Oriental Enlightenment: The Encounter Between Asian and Western Thought

by J.J. Clarke

Overview

What is the place of Eastern thought - Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Confucianism - in the Western intellectual tradition? Oriental Enlightenment shows how, despite current talk of 'globalization', there is still a reluctance to accept that the West could have borrowed anything of significance from the East, and explores a critique of the 'orientalist' view that we must regard any study of the East through the lens of Western colonialism and domination.
Oriental Enlightenment provides a lucid introduction to the fascination Eastern thought has exerted on Western minds since the Renaissance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134784738
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/11/2002
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	451 KB

About the Author

Clarke, J.J.

Table of Contents

Part I Introduction 1 Orientations: the issues 2 Orientalism: some conjectures Part II The making of the ‘Orient’ 3 China cult: the age of Enlightenment 4 Passage to India: the age of Romanticism 5 Buddhist passions: the nineteenth century Part III Orientalism in the twentieth century 6 East—West encounter in the twentieth century 7 Philosophical encounters 8 Religious dialogue 9 Psychological interpretations 10 Scientific and ecological speculations Part IV Conclusions 11 Reflections and reorientations 12 Orientalism and postmodernity

Editorial Reviews

Clarke (history of ideas, Kingston Univ., UK) notes that for hundreds of years the West has sought out the tradition of the East's philosophies. The search has been one-sided, however; the East generally has not reached out to the West for philosophical ideas. Further, despite a so-called shrinking globe, the West is still reluctant to acknowledge that it may have borrowed anything of significance from the East. So why does the West remain fascinated with the East? One insightful observation by Clarke: "It is Europe's collective day-dream, symptomatic of a certain weariness that from time to time bests European culture." Clarke here offers a solid academic survey of how ideas from India, China, and Japan have been drawn into the West's thinking since at least the 17th century. Thoughtful but scholarly; recommended for academic libraries.Dennis L. Noble, Sequim, Wash.

Library Journal

'an invaluable and illuminating book'

'sane and judicious comments'

From the Publisher