Jana S. Rošker - Böcker

Understanding Chinese philosophy requires knowledge of the referential framework prevailing in Chinese intellectual traditions. But Chinese philosophical texts are frequently approached through the lens of Western paradigms. Analysing the most common misconceptions surrounding Western Sinology, Jana Rošker alerts us to unseen dangers and introduces us to a new more effective way of reading Chinese philosophy.Acknowledging that different cultures produce different reference points, Rošker explains what happens when we use rational analysis, a major feature of the European intellectual tradition, to read Chinese philosophy. We rely on impossible comparisons, arrive at prejudiced assumptions and fail to arrive at the truth, the consequence of applying a different methodology to the process of perceiving, understanding and interpreting reality.Instead of transferring concepts and categories from Western sinology onto socio-cultural Chinese contexts, Rošker constructs a new methodology of reading, understanding and interpreting Chinese philosophy. She opens our eyes to the basic problems of Western paradigms, encourages intercultural approaches and allows us to master a more autochthonous understanding of Chinese philosophy.

Understanding Chinese philosophy requires knowledge of the referential framework prevailing in Chinese intellectual traditions. But Chinese philosophical texts are frequently approached through the lens of Western paradigms. Analysing the most common misconceptions surrounding Western Sinology, Jana Rošker alerts us to unseen dangers and introduces us to a new more effective way of reading Chinese philosophy.Acknowledging that different cultures produce different reference points, Rošker explains what happens when we use rational analysis, a major feature of the European intellectual tradition, to read Chinese philosophy. We rely on impossible comparisons, arrive at prejudiced assumptions and fail to arrive at the truth, the consequence of applying a different methodology to the process of perceiving, understanding and interpreting reality.Instead of transferring concepts and categories from Western sinology onto socio-cultural Chinese contexts, Rošker constructs a new methodology of reading, understanding and interpreting Chinese philosophy. She opens our eyes to the basic problems of Western paradigms, encourages intercultural approaches and allows us to master a more autochthonous understanding of Chinese philosophy.

Jana S. Rošker presents a novel dialectical method to our comprehension of diverse philosophical ideas.Analyzing philosophical discourses that have emerged in China and the Sinophone region, Rošker applies the method to examples from across the history of thought. From Ancient Chinese logicians to 20th-century intellectuals, she connects thinkers and offers fresh insights into key aspects of philosophy. The result is a series of vibrant dialogues among different intellectual traditions, providing new understandings of transcultural philosophical interactions.

Jana S. Rošker presents a novel dialectical method to our comprehension of diverse philosophical ideas.Analyzing philosophical discourses that have emerged in China and the Sinophone region, Rošker applies the method to examples from across the history of thought. From Ancient Chinese logicians to 20th-century intellectuals, she connects thinkers and offers fresh insights into key aspects of philosophy. The result is a series of vibrant dialogues among different intellectual traditions, providing new understandings of transcultural philosophical interactions.

Critically introduces the philosophical system of Li Zehou, one of the most significant modern scholars of Chinese history and culture.In this book, Jana S. Rošker offers the first comprehensive overview and exegesis of the work of Li Zehou, who is one of the most significant and influential Chinese philosophers of our time. Rošker shows us how Li's complex system of thought seeks to revive various Chinese traditions, and at the same time attempts to harmonize or reconcile this cultural heritage with the demands of the dominant economic, political, and axiological structures of our globalized world. Variously characterized as "neo-traditional," "neo-Kantian," "post-Marxist," "Marxist-Confucian," "pragmatist," "instrumentalist," "romantic," and more, Li's work was central to the period known as the Chinese Enlightenment in the 1980s and has helped modify and transform antiquated patterns of Chinese intellectual discourse. He is one of the rare Chinese thinkers whose work has not only had a deep and lasting impact on Chinese intellectuals, but has acquired a broad readership outside of China as well. Seen from a broader intercultural perspective, Li's unique and imaginative approach to a wide range of basic theoretical problems has created new styles of intellectual investigation, while reminding us of our belonging to a common humanity, regardless of differences in our individual cultures, languages, preferences, and traditions..This book is freely available in an open access edition thanks to the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Critically introduces the philosophical system of Li Zehou, one of the most significant modern scholars of Chinese history and culture.In this book, Jana S. Rošker offers the first comprehensive overview and exegesis of the work of Li Zehou, who is one of the most significant and influential Chinese philosophers of our time. Rošker shows us how Li's complex system of thought seeks to revive various Chinese traditions, and at the same time attempts to harmonize or reconcile this cultural heritage with the demands of the dominant economic, political, and axiological structures of our globalized world. Variously characterized as "neo-traditional," "neo-Kantian," "post-Marxist," "Marxist-Confucian," "pragmatist," "instrumentalist," "romantic," and more, Li's work was central to the period known as the Chinese Enlightenment in the 1980s and has helped modify and transform antiquated patterns of Chinese intellectual discourse. He is one of the rare Chinese thinkers whose work has not only had a deep and lasting impact on Chinese intellectuals, but has acquired a broad readership outside of China as well. Seen from a broader intercultural perspective, Li's unique and imaginative approach to a wide range of basic theoretical problems has created new styles of intellectual investigation, while reminding us of our belonging to a common humanity, regardless of differences in our individual cultures, languages, preferences, and traditions..This book is freely available in an open access edition thanks to the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

This book introduces into the current global ethics debate models of humanism developed in classical Chinese traditions, which have not yet been comprehensively presented to Western scholarship or integrated into the framework of global discourses on social ethics and morality. It creates new paradigms for an understanding of humanism that meets the demands of our time. It begins by presenting European descriptions and critical assessments of this discourse, and then moves to an exploration of humanistic ideas shaped through historical developments in Asia, with a focus on the Chinese tradition. In this sense, the book is written from a transcivilizational perspective. The methods used in the research transcend---that is, surpass and overcome---the rigid, isolating, and essentialist concept of civilization. At the same time, the book points to the possibility of transformation through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between different civilizations. Within this framework, the book starts from the assumption that the ontology of civilizations and cultures is not based on immutable substances, but on the relations between different factors that constitute them as categories. The transcivilizational perspective rooted in transcultural dialogues between philosophies that originated in different cultures and civilizations is particularly valuable because of the globalized world in which we live today. This means that the problems that affect people in different parts of the world and the issues that are embedded in different geopolitical and developmental frameworks also affect all of humanity. This book is of particular interest to scholars and students of global ethics, globalization, Asian philosophy and Sinology.

This book introduces into the current global ethics debate models of humanism developed in classical Chinese traditions, which have not yet been comprehensively presented to Western scholarship or integrated into the framework of global discourses on social ethics and morality.

This book deals with the analyses and interpretations of modern Chinese philosophical discourses, especially those concerning theories of knowledge. The author looks at how contemporary Chinese philosophy is awakening from a long slumber and substantiates the hypothesis that this new awakening is fully prepared for fruitful confrontations with the new challenges presented by a globalized world.The study of twentieth-century Chinese philosophy has not been the subject of any extensive and systematic discussion in neither the West in general nor in Western Sinology in particular. Hence, this book will be of immense interest to those who are interested in the emerging fields of comparative philosophy, Chinese studies and theology.

The Confucian revival which manifests itself in the Modern Confucian current, belongs to the most important streams of thought in contemporary Chinese philosophy. This book introduces this stream of thought by focusing on the second generation Modern Confucians—Mou Zongsan, Tang Junyi, Xu Fuguan and Fang Dongmei. They argue thattraditional Confucianism, as a specifically Chinese social, political, and moral system of thought can, if adapted to the modern era, serve as the foundation for an ethicallymeaningful modern life.

Deepens our understanding of this contemporary Chinese thinker's philosophy and its significance.Li Zehou (1930–2021) was one of China's most prominent contemporary philosophers, transforming Confucian philosophy into a resource for positive change. From a critical rereading of the Analects to a formulation of his own aesthetic theory, Li reinterpreted the tradition from earliest times down to the present day. In this effort, he was inspired by Marx and Kant but was neither a Marxist nor a Kantian. Nor was he a Confucian. He was, and remains, an original: the philosopher Li Zehou.In this volume, Chinese, European, and US scholars explore Li's contributions to Chinese philosophy and culture, deepening our understanding of his philosophy and its significance while also celebrating the intellectual diversity and richness of Chinese philosophical thought. In a passionate and dedicated endeavor to ensure that Li's philosophy endures and continues to inspire scholars, particularly the younger generation of academics, both in China and around the world, the volume aims to serve as a catalyst for ongoing scholarship and discourse on the work of the philosopher Li Zehou.