Introduction to Eastern Thought - Softcover

Stepaniants, Marietta

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0742504344 ISBN 13: 9780742504349

Publisher: AltaMira Press, 2002

Synopsis

Marietta Stepaniants' introductory text allows a distinctively Eastern way of thinking to come forth. Four interpretive essays open the book showing how Indian, Chinese and Islamic traditions responded to these questions: How did philosophy arise? What is the origin of order in the universe? What is human nature? What is truth? A fifth, unique, essay shows how Eastern thought has dealt with Western contact in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the second half of the book, original writings―ancient and modern―are placed in their cultural context by the author and give access to the thinkers' specific arguments. Unlike any other text, Introduction to Eastern Thought includes Islamic philosophies alongside Indian and Chinese traditions. This broader sense of "the East," the combination of interpretive essays and original sources, the sense of Eastern philosophies as alive and ongoing, are unrivalled by any other textbook. Comparisons within and across traditions make Introduction to Eastern Thought an excellent text for students familiar with Western philosophy or beginning philosophy students.

About this title

About the Author

Marietta Stepaniants is the Director of the Center for Oriental Philosophies Studies at the Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences where she has been working since 1959. She is the author of ten books including Islamic Philosophy and Social Thought: 19th-20th Centuries, Sufi Wisdom, Gandhi and the World Today. Among more than 20 volumes edited by her: Rationalistic Tradition and Modernity. In 3 volumes, History of of Indian Philosophy: A Russian Viewpoint, Feminism: East-West-Russia, Democracy and Justice: A Cross-cultural Perspectives. Her writings have been translated and published in eighteen countries. For 15 years Dr. Stepaniants was a professor of the Diplomatic Academy; in recent years, she has been Chair of Oriental Philosophies at the Russian State University of Humanities (Moscow).

Dr.Stepaniants has played a key role in developing comparative studies
in Russia. She was the Director for 7th & 8th East-West Philosophers'
Conferences in Honolulu and is a corresponding member of the editorial board
of a number academic journals, including Philosophy East and West , Social Sciences Research Journal.

Review

This volume is a triumph of the spirit of cultural accommodation and inclusiveness that is driving the comparative philosophy movement. And as an internationally renonwed voice in this movement, Marietta Stepanients is singularly equipped in breadth of scholarship and in passion to offer the academy her interpretation of world wisdom. This survey includes both interpretive insight and a rich vein of the original philosophical literature, both context and content. It belongs on the bookshelf of every serious student of world culture. (Roger T. Ames, University of Hawai'i)

Professor Marietta Stepaniants is in many ways uniquely qualified to present non-western philosophical traditions to western students of philosophy. Having authored ten books and edited over twenty volumes in both western and mainly, modern Muslim philosophy, and having spent many months living in nonwestern countries, Stepaniants is widely recognized internationally as one of the most outstanding interpreters of Asian thought. She is able to present extremely difficult ideas, often quite alien to westerners, with clarity and deep understanding. (Eliot Deutsch, University of Hawaii From The Foreword)

In a time of mounting international conflicts it is inspiring and a breath of fresh air to read this enlightening book by the Russian author well known for her studies of Sufism. Instead of dividing the world into good and evil, Introduction to Eastern Thought acquaints the reader with the rich patrimony of world cultures―from India and Islam to China―from which we still have so much to learn. A particular virtue of the book is that it combines well informed and erudite interpretations with an extensive collection of primary sources. A much-needed contribution to cross-cultural understanding in our troubled world. (Fred Dallmayr, University of Notre Dame)

Marietta Stepaniants' Introduction to Eastern Thought raises important questions about the nature of philosophy in the Indian, Chinese, and Islamic traditions. Presenting the distinctive perspective of Russian scholarship, she provides lucid interpretations along with translations of essential primary sources, both medieval and modern. This book is required reading for anyone interested in a truly global concept of philosophy, and it should become the standard reference in courses on world philosophy. (Carl Ernst, (University of North Carolina))

About this edition

• Publisher: AltaMira Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0742504344
• ISBN 13: 9780742504349
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400