Metaphorical Metaphysics in Chinese Philosophy
Illustrated with Feng Youlan's New Metaphysics
By (author) Derong Chen
Not available to order
Publication date:
16 August 2011Length of book:
268 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9780739166727
In Metaphorical Metaphysics in Chinese Philosophy: Illustrated with Feng Youlan's New Metaphysics, Derong Chen examines Chinese philosophy through a critical analysis of Feng Youlan's nnew metaphysics. He views metaphysics in Chinese philosophy as a metaphorical metaphysics separate from Western metaphysics. In examining the historical influences and contemporary reaction to Feng's work, he identify's Feng's system as the continuation of the Chinese philosophical tradition. This approach is most applicable to scholars of comparative philosophy and Chinese philosophy.
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.