Family and Filiality: An Intercultural Perspective

by Xianglong Zhang, Kevin J. Turner (Translator)

Overview

Compares Chinese and Western perspectives on the family.

This book is a timely contribution to the growing field of the philosophy of the family. Drawing on a lifetime of research in Western and Chinese philosophy, Zhang Xianglong adopts a comparative perspective to navigate between Greek philosophy, phenomenology, and Confucianism to explore such topics as the nature of the family, filiality, human nature, temporality, memory, incest taboos, the future of Confucianism, and popular literature. He weaves his vast intercultural knowledge and understanding into penetrating philosophical, social, literary, and anthropological insights that reveal the strengths and weaknesses of Western and Chinese conceptions of the family. This book is a paradigm of comparative philosophy and demonstrates the value of the Chinese intellectual tradition for modern philosophy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798855802184
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	06/01/2025
Series:	SUNY series, Translating China
Pages:	211
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Zhang Xianglong张祥龙(1949–2022) dedicated his career to the intercultural dialogue between Chinese and Western philosophy. His previous books include Heidegger's Thought and Chinese Dao of Heaven《海德格尔思想与中国天道and From Phenomenology to Confucius《从现象学到孔夫子》. Kevin J. Turner is Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Hong Kong Baptist University. He is the translator of Excavated Texts and a New Portrait of the Early Confucians by Wang Zhongjiang.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Between Confucianism's "Treating Family Affectionately" and Kierkegaard's "Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac"

2. Is Human Nature Related to the Family and the Way of Filial Reverence? Critiquing the New Culture Movement on the Family

3. Anthropology and the Temporality of the Way of Filial Reverence

4. Imagination and Historical Memory: The Stratification of Internal Time Consciousness

5. Incest Taboos and the Way of Filial Reverence

6. Incest and Plato's Republic

7. Who Should Care for the Elderly?

8. Parents, Children, and the Confucian Classics

9. Toward a Confucian Special Zone by Way of an Intercultural Dialogue with the Amish

10. Can Confucianism Accept a Matriarchal Family? Learning from the Matriarchal Mosuo of Southwestern China

11. Family Relations and the Way of Filial Reverence in Harry Potter

Notes
Works Cited
Index

Editorial Reviews

"As a stimulating thinker, Zhang Xianglong looks to the family, believing it to be capable, in its own right, of revealing the nature of human beings and the social foundation for human flourishing. His engaging and insightful analyses combine empirical evidence and sophisticated philosophical arguments inspired by both Confucian and Western philosophers. This translation is a must-read for anyone concerned with the family and society, and especially for those interested in the cross-cultural dialogue on these issues." — Wang Jue, Xi'an Jiaotong University

From the Publisher