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Self-cultivation Philosophies in Ancient India, Greece, and China

Author: Christopher W. Gowans

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 9780190941031

"The book defends the thesis that the concept of self-cultivation philosophy is an informative interpretive framework for comprehending and reflecting on several philosophical outlooks in India, the Greco-Roman world and China. On the basis of an understanding of human nature and the place of human beings in the world, self-cultivation philosophies maintain that our lives can and should be substantially transformed from what is judged to be a problematic, untutored condition of human beings, our existential starting-point, into what is put forward as an ideal state of being. We are to do this by undertaking a set of therapeutic or spiritual exercises guided by some philosophical analysis. The self-cultivation philosophies in India are expressed in: the Bhagavad Gītā; the Sāṃkhya and Yoga philosophies of Īśvarakṛṣṇa and Patañjali; and teaching of the Buddha and his followers Buddhaghosa and Śāntideva. The philosophies originating in Greece, with subsequent development in the Roman period, are the most prominent Hellenistic approaches: the Epicureanism of Epicurus, Lucretius and Philodemus; the Stoicism of Chrysippus, Epictetus and Seneca; and Pyrrho and the Pyrrhonism of Sextus Empiricus. The self-cultivation philosophies from China are the early Confucian outlooks of Confucius, Mencius and Xunzi; the classical Daoist perspectives of the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi; and the Chan tradition of Bodhidharma, Huineng and Linji"--

Self-Cultivation Philosophies in Ancient India, Greece, and China

Author: Christopher W. Gowans

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 0190941022

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Moral Education and the Ethics of Self-Cultivation

Author: Michael A. Peters

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-07-30

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9811380279

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Educational philosophies of self-cultivation as the cultural foundation and philosophical ethos for education have strong and historically effective traditions stretching back to antiquity in the classical ‘cradle’ civilizations of China and East Asia, India and Pakistan, Greece and Anatolia, focused on the cultural traditions in Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism in the East and Hellenistic philosophy in the West. This volume in East-West dialogues in philosophy of education examines both Confucian and Western classical traditions revealing that although each provides its own distinct figure of the virtuous person, they are remarkably similar in their conception and emphasis on moral self-cultivation as a practical answer to how humans become virtuous. The collection also examines self-cultivation in Japanese traditions and also the nature of Michel Foucault’s work in relation to ethical and aesthetic ideals of Hellenistic self-cultivation.

Self-Cultivation in Chinese and Greek Philosophy

Author: David Machek

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Published: 2025-04-17

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781350267145

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In early China and ancient Greece, self-cultivation was considered crucial for leading a flourishing, fulfilled life. In this cross-cultural study, David Machek presents and interprets six influential Greek and Chinese self-cultivation theories advocated by Mengzi, Zhuangzi and Xunzi, as well as Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics, in order to put forward the overarching narrative that self-cultivation amounts to strengthening the best part of the human self – the heart in the Chinese context, and the mind in the Greek context. Advancing new readings of classic texts, Machek shows that Greek approaches to self-cultivation privilege intellectual pursuits, while Chinese approaches give more weight to non-intellectual activities, such as learning manual crafts and performing rituals. He also demonstrates how both ancient traditions understand the self as a heterogeneous community of organic entities, each needing different provisions to flourish, which aligns the ancient Greek view closer to the early Chinese view. As such, this book reinforces the underlying structural and conceptual similarities between the two traditions and makes an important contribution to diversifying philosophical conversations.

Eastern Philosophies and Psychology: Towards Psychology of Self-Cultivation

Author: Yung-Jong Shiah

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2017-11-29

Total Pages: 131

ISBN-13: 2889453340

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The publication of this book, East Asian Philosophies and Psychology: Towards Psychology of Self-cultivation, signifies an important breakthrough for the indigenization movements of psychology which have happened in many non-Western countries since 1980s. Viewing from the perspective of scientific revolution (Kuhn, 1969), when Western paradigms of psychology are transplanted to non-Western countries and encounter anomalies which cannot be explained by the imported theories, the foreign theories are in a state of crisis waiting for scientific revolution.

Cultivating a Good Life in Early Chinese and Ancient Greek Philosophy

Author: Karyn Lai

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Published: 2020-06-25

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9781350169111

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This book engages in cross-tradition scholarship, investigating the processes associated with cultivating or nurturing the self in order to live good lives. Both Ancient Chinese and Greek philosophers provide accounts of the life lived well: a Confucian junzi, a Daoist sage and a Greek phronimos. By focusing on the processes rather than the aims of cultivating a good life, an international team of scholars investigate how a person develops and practices a way of life especially in these two traditions. They look at what is involved in developing practical wisdom, exercising reason, cultivating equanimity and fostering reliability. Drawing on the insights of thinkers including Plato, Confucius, Han Fei and Marcus Aurelius, they examine themes of harmony, balance and beauty, highlight the different concerns of scepticism across both traditions, and discuss action as an indispensable method of learning and, indeed, as constitutive of self. The result is a valuable collection opening up new lines of inquiry in ethics, demonstrating the importance of philosophical ideas from across cultural traditions.

Man and Nature

Author: Council for Research in Values and Philosophy

Publisher: CRVP

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 9780819174130

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Self, No Self?

Author: Mark Siderits

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2013-01-31

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 0191668303

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The nature and reality of self is a subject of increasing prominence among Western philosophers of mind and cognitive scientists. It has also been central to Indian and Tibetan philosophical traditions for over two thousand years. It is time to bring the rich resources of these traditions into the contemporary debate about the nature of self. This volume is the first of its kind. Leading philosophical scholars of the Indian and Tibetan traditions join with leading Western philosophers of mind and phenomenologists to explore issues about consciousness and selfhood from these multiple perspectives. Self, No Self? is not a collection of historical or comparative essays. It takes problem-solving and conceptual and phenomenological analysis as central to philosophy. The essays mobilize the argumentative resources of diverse philosophical traditions to address issues about the self in the context of contemporary philosophy and cognitive science. Self, No Self? will be essential reading for philosophers and cognitive scientists interested in the nature of the self and consciousness, and will offer a valuable way into the subject for students.

Shizi

Author:

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2012-07-03

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 0231504179

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By blending multiple strands of thought into one ideology, Chinese Syncretists of the pre-imperial period created an essential guide to contemporary ideas about self, society, and government. Merging traditions such as Ruism, Mohism, Daoism, Legalism, and Yin-Yang naturalism into their work, Syncretists created an integrated intellectual approach that contrasts with other, more specific philosophies. Presenting the first full English translation of the earliest example of a Syncretist text, this volume introduces Western scholars to both the brilliance of the syncretic method and a critical work of Chinese leadership. Written by Shi Jiao, China's first syncretic thinker, during the Warring States Period of 481 to 221 BCE, Shizi is similar to Machiavelli's The Prince in that it dispenses wisdom to would-be rulers. It stresses the need for leaders to be detached and objective. It further encourages self-cultivation and effective government, recommending that rulers maintain self-discipline, hire reliable people, delegate power transparently, and promote others in an orderly fashion. The people, it is argued, will emulate their leader's wisdom and virtue, and a just and peaceful state will result. Paul Fischer provides an extensive introduction and a chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis of the text—outlining the importance of syncretism in Chinese culture—and explores the text's particular features, authorship, transmission, loss, and reconstruction over time. The Shizi set the stage for a long history of syncretic endeavor in China, and its study provides insight into the vital traditions of early Chinese philosophy. It is also a template for interpreting other well-known works, such as the Confucian Analects, the Daoist Laozi, the Mohist Mozi, and the Legalist Shang jun shu.

Moral Dilemmas

Author: Christopher W. Gowans

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 0195042719

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The essays in this volume illuminate a central topic in ethical theory: moral dilemmas. Some contemporary philosophers dispute the traditional view that a true moral dilemma - a situation in which a person has two irreconcilable moral duties - cannot exist. The book provides the historical background to the on-going debate with selections from Kant, Mill, Bradley, and Ross. The best recent work is represented in essays by Donagan, Foot, Hare, Marcus, Nagel, van Fraassen, Williams, and others.