In a world increasingly interconnected and fractious, cross-cultural dialogue about metaphysics matters more than ever. This essential resource introduces us to the multitude of ways philosophers make sense of things.
Drawing on China, Japan, the Indic world, Islamic and European thought as well as pre-colonial African and pre-Spanish Meso-American traditions, a team of leading philosophers and historians of ideas bring case studies, texts, themes and thinkers of very different thought worlds into conversation, including such topics as:
Spinoza and Wang Bi on substance and change
Kukai and Gregory Palamas on essence and energy
Phenomenological echoes in the metaphysics of a Tantric system
Sufi and Mayan reflection on the human role in constructing the cosmos
Senghor and African art as expression of an original philosophy.
On the basis of this exceptionally rich and diverse canvas, they reflect on questions of enduring human significance: What is suchness? What do we mean by being, becoming and beyond? What is personhood? How do we name and order our world? How should we live? Crossing cultures, languages and history, the authors’ inclusive approach liberates metaphysics and comparative philosophy from the constraints of traditional Western interpretation.
Edited by:
Stephen Green (Independent Scholar UK)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 250mm,
Width: 176mm,
Spine: 32mm
Weight: 880g
ISBN: 9781350402508
ISBN 10: 1350402508
Pages: 424
Publication Date: 01 May 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Part I: Doing Metaphysics in a Diverse and Connected World, Stephen Green Part II: Texts and Lore Introduction: Philosophising and Reading Texts from Another Culture, Alex Samely 1. Dao and the Way: a Comparative Perspective, Yao Xinzhong 2. Generative Harmony: Origins and Becoming in Confucian Metaphysics, Li Chenyang 3. The Problem of the Flying Arrow: Comparing Hui Shi and Zeno of Elea, Jana Rosker 4. Xunzi and Maimonides: Language, Metaphysics, Governance, Nicholas Bunnin 5. Metaphysics of Normative Values: Xunzi and Kantian Constructivism, Tang Siufu 6. Spinoza and Wang Bi: Metaphysics of Ethics, Nicholas Bunnin 7. Personhood in Indian Metaphysics: Touchpoints with Other Traditions, Gavin Flood 8. Metaphysics of an Indian Goddess Tradition and European Phenomenology, Gavin Flood 9. Brilliant Darkness: Apophatic Thinking in Early Christian and Indian Traditions, Ana-Maria Pascal and Diwakar Acharya 10. Overcoming Negative Theology: Kukai and Palamas on Essence and Energy, Ana-Maria Pascal and Paulus Kaufmann 11. God Without Power: Kenosis and Tsimtsum as Two Paradigms of Divine Self-Restriction, Agata Bielik-Robson 12. Philosophy and African Art: Leopold Senghor and the Philosophy of Emotion and Rhythm, Victor Emma-Adamah 13. The Divine Names: The Human Role in the Construction of the Cosmos in the Mayan Popol Vul and in Ibn-Arabi’s Fusus al-Hikam, Alexus McLeod 14. Philosophy as a Way of Life: Metaphysics, Ethics and Spiritual Exercises, Sajjad Rizvi Part III: Common Questions Introduction, Stephen Green 1. Practice, Alex Samely and Lucia Dolce 2. Suchness, Lucia Dolce 3. Beyond, Being, Becoming, Agata Bielek-Robson 4. Names, Naming, Unnamed, Unnameable, Nicholas Bunnin and Sajjad Rizvi 5. Persons, Selves and Metaphysics, Gavin Flood and Ana-Maria Pascal Part IV: Where Next?, Stephen Green Bibliography Index
Stephen Green is an Independent Scholar, UK.
Reviews for Doing Metaphysics in a Diverse World: How We Make Sense of Things Across Cultures
The collaborative product of discussions among philosophers and historians of ideas over several years, this volume is a rich treasury of comparative philosophy that amply testifies both to human beings’ shared ambitions to understand their world and themselves and to a striking diversity among their attempts to realise these ambitions. * David Cooper, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Durham University, UK * Doing Metaphysics in a Diverse World offers a wonderful cacophony of voices from different philosophical traditions. It draws on voices across time and place to help us make sense of our world now. Yet, it thoughtfully resists unifying them, instead embracing the complexities that make us human. * Karyn Lai, Professor of Philosophy, The University of New South Wales, Australia * The erudite, open-minded and thoughtful essays in this volume are a compelling read. They make the case for metaphysics as a way that people make sense of the world, and dialogue within and across different philosophical traditions as the best way to pursue that project. * Melissa Lane, Professor of Politics, Princeton University, USA *
