The Philosophical Challenge from China

Bruya's well-designed collection, which brings together many of the leading scholars in Chinese philosophy, offers a wide-ranging and persuasive account of how Chinese philosophy can be a resource for addressing current controversies in analytic philosophy. No other anthology can present a better showcase of the contemporary relevance and vitality of Chinese philosophy than this collection.

Joseph Chan, University of Hong Kong, author of Confucian Perfectionism: A Political Philosophy for Modern Times

Academic philosophy is gradually waking up from its dogmatic slumber and recognizing not only the existence of non-Western philosophical traditions, but also the fact that these traditions have very important things to say. This impressive volume explores the many dimensions of Chinese philosophy and how it bears on ancient philosophical questions, contemporary cognitive science, and contemporary political and ethical concerns. A must-read for anyone interested in philosophy in the twenty-first century.

Edward Slingerland, Professor of Asian Studies, Canada Research Chair, University of British Columbia

Bruya (Eastern Michigan Univ.) articulates his goal as fostering a relationship between analytic philosophy and Chinese philosophy. In this, he succeeds: the 13 solid essays have a good, coherent flow and make readers thirsty for more.

Choice

A fantastic collection of new articles that both question deeply held Western philosophical assumptions and bring Chinese insights to bear on contemporary Anglophone philosophy.

The philosophical challenge from China shows that Western philosophy can certainly be enriched and often challenged by Chinese thought. The quality of the papers ranges from good to excellent. Readers who expect general information about Chinese philosophers will be disappointed but this was never a goal of the book. The book can be of interest to philosophers in many subfields and to anyone who is open to non-Western ideas.

The Philosophical Challenge from China, edited by Brian Bruya, undoubtedly occupies an important place in the discourse about what practices and authorities are relevant to Philosophy as an academic discipline. Its confident reorientation of philosophical relevance in the context of Anglophone academics will hopefully speak meaningfully to any remaining skeptics of the usefulness of Chinese philosophy.

[P]resents a rich array of philosophical topics….Bruya has done a fine job of organizing the invited entries and making them connect with one another…Overall this book is very worth reading, and readers can draw differing inspiration from the rich ideas it introduces…This book will be very useful for scholars working in Chinese philosophy to learn the possible directions one can take.