A new interpretation of the Confucian classic, the Mencius, based on both traditional sources and newly discovered documents.
Using current research from traditional sources and newly unearthed documents dating from the Warring States period (403-221 B.C.E.), Mencius on Becoming Human offers a timely interpretation of a central text in the Confucian canon. The author carefully reconstructs the philosophical assumptions that underwrite the teachings of the Mencius, returning the text to its native intellectual world. The result is a compelling new reading of an ancient classic, one that is both sensitive to the details of historical context and contemporary in its philosophical implications.
James Behuniak Jr. argues that the notion of an essential, ahistorical "human nature" is not part of the process of "becoming human" outlined in the Mencius. Rather, becoming human is described as a process of developing a qualitatively "human" disposition within specific cultural and historical conditions as these are understood within a Warring States cosmology. The central themes of the Menciusthe importance of family, moral development, and human advancementare each discussed within this reconstructed framework.
| ISBN: | 9780791462294 |
| Publication date: | 11th November 2004 |
| Author: | James Behuniak |
| Publisher: | SUNY Press an imprint of State University of New York Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 186 pages |
| Series: | SUNY Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture |
| Genres: |
East Asian religions Confucianism East Asian and Indian philosophy |
A new interpretation of the Confucian classic, the Mencius, based on both traditional sources and newly discovered documents.
Using current research from traditional sources and newly unearthed documents dating from the Warring States period (403-221 B.C.E.), Mencius on Becoming Human offers a timely interpretation of a central text in the Confucian canon. The author carefully reconstructs the philosophical assumptions that underwrite the teachings of the Mencius, returning the text to its native intellectual world. The result is a compelling new reading of an ancient classic, one that is both sensitive to the details of historical context and contemporary in its philosophical implications.
James Behuniak Jr. argues that the notion of an essential, ahistorical "human nature" is not part of the process of "becoming human" outlined in the Mencius. Rather, becoming human is described as a process of developing a qualitatively "human" disposition within specific cultural and historical conditions as these are understood within a Warring States cosmology. The central themes of the Menciusthe importance of family, moral development, and human advancementare each discussed within this reconstructed framework.
Mencius on Becoming Human features in the following genres: East Asian religions, Confucianism, East Asian and Indian philosophy
Mencius on Becoming Human is available in Hardback
Mencius on Becoming Human was written by James Behuniak and published by SUNY Press an imprint of State University of New York Press
Mencius on Becoming Human has 186 pages
Yes it is part of SUNY Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture series