In Overcoming America / America Overcoming, Stephen Rowe shows how the moral disease and political paralysis that plague America are symptomatic of the fact that America herself has been overtaken by the modern values which she exported to the rest of the world. He points to a way out of this current and potentially fatal malaise: join other societies which are also struggling to move beyond the modern and consciously reappropriate those elements of tradition which have to do with cultivation of the mature human being. To avoid fundamentalism, Rowe discusses how this reappropriation must be undertaken in dialogue with those who also have come to recognize the unsustainable quality of the modern life, and who have been able to live beyond the nihilistic wish to tear it down. This book supports the call for an emerging global ethic and spirituality, providing resources of articulation and interpretation that allow for an ongoing dialogue between traditional and modern values—both worthy and problematic in their own ways—through which reliable policy and healthy living become possible.

In this new edition of Overcoming America / America Overcoming, Stephen Rowe shows how the COVID-19 pandemic in tandem with Trumpism have brought basic dynamics of the American situation to high relief, and hence provide opportunity to address them – before it is too late. The dynamics he identifies are those of moral disease and political paralysis as symptomatic of the fact that America herself has been overtaken by the modern values which she exported to the rest of the world. He points to a way out of the current and potentially fatal malaise and violence: join other societies which are also struggling to move beyond the modern and consciously reappropriate those elements of tradition which have to do with cultivation of the mature human being. To avoid fundamentalism, Rowe discusses how this reappropriation must be undertaken in dialogue with those who also have come to recognize the unsustainable quality of the modern life, and who have been able to live beyond the nihilistic wish to tear it down. This book supports the call for an emerging global ethic and spirituality, providing resources of articulation and interpretation that allow for an ongoing dialogue between traditional and modern values—both worthy and problematic in their own ways—through which reliable policy and healthy living become possible.

A bold and illuminating journey where Zen insight meets Western tradition to reawaken meaning, practice, and cultural integrity.On a restless cultural fault line between East and West, Rediscovering the West invites readers into a deeper way of seeing, thinking, and living.Drawing on the penetrating clarity of Zen Buddhism and the rich intellectual and spiritual heritage of the West, the book explores a central question of our time: how can modern Western culture rediscover meaning without abandoning its roots? Through a thoughtful engagement with both traditions, the author challenges inherited assumptions about worldview, identity, and the nature of wisdom itself.In Part I, readers are introduced to the Zen perspective as a transformative lens—one that unsettles Western habits of thought while opening new possibilities for presence, encounter, and understanding. Part II turns inward, reexamining the Western tradition through figures such as Socrates and Christ, and uncovering its neglected mystical and experiential depths. Finally, Part III offers a way forward, presenting "relatedness" as a lived practice that unites insight with action and grounds philosophy in everyday life.Both critical and constructive, this work moves beyond simple comparisons to create a genuine dialogue between traditions. It argues that the encounter with the East is not an escape from Western culture, but the very condition for its renewal.Insightful, rigorous, and deeply humane, this book speaks to anyone seeking a more integrated vision of self, culture, and spiritual practice in a fragmented world.

In Overcoming America / America Overcoming, Stephen Rowe shows how the moral disease and political paralysis that plague America are symptomatic of the fact that America herself has been overtaken by the modern values which she exported to the rest of the world. He points to a way out of this current and potentially fatal malaise: join other societies which are also struggling to move beyond the modern and consciously reappropriate those elements of tradition which have to do with cultivation of the mature human being. To avoid fundamentalism, Rowe discusses how this reappropriation must be undertaken in dialogue with those who also have come to recognize the unsustainable quality of the modern life, and who have been able to live beyond the nihilistic wish to tear it down. This book supports the call for an emerging global ethic and spirituality, providing resources of articulation and interpretation that allow for an ongoing dialogue between traditional and modern values—both worthy and problematic in their own ways—through which reliable policy and healthy living become possible.

In this new edition of Overcoming America / America Overcoming, Stephen Rowe shows how the COVID-19 pandemic in tandem with Trumpism have brought basic dynamics of the American situation to high relief, and hence provide opportunity to address them – before it is too late. The dynamics he identifies are those of moral disease and political paralysis as symptomatic of the fact that America herself has been overtaken by the modern values which she exported to the rest of the world. He points to a way out of the current and potentially fatal malaise and violence: join other societies which are also struggling to move beyond the modern and consciously reappropriate those elements of tradition which have to do with cultivation of the mature human being. To avoid fundamentalism, Rowe discusses how this reappropriation must be undertaken in dialogue with those who also have come to recognize the unsustainable quality of the modern life, and who have been able to live beyond the nihilistic wish to tear it down. This book supports the call for an emerging global ethic and spirituality, providing resources of articulation and interpretation that allow for an ongoing dialogue between traditional and modern values—both worthy and problematic in their own ways—through which reliable policy and healthy living become possible.

A bold and illuminating journey where Zen insight meets Western tradition to reawaken meaning, practice, and cultural integrity.On a restless cultural fault line between East and West, Rediscovering the West invites readers into a deeper way of seeing, thinking, and living.Drawing on the penetrating clarity of Zen Buddhism and the rich intellectual and spiritual heritage of the West, the book explores a central question of our time: how can modern Western culture rediscover meaning without abandoning its roots? Through a thoughtful engagement with both traditions, the author challenges inherited assumptions about worldview, identity, and the nature of wisdom itself.In Part I, readers are introduced to the Zen perspective as a transformative lens—one that unsettles Western habits of thought while opening new possibilities for presence, encounter, and understanding. Part II turns inward, reexamining the Western tradition through figures such as Socrates and Christ, and uncovering its neglected mystical and experiential depths. Finally, Part III offers a way forward, presenting "relatedness" as a lived practice that unites insight with action and grounds philosophy in everyday life.Both critical and constructive, this work moves beyond simple comparisons to create a genuine dialogue between traditions. It argues that the encounter with the East is not an escape from Western culture, but the very condition for its renewal.Insightful, rigorous, and deeply humane, this book speaks to anyone seeking a more integrated vision of self, culture, and spiritual practice in a fragmented world.