Metaphorical Metaphysics in Chinese Philosophy: Illustrated with Feng Youlan's New Metaphysics

by Derong Chen

Overview

In Metaphorical Metaphysics in Chinese Philosophy: Illustrated with Feng Youlan’s New Metaphysics, Derong Chen explores Chinese philosophy through a comprehensive study and critical analysis of Feng Youlan’s new metaphysics, proposing a systematic analysis of meaning that differs from the approach of the comparative linguistic analysis that A.C. Graham and Chad Hasen employed in their studies of Chinese philosophy. This detailed analysis of Feng Youlan’s new metaphysics demonstrates that Feng’s system is not the completely Westernized philosophical system many scholars identify it as, nor is it the pure logical and analytical system Feng himself intended to construct. Rather, the essence and characteristics of the new metaphysics at the core of Feng’s philosophical system expose his philosophy as a continuation of the Chinese philosophical tradition in a new era. This approach is most applicable to scholars of comparative philosophy and of any era of Chinese philosophy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739166727
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	08/16/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	268
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Derong Chen is sessional lecturer II in Chinese at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction
Part 2 Chapter 1. Linguistic Approaches vs. Metaphorical Metaphysics
Chapter 3 Approaches to Chinese Philosophy
Chapter 4 Systematic Linguistic Approach
Chapter 5 Metaphorical Metaphysics
Part 6 Chapter 2. Abstract Categories: Feng Youlan's Zhenji and Shiji
Chapter 7 The Theory of the Realm of Truth
Chapter 8 The Essence and Rationality of Zhenji
Chapter 9 An Alternative Vision of the Realm of Truth
Part 10 Chapter 3. Metaphorical Metaphysical Categories: Feng's Li and Qi
Chapter 11 The Metaphorical Metaphysical Category: Qi
Chapter 12 The Metaphorical Metaphysical Category: Li
Part 13 Chapter 4. Metaphorical Metaphysical Propositions: Feng Youlan's Zai and Liu
Chapter 14 The Embodiment of Dao as a Process of Change
Chapter 15 Aggregate Being vs. Great Totality
Part 16 Chapter 5. Metaphorical Metaphysical Ideas in Ethics: Feng Youlan's Theory of Four Realms of Life
Chapter 17 The Metaphysical Foundation of the Five Confucian Virtues
Chapter 18 The Li of Society: Metaphysical Grounds of Morality
Chapter 19 My Proposal: The Human Realm
Part 20 Summary and Conclusions

What People are Saying About This

Stephen C. Angle

Philosophers outside China are only beginning to realize that twentieth-century China was the scene of significant and creative cross-tradition philosophical endeavors. The work of these Chinese thinkers to critically develop Chinese philosophical thinking in the light of challenges from Western philosophy may in fact serve as a model for our own century, when philosophies both East and West need to attend to one another if they are to continue to grow. Derong Chen's impressive study of Feng Youlan (1895-1990)'s metaphysics is thus extremely timely. In addition to being a thorough and well-grounded interpretation of Feng's metaphysical doctrines, Chen's book offers two additional features: Chen's own critical, constructive developments of Feng's metaphysical thinking are very substantial, and Chen develops a large-scale interpretive frame ('metaphorical metaphysics') that applies to Chinese philosophy quite generally. For all those interested in metaphysics or in understanding that Chinese philosophy is a live, contemporary enterprise, I recommend the book highly.

From the Publisher

"While Feng Youlan is among the most studied of contemporary Chinese philosophers, Derong Chen's Metaphorical Metaphysics in Chinese Philosophy: Illustrated with Feng Youlan's New Metaphysics breaks new ground by seeing Feng's metaphysics as metaphorical. As it examines Feng in the context of Chinese philosophy, this book is a must read not only for those who are interested in Feng and contemporary Chinese philosophy, but also for those who are interested in Chinese philosophy in general—which itself, as Chen claims, is metaphorical."—Yong Huang, Kutztown University

Editorial Reviews

Philosophers outside China are only beginning to realize that twentieth-century China was the scene of significant and creative cross-tradition philosophical endeavors. The work of these Chinese thinkers to critically develop Chinese philosophical thinking in the light of challenges from Western philosophy may in fact serve as a model for our own century, when philosophies both East and West need to attend to one another if they are to continue to grow. Derong Chen's impressive study of Feng Youlan (1895-1990)'s metaphysics is thus extremely timely. In addition to being a thorough and well-grounded interpretation of Feng's metaphysical doctrines, Chen's book offers two additional features: Chen's own critical, constructive developments of Feng's metaphysical thinking are very substantial, and Chen develops a large-scale interpretive frame ('metaphorical metaphysics') that applies to Chinese philosophy quite generally. For all those interested in metaphysics or in understanding that Chinese philosophy is a live, contemporary enterprise, I recommend the book highly.

Stephen C. Angle