Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Dao: Ancient Chinese Thought in Modern American Life (Blackwell Public Philosophy Series) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1118656415 ISBN 13: 9781118656419

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013

Synopsis

This highly original work introduces the ideas and arguments of the ancient Chinese philosophies of Confucianism and Daoism to some of the most intractable social issues of modern American life, including abortion, gay marriage, and assisted suicide.

• Introduces the precepts of ancient Chinese philosophers to issues they could not have anticipated
• Relates Daoist and Confucian ideas to problems across the arc of modern human life, from birth to death
• Provides general readers with a fascinating introduction to Chinese philosophy, and its continued relevance
• Offers a fresh perspective on highly controversial American debates, including abortion, stem cell research, and assisted suicide

About this title

About the Author

Sam Crane is Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Williams College, USA. Conversant in Mandarin, which he began learning while researching his doctoral thesis in the 1980s, he first visited China in 1983, and is a former faculty member of the John Hopkins academic campus in Nanjing. Author of The Political Economy of China’s Special Economic Zones (1990), The Theoretical Evolution of International Political Economy (1991), and the highly personal Aidan’s Way: The Story of a Boy’s Life and a Father’s Journey (2003), about life with his profoundly disabled son, Crane has long been fascinated by ancient Chinese philosophy, particularly the classical texts of the pre-imperial era.

From the Back Cover

This highly original work shows how the ancient principles of Confucianism and Daoism can be applied to the manifold social problems facing contemporary America. Drawing on the wisdom of China’s great traditions of humaneness, duty, integrity and non-action, the author links the ideas of Confucian and Daoist thinkers with a range of issues that trace the arc of human life.

Beginning with the controversies over abortion, in vitro fertilization, and stem cell research, Crane shows how Chinese philosophy can enhance our understanding of the problems of human experience, adapting them to American mores on childhood, parenting, marriage, politics and public service, and death. Along the way, he considers what Confucius and Zhuangzi, among others, might have to say about matters absent from the ancient Chinese political agenda, such as gay marriage and assisted suicide. This revealing commentary on contemporary American life offers a fresh perspective on the nation’s familiar political debates, introduces classical Chinese texts to a new readership, and shows today’s Chinese citizens how their traditions are perceived across the Pacific dateline.

From the Inside Flap

This highly original work shows how the ancient principles of Confucianism and Daoism can be applied to the manifold social problems facing contemporary America. Drawing on the wisdom of China’s great traditions of humaneness, duty, integrity and non-action, the author links the ideas of Confucian and Daoist thinkers with a range of issues that trace the arc of human life.

Beginning with the controversies over abortion, in vitro fertilization, and stem cell research, Crane shows how Chinese philosophy can enhance our understanding of the problems of human experience, adapting them to American mores on childhood, parenting, marriage, politics and public service, and death. Along the way, he considers what Confucius and Zhuangzi, among others, might have to say about matters absent from the ancient Chinese political agenda, such as gay marriage and assisted suicide. This revealing commentary on contemporary American life offers a fresh perspective on the nation’s familiar political debates, introduces classical Chinese texts to a new readership, and shows today’s Chinese citizens how their traditions are perceived across the Pacific dateline.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1118656415
• ISBN 13: 9781118656419
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 213