The Ways of Confucianism: Investigations in Chinese Philosophy

ISBN: 081269340X

Author: Nivison, David S.

Condition: New

Confucianism is one of the world's most influential philosophical traditions, offering profound and challenging insights on human nature, virtue, ethical cultivation, and the foundations of civilization. In The Ways of Confucianism, David S. Nivison brings out the exciting variety within Confucian thought, as he interprets and elucidates key thinkers from over two thousand years, from Confucius himself, through Mencius and Xunzi, to such later Confucians as Wang Yangming, Dai Zhen, and Zhang Xuecheng.Professor Nivison, who retired from Stanford University in 1988, brings to bear a rare combination of skills in both sinology and Western philosophy. He wields the methodological tools of a classical philology and Anglo-American philosophy to weave a fascinating account of how Confucians have grappled with momentous human issues, how they have responded to their intellectual rivals, and how their thinking has evolved through the centuries.