Humanism in Trans-civilizational Perspectives

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.

Introduces Chinese humanistic traditions within a transcivilizational framework Deals with humanism from the perspective of comparative East-West ethics Offers alternative understandings of social ethics in a globalized world

Autorentext

Prof. Jana S. Roker received her PhD in Sinology from the University of Vienna. She is Professor, co-founder and long-time head of the Department of Asian Studies at Ljubljana University, Slovenia. She spent over 10 years in China and Taiwan at various universities and research institutes. Her academic interests include Chinese epistemology, Chinese logic, and New Confucianism. She has published over 20 books and more than 200 articles and book chapters in these research areas. She is editor-in-chief of the journal Asian Studies, vice president of the International Society for Chinese Philosophy (ISCP), and founder, first president, and honorary member of the European Association of Chinese Philosophy (EACP). She has been awarded several prestigious prizes, such as the Slovenian National Research Agency Award for Exceptional Scientific Achievement, the Golden Plaque of the University of Ljubljana, the National Zois Award for Research of National Importance, and the French-Taiwanese Cultural Foundation Award.

Inhalt

Introduction: Human Beings and the Importance of Humanity.- Methodological and Historical Background.- Humanisms of Ancient China.- Human Being as the Core of Humanism.- Humanistic Ethics.- Invented Traditions: From Harmony to Asian Values.- Conclusion: Essentialist Views of the Human Self or Panhumanist Universalism?.