. The Pandit World with Special Reference to Problems of Logic; S. Sankaranaranayan. The Implicit Philosophy and Worldview of Indian Tribes; B. Saraswati. Pramana Epistemology: Some Recent Developments; B. Purusottama. Philosophy of Language in India; K.K. Raja. II: China. La pensée rationelle en Chine ancienne; J.-P. Reding. Central Themes of Buddhist Philosophy; J. Braarvig. III: Taiwan. Taoist Philosophy Compared to European Philosophy; P. Kun-Yu Woo. IV: Korea. Korean Confucianism Reconsidered; Sa-Soon Youn. Taoismus in Korea; Sang-Rak Nam. The Phenomenology and Psychology of Korean Shamanism; Bou-Yong Rhi. V: Japan. The Character of Japanese Thought; T. Imamichi. Le concept de ma et ses transformations sémantiques comme voie d'accès