Oriental Enlightenment: The Encounter Between Asian and Western Thought / Edition 1

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:	9780415133760
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/17/1997
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

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Editorial Reviews

'an invaluable and illuminating book'

'sane and judicious comments'

From the Publisher

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.

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