This essay takes issue with two possible stances in comparative and intercultural philosophy. First, there is the idea of ascertaining a method or conditions of possibility before engaging in intercultural comparison. This amounts to contemplating a form prior to any content. Second, there is the idea that a plurality of given philosophical traditions exist that do not have to be held together by a notion of what philosophy is. This is equivalent to asserting a diversity of content (...) without giving it a form. In both cases, the disunity of form and content subverts comprehension of universality. After problematizing both stances, I will seek to retrieve a notion of universality, drawing from Hegel’s insights into the peculiar character of philosophy. For Hegel, philosophy has the character of life, which does not allow for the isolation of form or content. Philosophy thus conceived does not apply any methods but is its own method. (shrink)

Why did Greek philosophy begin in the sixth century BCE? Why did Indian philosophy begin at about the same time? Why did the earliest philosophy take the form that it did? Why was this form so similar in Greece and India? And how do we explain the differences between them? These questions can only be answered by locating the philosophical intellect within its entire societal context, ignoring neither ritual nor economy. The cities of Greece and northern India (...) were in this period distinctive also by virtue of being pervasively monetised. The metaphysics of both cultures is marked by the projection and the introjection of the abstract, all-pervasive, quasi-omnipotent, impersonal substance embodied in money. And in both cultures this development accompanied the interiorisation of the cosmic rite of passage. (shrink)

While the media and public opinion polls suggest that the state of business ethics is declining, surveys of corporate managers on the subject are less than conclusive. This study presents results of a survey of 487 adult, MBA, and undergraduate business students on the business philosophies of Machiavellianism, Darwinism, Objectivism, Relativism, and Universalism. The findings were consistent with earlier research which showed prospective managers to be less ethical than practicing ones and that women and those reporting a strong religious conviction (...) tend to be more ethical. Explanations and several recommendations for improving the situation are offered.If you saw Atlas... trying to hold the world aloft with the last of his strength, and the greater his effort the heavier the world bore down upon his shoulders — what would you tell him to do? (shrink)

Ethics education has become essential in modern engineering. Ethics education in engineering has been increasingly implemented worldwide. It can improve ethical behaviors in technology and engineering design under the guidance of the philosophy of technology. Hence, this study aims to compare China-US engineering ethics education in Sino-Western philosophies of technology by using literature studies, online surveys, observational researches, textual analyses, and comparative methods. In my original theoretical framework and model of input and output for education, six primary variables emerge (...) in the pedagogy: disciplinary statuses, educational goals, instructional contents, didactic models, teaching methods, and edificatory effects. I focus on the similarities and differences of engineering ethics educations between China and the US in Chinese and Western philosophies of technology. In the field of engineering, the US tends toward applied ethics training, whereas China inclines toward practical moral education. The US is the leader, particularly in the amount of money invested and engineering results. China has quickened its pace, focusing specifically on engineering labor input and output. Engineering ethics is a multiplayer game effected at various levels among lower level technicians and engineers, engineering associations, and stockholders; middle ranking engineering ethics education, the ministry of education, the academy of engineering, and the philosophy of technology; and top national and international technological policies. I propose that professional engineering ethics education can play many important roles in reforming engineering social responsibility by international cooperation in societies that are becoming increasingly reliant on engineered devices and systems. Significantly, my proposals contribute to improving engineering ethics education and better-solving engineering ethics issues, thereby maximizing engineering sustainability. (shrink)

This article argues that the relationship between analytical philosophy and the philosophy of intellectual history is conceptually uneasy and even antagonistic once the general philosophical viewpoints, and some particular topics, of the two perspectives are drawn out and compared. The article critically compares the philosophies of Quentin Skinner and Mark Bevir with the philosophies of Ludwig Wittgenstein, J.L. Austin, W.V.O. Quine and Donald Davidson. Section I compares the way in which these two perspectives view the task of (...) class='Hi'>philosophy. Section II points to a critical difficulty in Bevir and Skinner’s use of analytical philosophy in their discussions on objectivity. In section III, another such critical juncture is identified in the topic of explanation. Finally, section IV suggests an interpretation for the character of the comparison. (shrink)

An introduction to comparative philosophy relates European and Oriental philosophies and brings to light such aspects of Eastern philosophy as intellectuality, reasoning, and logical analysis usually associated with Western thought.

The launching of philosophical pursuits undertaken in an East-West trajectory at the first East-West Philosophers’ Conference in 1939 represents a turning point in philosophy. However, as groundbreaking as this approach was, it left out all philosophical cultures that did not fit the initial framework. Islamic philosophy, being viewed as neither Western nor Eastern (Asian), was thus marginalized from the start. I introduce “Bricolage” – a method emphasizing curiosity, humility, and playfulness – as a more nuanced way of engaging (...) with diverse philosophical traditions. “Bricoleurs” are interculturalists who remain open to the use of different methodologies: they are “flâneurs” walking through diverse philosophical landscapes for sheer intellectual pleasure. (shrink)

Cross-cultural comparisons face several methodological challenges. In an attempt at resolving some such challenges, Nathan Sivin has developed the framework of “cultural manifolds.” This framework includes all the pertinent dimensions of a complex phenomenon and the interactions that make all of these aspects into a single whole. In engaging with this framework, Anna Akasoy illustrates that the phenomena used in comparative approaches to cultural and intellectual history need to be subjected to a continuous change of perspectives. Writing about comparative history, (...) Warwick Anderson directs attention to an articulation between synchronic and diachronic modes of inquiry. In addition, he asks: If comparative studies require a number of collaborators, how does one coordinate the various contributors? And how does one ensure that the comparison is between separate entities, without mutual historical entanglement? Finally, how does comparative history stack up against more dynamic approaches, such as connected, transnational, and postcolonial histories? Gérard Colas, for his part, claims that comparisons cannot allow one to move away from the dominant Euroamerican conceptual framework. Should this indeed be the case, we should search for better ways of facilitating a “mutual pollination” between philosophies. Finally, Edmond Eh first asserts that Sivin fails to recognize the difference between comparisons within cultures and comparisons between cultures. He then argues that the application of generalism is limited to comparisons of historical nature. (shrink)

The founders of reformational philosophy, H. Dooyeweerd and D.H.Th. Vollenhoven, each published in short succession, viz. 1949 and 1950, a voluminous study in the history of philosophy. Whoever reads both works is struck by the remarkable differences in treatment. In this contribution these differences are analysed, but there is also indication of agreement. The article ends with a number of conclusions based on the analysis.

In recent years a number of works have explored the similarities and differences between Western philosophy and Confucianism. While works that compare the thought of Confucius and Western philosophy are diverse, they share the view that comparative study is worthwhile and seek to address in various ways some of the common challenges that comparative studies face. In light of this body of work, this chapter examines different answers to the question of why comparative philosophy is worthwhile, and (...) highlights three different kinds of challenges that frequently arise in comparative philosophy. (shrink)

This book attempts to answer two questions: Are alternatives for choice ever incomparable? and In what ways can items be compared? The arguments offered suggest that alternatives for choice no matter how different are never incomparable, and that the ways in which items can be compared are richer and more varied than commonly supposed.

In this paper, I give examples of the similarities in thought which I have found in the works of philosophers and thinkers of ancient Greece and ancient India. Being a comparative philosopher, I have worked with both traditions for many years. In fact, the more I do research in both traditions, the more similarities I have found in various views or perspectives, beliefs and values.After briefly explaining some of the similarities, I argue that an ongoing exploration and comparison of (...) these two great traditions can help humans to understand the origins of knowledge, especially philosophical knowledge, and that because the study involves both Western and non-Western traditions, it will require comparative philosophers to undertake the study. Furthermore, since the study will involve research concerning the two cultures, anthropologists, linguists, and some historians will also be needed in this undertaking. (shrink)

This book attempts to answer two questions: Are alternatives for choice ever incomparable? and In what ways can items be compared? The arguments offered suggest that alternatives for choice no matter how different are never incomparable, and that the ways in which items can be compared are richer and more varied than commonly supposed.

A personal journey in and through comparison -- To what can I compare thee -- History -- Possibilities -- Context -- Future.

Advocates of cladistic parsimony methods have invoked the philosophy of Karl Popper in an attempt to argue for the superiority of those methods over phylogenetic methods based on Ronald Fisher's statistical principle of likelihood. We argue that the concept of likelihood in general, and its application to problems of phylogenetic inference in particular, are highly compatible with Popper's philosophy. Examination of Popper's writings reveals that his concept of corroboration is, in fact, based on likelihood. Moreover, because probabilistic assumptions (...) are necessary for calculating the probabilities that define Popper's corroboration, likelihood methods of phylogenetic inference—with their explicit probabilistic basis—are easily reconciled with his concept. In contrast, cladistic parsimony methods, at least as described by certain advocates of those methods, are less easily reconciled with Popper's concept of corroboration. If those methods are interpreted as lacking probabilistic assumptions, then they are incompatible with corroboration. Conversely, if parsimony methods are to be considered compatible with corroboration, then they must be interpreted as carrying implicit probabilistic assumptions. Thus, the non-probabilistic interpretation of cladistic parsimony favored by some advocates of those methods is contradicted by an attempt by the same authors to justify parsimony methods in terms of Popper's concept of corroboration. In addition to being compatible with Popperian corroboration, the likelihood approach to phylogenetic inference permits researchers to test the assumptions of their analytical methods (models) in a way that is consistent with Popper's ideas about the provisional nature of background knowledge. (shrink)

The concept of legitimacy is at the heart of the theory of power. It is essential to understand how a political power is built and how obedience is obtained among the population. We examine here the legitimacy of power for two of the most important political philosophies of classical China: Confucianism and Legalism. We show how a specific group of the population, the scholar-officials, play a specialised role in the two systems, acting as a legitimisation group. We further compare rites (...) and laws as a way to obtain social order, and morality vs punishments as a way to obtain obedience. We conclude that the Confucianist system is less fragile than the Legalist, but also more oppressive, since it allows fewer personal choices to individuals. (shrink)

First published in 1967, Polish Analytical Philosophy presents the first comprehensive study of Polish analytical philosophy that has been written in Polish or English, traces the origin of the Polish analytical movement, it's development in the period between the World Wars, and its decline after the Second World War. The book shows that although inspired by the British movement and in close touch with the Vienna circle, Polish philosophy acquired its own distinctive character. Analytical philosophy in (...) Poland was actively engaged in logic and language but tended rather to be interested in constructing philosophical doctrines which attempted to resolve traditional problems of ontology and epistemology. The author contrasts leading representatives of analytical philosophy in Britain and in Poland, and his study will be a valuable addition to the literature of the analytical trend in Europe. (shrink)

Having constituted a new epoch in human history and a new religiouspolitical order, the revealed religions challenged the tradition of Greek philosophy to adjust to, investigate, and make intelligible a religiouspolitical order based on prophecy, revelation, and the divine law. The challenge led certain Arab and Muslim philosophers to reassess the relative distance between the thought of the Greek masters, and the doctrines propagated by the revealed religions, and to make use of such works as Plato's Republic and Laws, (...) rather than Aristotle's Politics, when offering a philosophic account of the new religious–political phenomenon and of such new disciplines as the science of the divine law and the science of revealed theology. Les religions révélées, en inaugurant une ère nouvelle dans l'histoire humaine et un nouvel ordre “religio-politique”, ont constitué un défi pour la tradition de la philosophie grecque. Celle-ci devait s'adapter a un ordre religio-politique fondé sur la prophétie, la révélation et la loi divine, en faire un objet d'investigation et le rendre intelligible. Ce défi conduisit certains philosophes arabes et musulmans à réévaluer la distance qui sépare la pensée des maîtres grecs des doctrines propagées par les religions révelées. Il les conduisit aussi à faire usage d'oeuvres telles que la République et les Lois de Platon, plutôt que la Politique d'Aristote dans leur effort de rendre compte philosophiquement du phénomène religio-politique nouveau et des nouvelles disciplines telles que la science de la loi divine et la science de la théologie révélée. (shrink)

This paper examines the effects of moral philosophy and ethnocentrism on quality of life orientation in international marketing. It also provides a cross-cultural comparison of ethical values between Koreans and Americans. International quality-of-life (IQOL) orientation refers to marketers' disposition to make decisions to enhance the well-being of consumers in foreign markets while preserving the well-being of other stakeholders. It is hypothesized that marketers' moral philosophy and ethnocentrism influence the development of marketers' IQOL. Specifically, the higher the IQOL (...) orientation of international managers, the higher their moral idealism, the higher their moral relativism, and the lower their ethnocentrism. Also, it is hypothesized that American managers are likely to score higher on moral relativism but lower on moral idealism compared to their Korean counterparts. Also, Korean managers are expected to be more ethnocentric than American managers. Data were collected from business professionals who enrolled in professional MBA courses both from the U.S. and Korea. The results provided support for the hypothesized relationships. Managerial implications of these relationships are discussed. (shrink)

이 글은 정인보와 슐라이어마허가 의식과 존재에 대한 매우 유사한 관점을 지니고 있음을 드러내려는 취지로 작성되었다. 양자 모두 현상학적 성찰에서 출발한다는 뜻이다. 이 글의 논지는 다음과 같이 요약된다.BR 1. 정인보와 슐라이어마허는 현상학적 태도를 공유한다. 즉, 양자는 상습적인, 통상 당연한 것으로 여겨지는 이해의 방식들을 괄호치기한다.BR 2. 정인보와 슐라이어마허는 의식을 세계와 외적 대립의 관계를 형성하는 것으로 간주하지 않는다. 양자에게 우리의 의식과 세계 사이에는 객관적으로 실증될 수 있는 어떤 거리도 없다. 즉, 순수하게 내부적인 의식은 존재하지 않는다.BR 3. 정인보와 슐라이어마허는 일종의 지각현상학을 공유하는 바, 세계의 (...) 존재자들은 능동적 주체로서의 우리에 의해 지각되는 정적 객체들이 아니라는 성찰이 그 근본 출발점이다. 양자에 따르면 우리가 그 무엇을 지각하는 순간은 우리가 지각된 존재자들과 언제나 이미 감각적으로-정서적으로 통하여 함께 상응하게 되었다는 것을 알린다. 이것은 우리의 존재가 세계의 존재자들과 외적 대립의 관계를 형성하는 능동적 주체로서의 존재가 아니라는 것을 뜻한다. 양자의 관점에서 보면 우리는 세계와의 근본적 통일성인 그 자신의 존재에 반응하는 행위자로서 규정되어야 한다. (shrink)

본 글의 목적은 후설의 초월론적 현상학의 적극적 의미를 해명하는 것이다. 이를 위해 글은 초월철학에 대한 칸트와 후설의 논의를 비교-분석하는 작업을 한다. 두 철학자에게서 ‘초월성’이 어떤 방식으로 상이하게 구축되는지를 비교고찰 함으로써 이 글은 칸트의 철학이 직관과 사유의 주관형식으로부터 어떻게 경험을 가능하게 하는 지를 밝힐 것이며, 이와는 다르게 후설은 초월론적 현상학을 어떤 방식으로 이끌어 가는지를 선보일 것이다. 이러한 논의 진행에 따라 논문은 초월성을 해명하는 것에 있어 칸트와 후설의 다섯 가지 차이점을 이야기할 것이다. 그 다섯 가지 차이점을 정리하면 다음과 같다. 첫째, 칸트의 초월철학은 (...) 보편타당한 인식 수립을 위해 ‘선험적 형식이라는 필연적 조건들을 발견’하고 그 가능성들을 해명하는 작업으로 이루어지나, 후설의 초월철학은 ‘초월론적 환원’과 함께 직관을 통한 사태의 본질규명으로 수립된다. 둘째, 칸트의 초월성은 ‘가능한 경험이라는 감각적 자료’를 인식의 대상으로 설정함으로써 초월성을 전개하지만, 후설은 환원을 통한 ‘의식의 상관자로 있는 모든 것’을 인식의 대상으로 수립함으로써 초월성을 수립한다. 셋째, 칸트에게 가능한 경험이라는 감각질료는 ‘잡다한 자료’로 주어지는 것이지만, 후설에게 질료는 ‘문화와 역사성을 띠는 것으로서 지평 속에서 이해되는 것’이다. 넷째, 초월성을 구성하는 데에 있어 칸트의 시간은 ‘직관의 형식’으로 이해되나 후설에게는 ‘의식의 흐름 그 자체’로 이해된다. 다섯째, 칸트에게 자기동일성은 근본적으로 ‘형식적 통각’에서 발견된다면, 후설에게 통각은 ‘체험들의 복합’으로 이해된다. 논문은 고찰된 차이점들로부터 칸트와는 다르게 후설의 현상학이 ‘열려 있음’에 주목하는 철학임을 논증한다. (shrink)

이 연구는 바울기독교가 어떻게 플라톤적 이원론과 스토아의 결정론의 철학적 문제들을 다루고 있는지 탐구하는 방식으로 헬레니즘의 철학사의 관점에서 헬라철학과 바울기독교를 비교하는 글이다. 특히 이글은 바울의 기독교가 헬라철학과 유사성이 많다고 하는 스토워스(S. Stowers)의 창의적 논지를 전제로 평등과 자유를 조화시키는 사회적 정의의 정치적 철학적 문제들을 헬레니즘의 철학사의 관점에서 재기술하는데 중점을 두었다. 무엇보다 이 연구는 자유와 결정론에 관한 스토아 철학의 고전적인 철학적 문제의 본질을 부와 권력의 분배의 정치철학적 문제와 연관시켜서 고찰하게 될 것이다. 특히 이 연구는, 바울이 고린도 교회에서 종교적 분파를 야기시켰던 성윤리와 노예 소유의 (...) 신학적 쟁점에 관한 본문(고전 6-7장)과 스토아 철학과 견유학파의 본문(에픽테투스[Εpictetus]의 저작과 견유학자의 서신들)을 치밀하게 비교함으로써, 바울기독교가 어떻게 플라토니즘적 이원론과 자유와 결정론의 스토아 철학적인 딜레마를 극복할 수 있는 원시 기독교의 도덕적/윤리적 원칙 제시하게 되었는지 고찰하게 될 것이다. 결국 이러한 비교를 통해 나타나는 바울의 신학적 주장의 독창성은, 고린도전서의 6-7장의 본문이 사회적 평등의 새로운 신학적 비전과 윤리적 원칙을 제공할 뿐만 아니라, 플라톤적 이원론에 기초한 로마제국의 위계주의적 정치 이데올로기와 스토아의 개인주의적 자유에 기초한 제국주의적 윤리를 근원적으로 변혁시킬 수 있는 정치철학(신학)적 비전까지도 제안하고 있다는 것이다. (shrink)