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

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A&C Black, Nov 20, 2014 - Philosophy - 208 pages

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.

 

Contents

Ethical Philosophy in Asian Traditions
1
Ethics and SelfCultivation in Ancient China
9
1 The Analects of Confucius
11
2 Zhuangzi and the DaoistTradition
53
Ethics and SelfCultivation in Ancient India
87
3 The Suttas Dhammapada and the Early Buddhist Tradition
89
4 The Message of the Bhagavad Gita
131
New Directionsin Scholarship
173
An Annotated Bibliography
179
Index
185
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About the author (2014)

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

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