François Jullien

On the Universal

The Uniform, the Common and Dialogue Between Cultures

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

François Jullien is a philosopher with a specialistknowledge of China and Chinese thought. He uses Chinese thought asa mirror to reflect on the West and as an invitation to think aboutdifference and otherness.
This book focuses on the idea of the universal and analysesdifferent ways of thinking about it.

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François Jullien, the leading philosopher and specialist inChinese thought, has always aimed at building on inter-culturalrelations between China and the West. In this new book he focuseson the following questions: Do universal values exist? Is dialoguebetween cultures possible?

To answer these questions, he retraces the history of the conceptof the universal from its invention as an aspect of Romancitizenship, through its neutralization in the Christian idea ofsalvation, to its present day manifestations. This raises thequestion of whether the search for the universal is a uniquelyWestern preoccupation: do other cultures, like China, even have anotion of the universal, and if so, how does it differ from ours?Having considered the meaning of the concept in the East and West,Jullien argues that, if communication between cultures is to bemeaningful, facile assumptions of universal values and complacentrelativism need to be examined. It follows, therefore, thatdialogue between cultures should not begin with issues of identityand difference, but rather by considering divergence and profusion.By no longer simply assuming universality, we allow for greaterself-reflection.

This wide-ranging and engaging study will be of particular interestto students and scholars of philosophy and of Chinese culture andsociety. It will also appeal to a wider readership interested incontemporary thought and the challenges of communication betweenEast and West.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Wiley & Sons
• 1. Auflage
• Seitenzahl: 228
• Erscheinungstermin: 8. Juli 2014
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 150mm x 23mm
• Gewicht: 431g
• ISBN-13: 9780745646220
• ISBN-10: 0745646220
• Artikelnr.: 40783403

Autorenporträt

François Jullien is professor at the Universit Paris-Diderot and a member of the Institut universitaire de France.

Inhaltsangabe

Foreword Itinerary I. On the Universal II. On the Uniform III. On the
Common IV. From the advent of the State to the cosmo-political extension of
the common V. The other level: the universal as a logical category of
philosophy VI. First encounter of the universal and the common: Roman
citizenship extended to the Empire VII. Paul and the matter of going beyond
all communitarianism in Christian universalism VIII. Does the question of
the universal arise in other cultures? IX. Are there universal notions? A
cultural universal having ideal status X. On Human rights - the notion of
universalising XI. If it is neither synthesis nor denominator nor
foundation, from where does the common arise? XII. On 'Cultures':
divergences of language - the resources of thought XIII. To construct the
dialogue between cultures to counter the surrounding uniformisation; human
self-reflection