Engaging Japanese Philosophy

Engaging Japanese Philosophy PDF

Author: Thomas P. Kasulis

Publisher: University of Hawaii Press

Published: 2017-12-31

Total Pages: 785

ISBN-13: 0824873831

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Philosophy challenges our assumptions—especially when it comes to us from another culture. In exploring Japanese philosophy, a dependable guide is essential. The present volume, written by a renowned authority on the subject, offers readers a historical survey of Japanese thought that is both comprehensive and comprehensible. Adhering to the Japanese philosophical tradition of highlighting engagement over detachment, Thomas Kasulis invites us to think with, as well as about, the Japanese masters by offering ample examples, innovative analogies, thought experiments, and jargon-free explanations. He assumes little previous knowledge and addresses themes—aesthetics, ethics, the samurai code, politics, among others—not in a vacuum but within the conditions of Japan’s cultural and intellectual history. For readers new to Japanese studies, he provides a simplified guide to pronouncing Japanese and a separate discussion of the language and how its syntax, orthography, and linguistic layers can serve the philosophical purposes of a skilled writer and subtle thinker. For those familiar with the Japanese cultural tradition but less so with philosophy, Kasulis clarifies philosophical expressions and problems, Western as well as Japanese, as they arise. Half of the book’s chapters are devoted to seven major thinkers who collectively represent the full range of Japan’s historical epochs and philosophical traditions: Kūkai, Shinran, Dōgen, Ogyū Sorai, Motoori Norinaga, Nishida Kitarō, and Watsuji Tetsurō. Nuanced details and analyses enable an engaged understanding of Japanese Buddhism, Confucianism, Shintō, and modern academic philosophy. Other chapters supply social and cultural background, including brief discussions of nearly a hundred other philosophical writers. (For additional information, cross references to material in the companion volume Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook are included.) In his closing chapter Kasulis reflects on lessons from Japanese philosophy that enhance our understanding of philosophy itself. He reminds us that philosophy in its original sense means loving wisdom, not studying ideas. In that regard, a renewed appreciation of engaged knowing can play a critical role in the revitalization of philosophy in the West as well as the East.

Japanese Philosophy

Japanese Philosophy PDF

Author: James W. Heisig

Publisher: University of Hawaii Press

Published: 2011-07-31

Total Pages: 1362

ISBN-13: 082483707X

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With Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook, readers of English can now access in a single volume the richness and diversity of Japanese philosophy as it has developed throughout history. Leading scholars in the field have translated selections from the writings of more than a hundred philosophical thinkers from all eras and schools of thought, many of them available in English for the first time. The Sourcebook editors have set out to represent the entire Japanese philosophical tradition—not only the broad spectrum of academic philosophy dating from the introduction of Western philosophy in the latter part of the nineteenth century, but also the philosophical ideas of major Japanese traditions of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shinto. The philosophical significance of each tradition is laid out in an extensive overview, and each selection is accompanied by a brief biographical sketch of its author and helpful information on placing the work in its proper context. The bulk of the supporting material, which comprises nearly a quarter of the volume, is given to original interpretive essays on topics not explicitly covered in other chapters: cultural identity, samurai thought, women philosophers, aesthetics, bioethics. An introductory chapter provides a historical overview of Japanese philosophy and a discussion of the Japanese debate over defining the idea of philosophy, both of which help explain the rationale behind the design of the Sourcebook. An exhaustive glossary of technical terminology, a chronology of authors, and a thematic index are appended. Specialists will find information related to original sources and sinographs for Japanese names and terms in a comprehensive bibliography and general index. Handsomely presented and clearly organized for ease of use, Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook will be a cornerstone in Japanese studies for decades to come. It will be an essential reference for anyone interested in traditional or contemporary Japanese culture and the way it has shaped and been shaped by its great thinkers over the centuries.

Japanese Philosophy

Japanese Philosophy PDF

Author: H. Gene Blocker

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2010-03-30

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 0791490386

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Japanese Philosophy is the first book to assert the existence of a Japanese philosophy prior to Nishida Kitaro in the early twentieth century. Because of Western military and economic dominance since the seventeenth century, the cross-cultural comparison of non-Western philosophy has generally gone in one direction—comparing Chinese, Indian, and other thought systems with Western philosophy. For various reasons, Japanese scholars did not follow the Chinese lead after 1920 in acknowledging that some of their own literary tradition should be classified as "philosophy." In spite of this, the authors argue that it is useful to compare cultures, and that one way of comparing cultures is to compare their philosophies—and therefore that it is worth treating certain parts of Japanese literature as philosophy, especially those parts that are similar to what has long been classified and treated as philosophy in India and China. By doing so, and by providing an overview of Japanese philosophy from the seventh century to the present, the authors contribute to a greater cross-cultural understanding between East and West.

Contemporary Japanese Philosophy

Contemporary Japanese Philosophy PDF

Author: John W. M. Krummel

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2019-08-23

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1786600862

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Contemporary Japanese Philosophy: A Reader is an anthology of contemporary (post-war) Japanese philosophy showcasing a range of important philosophers and philosophical trends from 1945 to the present. This important and comprehensive volume introduces the reader to a variety of trends and schools of thought. The first part consists of selections and excerpts of writings from contemporary Japanese philosophers who have made original contributions to Japanese philosophy and promise contributions to world philosophy. Most of these selections appear in English for the first time. The second part consists of original essays written for this volume by scholars in Japanese philosophy on specific trends and tendencies of contemporary Japanese philosophy, such as feminist philosophy, the Kyoto School, and environmental philosophy, as well as future directions the field is likely to take. Ideal for classroom use, this is the ultimate resource for students and teachers of Japanese philosophy.

Engaging Buddhism

Engaging Buddhism PDF

Author: Jay L. Garfield

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 0190204346

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Articulating the basic metaphysical framework common to Buddhist traditions, this book explores questions in metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, phenomenology, epistemology, the philosophy of language, and ethics as they are addressed in a variety of Asian Buddhist traditions. Focusing on philosophical problems, in each case the connections between Buddhist and contemporary Western debates are examined, as are the distinctive contributions the Buddhist tradition can make to Western discussions.

The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy

The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy PDF

Author: Bret W. Davis

Publisher: Oxford Handbooks

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 841

ISBN-13: 0199945721

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This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online.

Zen and Shinto

Zen and Shinto PDF

Author: Chikao Fujisawa

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2019-12-17

Total Pages: 76

ISBN-13: 1504060199

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This history of Japanese philosophical traditions underscores the importance of Zen and Shinto to the development of Japanese culture. How do the Japanese talk about their native philosophy, Shinto, so many years after the Western Allies abolished it as a state religion? What is its relationship to Buddhism, and particularly to Zen? How modern can this very ancient creed ever be? These are some of the questions considered in this analytic work by Dr. Chikao Fujisawa, who specializes in the study of traditional Japanese philosophy and its effect on modern society. Fujisawa’s work is not only a survey of Zen and Shinto, but also an impassioned plea to restore Shinto as the very substance of Japanese life and thought. At the same time, Zen and Shinto offers new insight into the depth and vitality of Japanese culture, demonstrating its remarkable capacity to assimilate foreign thought and ideas, and thus contribute to the world’s hope for permanent peace.

Engaging the Other: 'Japan' and Its Alter-Egos, 1550-1850

Engaging the Other: 'Japan' and Its Alter-Egos, 1550-1850 PDF

Author: Ronald P. Toby

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2019-01-21

Total Pages: 423

ISBN-13: 900439351X

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In Engaging the Other: “Japan and Its Alter-Egos”, 1550-1850 Ronald P. Toby examines new discourses of identity and difference in early modern Japan, a discourse catalyzed by the “Iberian irruption,” the appearance of Portuguese and other new, radical others in the sixteenth century. The encounter with peoples and countries unimagined in earlier discourse provoked an identity crisis, a paradigm shift from a view of the world as comprising only “three countries” (sangoku), i.e., Japan, China and India, to a world of “myriad countries” (bankoku) and peoples. In order to understand the new radical alterities, the Japanese were forced to establish new parameters of difference from familiar, proximate others, i.e., China, Korea and Ryukyu. Toby examines their articulation in literature, visual and performing arts, law, and customs.

Religion, Language, and the Human Mind

Religion, Language, and the Human Mind PDF

Author: Paul Chilton

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-04-03

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 0190636661

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What is religion? How does it work? Many natural abilities of the human mind are involved, and crucial among them is the ability to use language. This volume brings together research from linguistics, cognitive science and neuroscience, as well as from religious studies, to understand the phenomena of religion as a distinctly human enterprise. The book is divided into three parts, each part preceded by a full introductory chapter by the editors that discusses modern scientific approaches to religion and the application of modern linguistics, particularly cognitive linguistics and pragmatics. Part I surveys the development of modern studies of religious language and the diverse disciplinary strands that have emerged. Beginning with descriptive approaches to religious language and the problem of describing religious concepts across languages, chapters introduce the turn to cognition in linguistics and also in theology, and explore the brain's contrasting capacities, in particular its capacity for language and metaphor. Part II continues the discussion of metaphor - the natural ability by which humans draw on basic knowledge of the world in order to explore abstractions and intangibles. Specialists in particular religions apply conceptual metaphor theory in various ways, covering several major religious traditions-Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. Part III seeks to open up new horizons for cognitive-linguistic research on religion, looking beyond written texts to the ways in which language is integrated with other modalities, including ritual, religious art, and religious electronic media. Chapters in Part III introduce readers to a range of technical instruments that have been developed within cognitive linguistics and discourse analysis in recent years. What unfolds ultimately is the idea that the embodied cognition of humans is the basis not only of their languages, but also of their religions.

The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Philosophy

The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Philosophy PDF

Author: Michiko Yusa

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-09-21

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 1474232698

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The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Philosophy examines the current vibrant trends in Japanese philosophical thinking. Situating Japanese philosophy within the larger context of global intercultural philosophical discourse and pointing to new topics of research, this Handbook covers philosophy of science, philosophy of peace, philosophy of social justice and healing. Introducing not only new readings of well-known Japanese philosophers, but also work by contemporary Japanese philosophers who are relatively unknown outside Japan, it makes a unique contribution by offering an account of Japanese philosophy from within and going beyond an objective description of it in its various facets. Also featured is the work of a younger generation of scholars and thinkers, who bring in fresh perspectives that will push the field into the future. These critical essays, by leading philosophers and rising scholars, to the past and the present of Japanese philosophy demonstrate ways of doing engaged philosophy in the present globalized age. With suggestions for further reading, a glossary, a timeline and annotated bibliography, The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Philosophy is an ideal research guide to understanding the origin, transformation, and reception of Japanese philosophy in the 21st century.