Transcendence and Non-Naturalism in Early Chinese Thought

By Joshua R. Brown and Alexus McLeod

Book Overview

Contemporary scholars of Chinese philosophy often presuppose that early China possessed a naturalistic worldview, devoid of any non-natural concepts, such as transcendence. Challenging this presupposition head-on, Joshua R. Brown and Alexus McLeod argue that non-naturalism and transcendence have a robust and significant place in early Chinese thought.

This book reveals that non-naturalist positions can be found in early Chinese texts, in topics including conceptions of the divine, cosmogony, and apophatic philosophy. Moreover, by closely examining a range of early Chinese texts, and providing comparative readings of a number of Western texts and thinkers, the book offers a way of reading early Chinese Philosophy as consistent with the religious philosophy of the East and West, including the Abrahamic and the Brahmanistic religions.

Co-written by a philosopher and theologian, this book draws out unique insights into early Chinese thought, highlighting in particular new ways to consider a range of Chinese concepts, including tian, dao, li, and you/wu.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 135020403X
• ISBN13: 9781350204034
• Release Date: March 2022
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"