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Comparative philosophy is gaining traction in professional academic philosophy, with specialist journals, organizations, books, and public campaigns. These inroads have been made in canonical areas of philosophy, including epistemology, metaphysics, logic, and value theory. Yet comparative philosophy still plays little role in practical applied ethics, an interdisciplinary research area in which work with practice and policy implications are dominated by the anglophone world. In this article, I explain why comparative work might be especially difficult in this type of applied ethics, and I suggest how comparative philosophers might overcome these challenges to connect their theoretical work with contemporary practical issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I use the concept of epistemic injustice to think through the practice and methodology of comparative, or "fusion," philosophy. I make two related claims: 1) the philosophical ethnocentrism displayed by academic departments in the U.S. is a case of epistemic injustice, primarily willful ignorance, that ought to be rectified; 2) the corrective to this problem, namely, fusion philosophy, is itself epistemically problematic in its tendency toward ontological expansiveness, that is, an unjustified claim to all traditions as one's own. In the end, I hope to show how a robust practice of self-reflexivity can counter this potentially colonizing tendency of fusion philosophizing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The launching of philosophical pursuits undertaken in an East-West trajectory at the first East-West Philosophers' Conference in 1939 represents a turning point in philosophy. However, as groundbreaking as this approach was, it left out all philosophical cultures that did not fit the initial framework. Islamic philosophy, being viewed as neither Western nor Eastern (Asian), was thus marginalized from the start. I introduce " Bricolage " – a method emphasizing curiosity, humility, and playfulness – as a more nuanced way of engaging with diverse philosophical traditions. " Bricoleurs " are interculturalists who remain open to the use of different methodologies: they are " flâneurs " walking through diverse philosophical landscapes for sheer intellectual pleasure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of philosophical exemplars, focusing on two uncommon but valuable figures: Guanyin, bodhisattva of compassion, and the plumber-as-philosopher described by Mary Midgley. These figures highlight philosophical activity as benefitting from a wide variety of heterogenous sources, styles, and models, and suggest that philosophy be understood as a response to lived needs. The paper concludes with some suggestions for ways in which these exemplars might be relevant for contemporary issues in the academy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a special issue of the Journal of Chinese Philosophy that features articles written by women philosophers. The issue coincides with significant anniversaries related to comparative philosophy and the Department of Philosophy at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. The aim of the special issue is to highlight the contributions of women to comparative philosophy and to attract more women to the field. The articles cover a range of topics and philosophical traditions, including Pure Land Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Guanyin, women's writings in ancient China, and the feminism of Emilia Pardo Bazán. The remaining articles in the issue critique Western philosophy and explore Islamic, Chinese, and Indigenous philosophies. The overall goal is to foster a genuine encounter between different philosophical traditions and promote learning and understanding. [Extracted from the article]

This article re-examines Humboldt's comparative linguistics by analyzing two cases: the reception of Chinese philosophy in France and the translation of Greek philosophy in China. Humboldt's legacy is treated in opposite ways which result in two translation methods. I argue that Humboldt's statement about the inferiority of Chinese should not be taken in a literal sense. It highlights the grammatical differences between Greek and Chinese, and can lead to questioning some basic assumptions about the concept of being. Humboldtian comparativism, understood as the recognition of differences and the respect for the foreign, can shed light on transcultural understanding in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Especially since the beginning of this century, the significance and value of comparative philosophy as a general way of doing philosophy through cross-tradition engagement toward world philosophy has been recognized and strengthened through both theoretic exploration and reflective practice. The purpose of this essay is to explain how, from a holistic vantage point, cross-tradition philosophical engagement as a methodological approach can contribute to those truth-concern-sensitive (or critical-engagement-sensitive) studies in cross-cultural dialogue with enhanced "constructive-engagement" resources. For this purpose, with a further refined characterization of eligibility of methodological perspectives, I explain a further expanded meta-methodological framework for how to adequately look at the relation between distinct eligible perspectives on an object of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on a distinction between two kinds of skepticism recently worked out by the American philosopher James Conant, we can differentiate the question of how to overcome the gap between two cultural horizons in intercultural dialogue from the question of how there could even be such dialogue, irrespective of its method, success or failure. While the first question concerns practical conditionality, that is, something we as philosophers have to achieve, the second question concerns transcendental conditionality. After making this distinction clear, the paper presents three cases of recent scholarship on intercultural dialogue, each of which can be read as a response to those two forms of conditionality of intercultural understanding. Those cases are Jean-Yves Heurtebise's notion of a "transcultural" philosophy, Eric S. Nelson's work on "intercultural philosophy," and Kwok-Ying Lau's concept of a "cultural flesh." However, while speaking to both forms of conditionality, they tend not to distinguish sufficiently their responses to the two problematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Such interpretive act involves the interaction of at least two cultures in global circumstances, manifested in two modes of interpreting, the intercultural and the transcultural, with "the former referring to concrete interactions between different cultures and their various elements, and the latter when referring to the goal and results of such interactions, that is, to see oneself in the other." Rosker argues that the solution is to reject the strategy of mitigating the inferiority of Chinese philosophy by renaming it as Chinese wisdom, sinosophy or even Chinese philosophical discourse. Interpreting Chinese Philosophy: A New Methodology, written by Jana S. Rosker. [Extracted from the article]

This paper analyzes the idea of "human exceptionalism" from the perspective of Tibetan Buddhism. It argues that, in the Tibetan Buddhist context, many of the negative consequences of human exceptionalism are overshadowed by the concept's ability to promote an altruistic comportment to the more-than-human world when supported by the Buddhist ontology and its broader project of liberating all beings from duhkha. To this end, this paper looks at how Tibetan Buddhist teachers qualify a "precious human life" by conducting a close reading of primary texts before extrapolating some general themes of these selected passages and applying them to our contemporary ecological situation. In doing so, it makes the argument that human exceptionalism is not a problem in and of itself but has a positive or negative effect on the more-than-human world depending on how it is established, maintained, and understood. It also demonstrates how Tibetan Buddhism can be a useful tradition for thinking alongside as we attempt to address global issues concerning the environment and nonhuman animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pfister's summary of the written Chinese record of their conversation indicates that Cheng does not address the role of Christian philosophy and hence, the role of the inner word in Gadamer's hermeneutics. Contributions by Stephen Palmquist and Nicholas Brasovan position Cheng in relation to Kant and Gadamer by way of Aristotle's ethics respectively. Although differing traditions guide their inquiries and research, Cheng and Gadamer recall the wisdom of the past to ameliorate the fragmentation in contemporary life. [Extracted from the article]

The review essay critically evaluates, synoptically presents, and admiringly celebrates Chung-ying Cheng latest work, The Primary Way: Philosophy of Yijing. It sees the book's publication as an emblem of an intellectual jubilee – a half-centenary of scholarly lucubration and achievement in Chinese and comparative philosophy by Cheng, who was trained at Harvard in American pragmatism and analytic philosophy. The essay reveals why Cheng returns to the Yijing time and again. The principal reason is that this ancient classic, to his way of thinking, offers us "the primary Way," the anchoring normative criteria, perspectives, and values in a nutshell, whereby reality may be deciphered, discerned, and distinguished. To put it in metaphoric terms, the Yijing is the fount of Chinese philosophy. Whether interpreting Chinese thoughts in general or reading the Yijing in particular, Cheng brings western theoretical perspectives to bear on the understanding of the Chinese texts, which are, in and of themselves, replete with deep philosophical meanings. Cheng appropriates the Yijing for his own primary end, which is to disclose, via his onto-hermeneutic reading, a living, transformative ethico-moral philosophy that is onto-cosmologically alive and onto-generatively fecund: the primary Way. In doing so, he not only offers us innovative scholarship on the ancient classic but also opens up a theoretical and methodological frontier, an onto-hermeneutic one, where Chinese thought and philosophy may be explored anew. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Philosophy Departments at universities in China and worldwide have experienced a renaissance in discussion on Confucian thought. As the country draws from indigenous traditions, rather than leaning completely on the importation of Western liberalism and Marxism, Confucianism has critical implications for politics, ethics, and law in modern China. At the same time, democracy never left the conversation. Democratic concepts cannot be ignored and must be disposed of, acknowledged, or incorporated. The relationship between Confucianism and democracy has been described by various authors as one of conflict, critique, compatibility, and hybridity. In this article, we examine a compatibility model, in which compatibility between Confucianism and democracy can be divided into four types: soft, hard, coexistence, and integration. We examine compatibility by examining "what is compatible" and "how compatibility can be achieved" so as to design speculative models for what a contemporary Confucian government would look like. Our focus is mainly political philosophy in order to explain the effect of cross-pollination of Confucian and democratic thought on political society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relative to its conceptual dimension, among numerous deep insights, Nelson's book may impress readers in terms of inter/trans-cultural studies. Second, Nelson's conjoint reinterpretation of Heidegger's and Chan Buddhism's thoughts (in chap. 8) is very helpful for a better understanding of I both i at the same time. As it is, Nelson's I Chinese and Buddhist Philosophy in Early Twentieth-Century German Thought i is one of the most refined intercultural inquiry into modern and contemporary German philosophers' Eurocentric tendencies (from Hegel to Heidegger) as well as counter-tendencies (from Leibniz to Buber) that one can read today. [Extracted from the article]

Looking back at the reason why Western scholars in modern times demanded the birth of philosophical aesthetics, we can assess what role "Chinese aesthetics" should play in today's academic environment. Contrary to the European intellectuals, who were reluctant to regard aesthetics as an essential discipline, Chinese intellectuals assumed aesthetics as a core academic framework for explaining Chinese intellectual history. Therefore, the so-called "culture fever ( I wenhua re i )" of the late 1980s China, which was a large-scale debate about the criticism and succession of Chinese tradition, can also be referred to "aesthetics fever ( I meixue re i )" by nature. [Extracted from the article]

The Journal of Chinese Philosophy is celebrating its 50th anniversary and has been a leading publication in promoting comparative philosophy studies, particularly between Chinese and Western traditions. However, the journal has expanded its focus to include other traditions such as Islamic philosophy, Japanese Zen, Buddhist Feminism, and Hawaiian philosophy. This special issue features papers on philosophical methodology, including the analytical philosophy of Quine, which has had a significant influence on exploring the analytical reconstruction of Chinese philosophy. The issue will be published in two parts, and the editor expresses gratitude to the contributors and the team involved in the publication process. [Extracted from the article]

Continental philosophy, beginning with Kant, has found itself exposed to the abyss of reason. This crisis makes it a more ready dialogue partner with some of the Zen tradition. I explore this opening by bringing Eihei Dōgen (1200–1253) into an encounter with Continental thought, broadly construed. Rather than demonstrate how Dōgen already fits within Continental thought or re-engineering the latter so that he can fit, I argue that this encounter, already precipitated by Continental philosophy's own acknowledgement of the felix culpa of Western philosophy's otherwise indefensible overreach, transforms and expands the manners in which thinking counts as philosophical. This is no less than to recover a sense of philosophy as genetic and creative, rather than a shopworn tool kit of universal insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the possibility of dialogue between creative skepsis and Śaṃkara’s Advaita Vedānta based on a phenomenology of the structure and dynamics of both traditions. Externally, the essay shows how critical reflection on Śaṃkara/West comparative philosophy may culminate in standpoints of creative skepsis. Internally, the essay indicates how both traditions “resonate” as living “via negativas” that involve disciplines of enquiry within the practical context of a way of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the state of affairs with regard to the academic study of "Chinese philosophy" in Europe? This is the rather straightforward question that I address in the present article. Focusing on developments since 2007, I depict the institutional landscape in terms of associations and journals, present an overview of translations, and offer a survey of research, mostly of works published in languages other than English. The aim is not in the first instance to offer an exhaustive bibliography, but to document the many research activities taking place in all parts of continental Europe. Personal comments about the prospects of "Chinese philosophy" in Europe conclude the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I thank Professor Lauren F. Pfister for LINYU GU 540 impressivelyandinvaluablyconnectingthissymposiumtothespecial honorofholdingamostencouragingandstimulatingsession:thedialogue between Professor Richard Swinburne and Professor ChungyingChengonGod,morality,andConfucianism. To make the current special issue all the more distinguishing and far reaching, I would like to give particular thanks to Professor Ping Zhang and Professor Brook Ziporyn for joining in this project andespeciallyfortheirirreplaceablecontributiontothetheme. Forboththecurrentspecialissueandotherongoingprojectsofthis journalandmyownlifejourneyinthesepastyears,Iwishtotakethis privilegedmomenttopresentmymostheartythankfulnesstothehigh confidence, sustained faith, and precious friendship of many names above,alongside withthefollowswhose existencehasbeenagenuine importanceandceaselesssupportinmyworldandtomywork:ProfessorG€ unterAbel,Dr.FriederikeAssandri,ProfessorMichaelBeaney, Professor Daniel A. Bell, Professor S ebastien Billioud, Professor Edward S. Casey, Professor Lawrence Foster, Professor Bernhard Fuehrer, Mr. Cheng Hong, Ms. Renee M. Kojima-Itagaki, Professor ChenLai,ProfessorMathewA.Foust,ProfessorJosephGrange,ProfessorYongHuang,Dr.XiyiHuang,ProfessorXinyanJiang,Professor Philip J. Ivanhoe, Professor Robert C. Neville, Professor On-cho Ng, Dr.PanSong,Ms.MirasyM.Pfister,ProfessorXiaoyangWei,Professor Yang Hongsheng, Professor Xiaomei Yang, Professor Jiyuan Yu, Professor Jinmei Yuan, Professor Qianfan Zhang, Professor Zhang Yunqi,andmanyotherswhoarealwaysonmymindandinmyheart. [Extracted from the article]

YAO XINZHONG AN INTRODUCTION TO MORALITY AND RELIGIOUSNESS IN CHINA AND THE WEST Thegreatlongevityofworldreligionsandmoralsystemscangivethem theappearanceofunchangeablityinculturalhistory,andtheseemingly everlastingsystemsaresaidtohavebeen"fixed" intheirprincipaldoctrines,identifyingwaysoflifeinspecificgeographicallocationsandhistorical contexts, although they have already dynamically spread to all parts of the world, and been entrenched in many layers of social life in nations and cultures. 4 None of these typologies INTRODUCTION 549 exclude morality from religiousness or religiousness from morality. Perhaps more than Christianity, Confucianism can serve a better example of how morality penetrates religiousness and functions as a special mode of spirituality. [Extracted from the article]

In this article, I look at those passages in the Zhuangzi usually associated with 'uselessness.' I discuss in what way these passages may have been suggestive to Martin Heidegger to explain his ideas of the necessity of the other thinking and of the 'waiting people' being entirely unusable to others. Then I make some brief comments concerning basic conditions of interpretation, using examples taken from the Zhuangzi passages discussed. These conditions include family resemblance across the board, a principle of agreement, and the issue of 'planetarization' (Heidegger's term). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Prof. Jiyuan Yu passed away on Nov. 3, 2016, after a battle with cancer. I was Jiyuan Yu's PhD student at SUNY Buffalo, completing my work in 2007. Jiyuan's teaching emphasized first and foremost the difficulty of authors like Plato and Aristotle, that the texts they left us were extremely puzzling, and you could spend your whole lifetime studying them. [Extracted from the article]