Neo-Confucian ecological humanism: an interpretive engagement with Wang Fuzhi (1619-1692)

Description

In this novel engagement with Ming Dynasty philosopher Wang Fuzhi (1619-1692), Nicholas S. Brasovan presents Wang's neo-Confucianism as an important theoretical resource for engaging with contemporary ecological humanism. Brasovan coins the term "person-in-the-world" to capture ecological humanism's fundamental premise that humans and nature are inextricably bound together, and argues that Wang's cosmology of energy (qi) gives us a rich conceptual vocabulary for understanding the continuity that exists between persons and the natural world. The book makes a significant contribution to English-language scholarship on Wang Fuzhi and to Chinese intellectual history, with new English translations of classical Chinese, Mandarin, and French texts in Chinese philosophy and culture. This innovative work of comparative philosophy not only presents a systematic and comprehensive interpretation of Wang's thought but also shows its relevance to contemporary discussions in the philosophy of ecology. Machine generated contents note: Thesis -- Interpretive Methodology -- Biographical Introduction to Wang Fuzhi -- Significance, Symbolism, and Strata of the Yijing -- Disambiguating Ecological Humanism -- Synopsis -- ch. 1 Natural Cosmology -- Creationism as Antithesis -- Tian qua Nature -- Neo-Confucian Terminology of Cosmic Creativity -- ch. 2 Complex Systems and Patterns of Energy -- A Perspective from Ecosystems Ecology -- Nature as Patterns of Energy -- From "Simple" to "Complex" Materialism -- ch. 3 Reading the Yijing from an Ecological Perspective -- Holistic Hermeneutics -- Cosmography of the Yijing -- Practical Knowledge through Comprehensive Observation -- ch. 4 Between Nature and Persons -- Humanizing Nature in Ecological Humanism -- Humanizing Nature in Chinese Philosophy -- Between Persons and Nature -- Wang Fuzhi's Critique of Orthodox and Heterodox Doctrines -- Mencius's Heart-and-Mind and the Human Experience -- ch. 5 Identifying Religiosity in Wang Fuzhi's Neo-Confucianism -- Ritual Propriety as Humanizing Nature -- Immanence of Persons-in-the-World -- Procreativity in the Yijing -- Experiencing the Sublime in Nature -- ch. 6 Conclusion -- Summarizing Reflections -- Application of a Theory.