Heaven and Earth Are Not Humane: The Problem of Evil in Classical Chinese Philosophy (World Philosophies) - Hardcover

Perkins, Franklin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 025301168X ISBN 13: 9780253011688

Publisher: Indiana University Press, 2014

Synopsis

That bad things happen to good people was as true in early China as it is today. Franklin Perkins uses this observation as the thread by which to trace the effort by Chinese thinkers of the Warring States Period (c.475-221 BCE), a time of great conflict and division, to seek reconciliation between humankind and the world. Perkins provides rich new readings of classical Chinese texts and reflects on their significance for Western philosophical discourse.

About this title

Review:

[This] is a genuine contribution to the field of Chinese philosophy. By engaging in a kind of 'rooted global philosophy, ' Franklin Perkins addresses issues inherent to early Chinese texts in a way that renders them meaningful for contemporary philosophers. Perkins facilitates a cross-cultural dialogue between those in early China and those concerned with the problem of evil in European history. In doing this, Perkins not only demonstrates a grasp of the major primary texts and the relevant secondary literature, but he also demonstrates a breadth of knowledge that extends into conemporary Chinese thought, as well as into recently unearthed Chinese manuscripts and countless figures in the Western philosophical tradition.--Frontiers of Philosophy in China

It is clear that the discussions in Heaven and Earth will have a major impact on scholarship in the field. While ostensibly about good and evil, its investigations traverse a range of areas including Chinese intellectual history, philosophy, ethics, philosophy of religion, philosophy of action, and political philosophy.--Dao: Journal of Comparative Philosophy

The problem of evil . . . is a stimulating and challenging philosophical issue from which one can develop an inspiring comparative analysis that can benefit both Western and Chinese philosophy. This is exactly what Perkins does in this book.--Philosophy East and West

[T]his book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of early Chinese philosophy.--Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

[This] book deserves to be read by students of Chinese philosophy . . . . 5.1 Jan. 2015--Heythrop Journal

[T]his is an outstanding book that no one who is seriously interested in classical Chinese thought can afford to ignore.

--Journal of Chinese Philosophy

About the Author:

Franklin Perkins is Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University. He is author of Leibniz and China: A Commerce of Light and Leibniz: A Guide for the Perplexed.

About this edition

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 025301168X
• ISBN 13: 9780253011688
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 328