Late Classical Chinese Thought (The Oxford History of Philosophy)

Chris Fraser presents a rich and broad-ranging study of the culminating period of classical Chinese philosophy, the third century BC. He offers novel and informative perspectives on Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism, and other movements in early Chinese thought while also delving into neglected texts such as the Guanzi, Lu's Annals , and the Zhuangzi 'outer' chapters, restoring them to their prominent place in the history of philosophy. Fraser organizes the history of Chinese thought topically, devoting separate chapters to metaphysics and metaethics, political philosophy, ethics, moral psychology, epistemology, and philosophy of language and logic. Focused specifically on the last century of the Warring States era, arguably the most vibrant, diverse period of philosophical discourse in Chinese history, the discussion covers the shared concerns, rival doctrines, and competing criticisms presented in third-century BC sources. Fraser explicates the distinctive issues, conceptual frameworks, and background assumptions of classical Chinese thought. He aims to introduce the philosophical discourse of early China to a broad audience, including readers with no prior familiarity with the material. At the same time, the thematic treatment and incisive interpretations of individual texts will be of interest to students and specialists in the field. Cover Late Classical Chinese Thought Copyright Dedication Contents Preface Acknowledgements Chronology Abbreviations Citation Conventions Introduction Historical Background The Texts The Nature of Pre-HànPhilosophical Texts Consequences for Interpretation The Sources Chapter Overview 1: The Way Dào and Nature Dào as ‘Given’ by Nature Dào and People’s ‘Nature’ Dào as the ‘Source’ The Craft Conception of Dào Dào as a Cultural Construct Pragmatic Pluralism about Dào 2: The State Origin of the State Methods of Rule Xúnzı’š Perfectionism Legalism Impartiality and Standards Hánfēizı ̌and the ‘Two Handles’ Responses to Legalism The Self-SoCommunity 3: Ethics Xúnzı̌: Social Roles, Propriety, and Duty Alignment’, ‘Order’, and Perfectionism Critical Evaluation Role Ethics in the Guǎnzı ̌ Nurturing Life Fulfilling Our Nature Sòng Xíng and ‘Characteristic Desires’ Later Mohist Consequentialism A Tension between Care and Duty? Rejecting ‘Morality’ to Follow Dào Wandering in Dào and Virtue Interaction with Others 4: Ethical Cultivation Ethical Cultivation as a Social Project Primitivist ‘Uncultivation’ Lǚ’s Annals: Desire, Patterns, and Education Xúnzı:̌ Virtue through ‘Transformation’ The Debate over People’s Nature Nature, Desire, and the Heart Moral Cultivation in Xúnzı̌ The Dào of Stillness Psychology and Dào in the Zhuāngzı Dào, Skill, and Context Skill, ‘Forgetting’, and Contextual Dào Contextual Dào beyond Skill 5: Epistemology Knowledge and Doubt in the Later Mohist Dialectics Awareness, Knowledge, and Understanding Sources and Objects of Knowledge Doubt and Error Xúnzı ̌on Epistemic Expertise Knowledge Cognitive Error Dào and Epistemic Expertise Epistemic Virtue in the Annals ‘Understanding’ and Scepticism in Zhuāngzı Scepticism Change and Dreams Living with Scepticism 6: Language and Logic Correcting Names Names and ‘Parts’ Names and Social Order Xúnzı ̌on Correct Names Naming and the Natural Order A Zhuangist Critique Semantic Theory Later Mohist Semantics Xúnzı’š Semantics Logic and Argumentation The Later Mohists on Disputation Methods of Disputation in the ‘Lesser Selection’ Problems with the Methods Xúnzı̌ on Disputation Glossary For Further Reading Appendix: The Sources Index