Bücher von Roger T. Ames

Applies a method of comparative cultural hermeneutics to let the tradition speak on its own terms.

Argues that the only way to understand the Confucian vision of the consummate moral life is to take the tradition on its own terms.

Uses a comparative hermeneutical method to explain the most important terms in the classical Confucian philosophical texts, in an effort to allow the tradition to speak on its own terms.

Argues that Confucianism and other East Asian philosophical traditions can be resources for understanding and addressing current global challenges such as climate change and hunger.

Critical reflections on the work of Angus Charles Graham, renowned Western scholar of Chinese philosophy and sinology.

Here, Western environmental philosophers and some of our most distinguished representatives of Asian and comparative philosophy critically consider what Asia has to offer.The first section provides an ecological world view as a basis for comparison. Subsequent sections include chapters by leading contemporary scholars in Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Buddhist thought that explore the Western perception of Asian traditions-the perception that Asian philosophy is a rich conceptual resource for contemporary environmental thinkers.

Roger Ames first traces the evolution of five key concepts in early Chinese political philosophy and then analyzes these concepts as they are developed in The Art of Rulership. The Art of Rulership is Book Nine of the Huai Nan Tzu, an anthology of diverse and far-ranging contents compiled under the patronage of Liu An (prince of Huai Nan) and presented to the court of Wu Ti during the first century of the Former Han (perhaps as early as 140 B.C.).Ames demonstrates that the political theory contained in The Art of Rulership shares an underlying sympathy with precepts of Taoist and Confucian origin, and contains a systematic political philosophy that is not only unique but compelling. The book presents a political theory that tempers lofty ideals with functional practicability. While the spirit of the work is strongly Taoist and Confucian, this spirit is provided with a Legalist political framework in which it can be implemented, nurtured, and cultivated.

This book is a sequel to Self as Body in Asian Theory and Practice (SUNY, 1992) and anticipates a third book, Self as Image in Asian Theory and Practice. In order to address issues as diverse as the promotion of human rights or the resolution of sexism in ways that avoid inadvertent lapses into cultural chauvinism, alternative cultural perspectives that begin from differing conceptions of self and self-realization must be articulated and respected. This book explores the articulation of personal character within the disparate cultural experiences of Japan, China, and South Asia.