Understanding Asian Philosophy: Ethics in the Analects, Zhuangzi, Dhammapada and the Bhagavad Gita

Description

Understanding Asian Philosophy introduces the four major Asian traditions through their key texts and thinkers: the Analects of Confucius, the Daoist text Zhuangzi, the early Buddhist Suttas, and the Bhagavad Gita. Approached through the central issue of ethical development, this engaging introduction reveals the importance of moral self-cultivation and provides a firm grounding in the origins of Asian thought. Leading students confidently through complex texts, Understanding Asian Philosophy includes a range of valuable features: brief biographies of main thinkers such as Confucius and Zhuangzi primary source material and translations maps and timelines comprehensive lists of recommended reading and links to further study resources relevant philosophical questions at the end of each chapter As well as sections on other texts and thinkers in the tradition, there are frequent references to contemporary examples and issues. Each chapter also discusses other thinkers in different traditions in the West, presenting various comparative approaches. With its clear focus on thinkers and texts, Understanding Asian Philosophy is an ideal undergraduate introduction to Chinese, Indian, Buddhist and Daoist thought.

Alexus McLeod is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Colorado State University, USA.

By focusing on transformative personal cultivation as the axis shared by these canonical Asian texts, McLeod makes a persuasive argument that while these texts certainly provide a framework for the ethical life, they are much more, demanding as they do different regimens of assiduous practice and the nurturing of profound religious sensibilities. Highly recommended for classroom use. -- Roger T. Ames, Professor of Philosophy, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, USA Understanding Asian Philosophy delivers what its title promises in a refreshingly clear and concise manner. Well-focused on one key text from each of the four major traditions of Asian philosophy, McLeod's book is an insightful and stimulating introduction to the main issues at stake in these texts and the traditions they helped generate. -- Bret W. Davis, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Loyola University Maryland, USA