Mary I. Bockover

Understanding the Chinese mind : the philosophical roots

These essays represent an attempt to understand the Chinese mind through its philosophy. The first volume of its kind, the collection demonstrates how Chinese philosophy can be understood in light of techniques and categories taken from Western philosophy. Eight philosophers, each of whom is a recognized authority in Western philosophy as well as in some area of Chinese philosophy, contribute chapters from perspectives that indicate the uniqueness of the Chinese way of thinking in categories adapted from Western philosophy. The book covers a wide range of topics including metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, logic, the history of philosophy, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind, and western parallels and non-parallels of philosophical development.

Embodied Moral Psychology and Confucian Philosophy by Bongrae Seok (review)

© 2016 by University of Hawai‘i Press Apart from these eighteen papers, there is a long and helpful Introduction and an Afterword consisting of an interesting imaginary dialogue between Daya Krishna and Ramchandra Gandhi from the editor Mayaram. Kapila Vatsyayana’s Prologue, with delightful vignettes of Daya Krishna and perceptive remarks about him and Ramchandra Gandhi, has been read with pleasure and profit by this reviewer. In a concise and incisive Foreword, Peter Ronald deSouza, the Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, underscores the larger significance of Daya Krishna and Ramchandra Gandhi beyond the field of philosophy by locating them in the postcolonial discourse. He lays more stress on svarāj than saṃvāda. Too often, dialogue in a scenario of asymmetric power relationships results only in reaffirming the existing hegemony rather than initiating a free exchange of ideas. In a volume developing out of a seminar some unevenness of quality is natural, and in this book there is also quite a bit of unevenness in the length of the articles. Its thematic profile would have gained sharper outlines if the focus was either exclusively on saṃvāda and svarāj or on Daya Krishna and Ramchandra Gandhi. Alternatively, it could have viewed the two philosophers exclusively in the light of saṃvāda and svarāj. In the present arrangement some amount of disconnect has developed between the two sets of themes in some articles. Some readers may find some of the contributions moving more toward adulation than neutral analysis or critique. But these are minor shortcomings, if they are shortcomings at all. The volume is important and deserves wide circulation. This review would be incomplete without mentioning the sketches of Daya Krishna and Ramchandra Gandhi on the back cover. Arindam Chakrabarti has beautifully captured Daya Krishna’s love for throwing out challenges; with his chest slightly pressed forward, hands on his waist, the sketch of Daya Krishna seems to be doing just that. Similarly, Ramchandra Gandhi’s contemplative, quizzical nature has come out very well in the sketch by Shankar Ramaswami.