Heaven and Earth Are not Humane

Franklin Perkins is Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University. He is author of Leibniz and China: A Commerce of Light and Leibniz: A Guide for the Perplexed.

[T]his book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of early Chinese philosophy.(Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews) [This] book deserves to be read by students of Chinese philosophy . . . . 5.1 Jan. 2015(Heythrop Journal) [This] is a genuine contribution to the field of Chinese philosophy. By engaging in a kind of 'rooted global philosophy,' Franklin Perkins addresses issues inherent to early Chinese texts in a way that renders them meaningful for contemporary philosophers. Perkins facilitates a cross-cultural dialogue between those in early China and those concerned with the problem of evil in European history. In doing this, Perkins not only demonstrates a grasp of the major primary texts and the relevant secondary literature, but he also demonstrates a breadth of knowledge that extends into conemporary Chinese thought, as well as into recently unearthed Chinese manuscripts and countless figures in the Western philosophical tradition.(Frontiers of Philosophy in China) It is clear that the discussions in Heaven and Earth will have a major impact on scholarship in the field. While ostensibly about good and evil, its investigations traverse a range of areas including Chinese intellectual history, philosophy, ethics, philosophy of religion, philosophy of action, and political philosophy.(Dao: Journal of Comparative Philosophy) The problem of evil . . . is a stimulating and challenging philosophical issue from which one can develop an inspiring comparative analysis that can benefit both Western and Chinese philosophy. This is exactly what Perkins does in this book.(Philosophy East and West) [T]his is an outstanding book that no one who is seriously interested in classical Chinese thought can afford to ignore.(Journal of Chinese Philosophy)

• Acknowledgements Note on Abbreviated Citations Introduction: Philosophy in a Cross-Cultural Context 1. Formations of the Problem of Evil 2. The Efficacy of Human Action and the Mohist Opposition to Fate 3. Efficacy and Following Nature in the Dàodéjīng 4. Reproaching Heaven and Serving Heaven in the Mèngzĭ 5. Beyond the Human in the Zhuāngĭ 6. Xúnzĭ and the Fragility of the Human Conclusion NotesBibliography Index