Disputers of the Tao : philosophical argument in ancient China / A. C. Graham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Graham, A. C. (Angus Charles), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Tao.

Philosophy, Chinese.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (516 pages) : illustrations, map

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago, [Illinois] ; La Salle, Illinois : Open Court, 1989.

Summary:

"A history of Chinese philosophy in the so-called Axial Period (the period of classical Greek and Indian philosophy), during which time China evolved the characteristic ways of thought that sustained both its empire and its culture for over 2000 years. It is comprehensive, lucid, almost simple in its presentation, yet backed up with incomparable authority amid a well-honed discretion that unerringly picks out the core of any theme. Garlanded with tributes even before publication, it has redrawn the map of its subject and will be the one essential guide for any future exploration. For anyone interested in the affinities between ancient Chinese and modern Western philosophy, there is no better introduction" --Contemporary Review "The book is an expression of first-rate scholarship, filled with deep insights into classical Chinese thought. At the same time, it provides a comprehensive and well-balanced discussion that is accessible to the general reader. It is the rare kind of book that will be used as a standard text in introductory courses and be regularly consulted and cited by specialists working in the field." --Philosophical Review "For those who will read only one book on Chinese philosophy, A. C. Graham's Disputers of the Tao is it." --Journal of the History of Philosophy A. C. Graham (1919-1991) is considered by many to have been the leading world authority on Chinese thought, grammar, and textual criticism and the greatest translator of Chinese since Waley. He taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University (where he was Professor of Classical Chinese until 1988) Yale, Ann Arbor, Tsing Hua, Brown, and Honolulu. He was a Fellow of the British Academy. His numerous works include Two Chinese Philosophers (1958), Poems of the Late T'ang (1965), Chuang-tzu: the Seven Inner Chapters (1981), and Studies in Chinese

Philosophical Literature (1986).

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction

I. The Breakdown of the World Order Decreed by Heaven

1. A Conservative Reaction: Confucius

2. A Radical Reaction: Mo-tzu

3. Retreat to Private Life: The Yangists

4. Idealisations of the Small Community: the Utopia of Shen-nung

5. The Sharpening of Rational Debate: The Sophists

6. The Discovery of Subjectivity: Sung Hsing

II. From Social to Metaphysical Crisis: Heaven Parts from Man

1. From Confucius to Mencius: Morality Grounded in Man's Nature as Generated by Heaven

2. From Mo-tzu to Later Mohism: Morality Re-grounded in Rational Utility

3. From Yangism to Chuang-tzu's Taoism: Reconciliation with Heaven by Return to Spontaneity

III. Heaven and Man Go Their Own Ways

1. Lao-tzu's Taoism: The Art of Ruling by Spontaneity

2. Hsun-tzu's Confucianism: Morality as Man's Invention to Control His Nature

3. Legalism: An Amoral Science of Statecraft

4. Two Political Heresies

IV. The Reunification of the Empire and of Heaven and Man

1. The Cosmologists: Proto-science and modern science

2. Syncretism and the Victory of Confucianism

Appendix 1: A Classification of Chinese Moral Philosophies in Terms of the Quasi-syllogism

Appendix 2: The Relation of Chinese Thought to the Chinese Language

Notes

Romanisation Conversion Table: Wade-Giles/Pinyin

Bibliography

Name Index

Subject Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

0-8126-9942-4

OCLC:

948035769