Inter-Culturality and Philosophic Discourse

Product Description Responding to a deep and universal need of philosophizing in the context of intensive intercultural interaction among all philosophical traditions in the process of globalization, this timely book offers a unique collection of excellent papers on inter-translatability, art, and ethics; subjects which are most crucial for intercultural conversations today. Instead of opting for a comparative philosophy that suggests the superiority of philosophy in comparison with other forms of thought, this book explores inter-translatability between East and West, given that any dialogue between heterogeneous cultures and systems of thought has to start with translation, which constitutes the first part of this book. Art and ethics are the two areas that most obviously link philosophies of the past and the present and constitute a fundamental part of Chinese long-living and practical philosophy. The value of art and aesthetic appreciation, no less than ethics, is at the core of Chinese culture and, indeed, promises a great deal for the future world. Thus, they are dealt with here in the second and third parts. This book is also relevant to inter-culturalism in philosophy itself, as the contributors, firstly, come from several different continents and, secondly, though most of them are philosophers, all contributors are well-versed in other disciplines, such as anthropology, literature, religion, aesthetics, history of art, sinology, cognitive sciences, and social sciences. About the Author Yolaine Escande is a Director of Research at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). She has translated a collection of fundamental treatises on Chinese calligraphy and painting from Chinese into French. Her research centers on the artistic, philosophical, aesthetic and cultural interactions of Chinese artistic principles with Western art. She is a member of the editorial board of Universitas Monthly Review on Philosophy and Culture, for which she has co-edited special issues in English and in Chinese. Vincent Shen received his PhD from the Universite Catholique de Louvain in 1980 and taught philosophy in Taiwan. He has held the Lee Chair in Chinese Thought and Culture in the Department of East Asian Studies and the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto since 2000. His publications include Essays on Philosophy East and West; Contrast, Strangification and Dialogue; and Essays on Intercultural Philosophy and Religion. Chenyang Li is the founding Director of the Philosophy program at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He has previously served as Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Central Washington University. His main research interests are Chinese philosophy and comparative philosophy. His publications include The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony, The Tao Encounters the West: Explorations in Comparative Philosophy, The Sage and the Second Sex, and The East Asian Challenge for Democracy: Political Meritocracy in Comparative Perspective (co-edited with Daniel Bell).