While the enormous influence of Martin Heidegger's thought in Japan and China is well documented, the influence on him from East-Asian sources is much lesser known. This remarkable study shows that Heidegger drew some of the major themes of his philosophy--on occasion almost word for word--from German translations of Chinese Daoist and Zen Buddhist classics.

_Heidegger's Hidden Sources_ documents for the first time Heidegger's remarkable debt to East Asian philosophy. In this groundbreaking study, Reinhard May shows conclusively that Martin Heidegger borrowed some of the major ideas of his philosophy - on occasion almost word for word - from German translations of Chinese Daoist and Zen Buddhist classics. The discovery of this astonishing appropriation of non-Western sources will have important consequences for future interpretations of Heidegger's work. Moreover, it shows Heidegger as a pioneer of comparative (...) philosophy and transcultural thinking. (shrink)

_Heidegger's Hidden Sources_ documents for the first time Heidegger's remarkable debt to East Asian philosophy. In this groundbreaking study, Reinhard May shows conclusively that Martin Heidegger borrowed some of the major ideas of his philosophy - on occasion almost word for word - from German translations of Chinese Daoist and Zen Buddhist classics. The discovery of this astonishing appropriation of non-Western sources will have important consequences for future interpretations of Heidegger's work. Moreover, it shows Heidegger as a pioneer of comparative (...) philosophy and transcultural thinking. (shrink)

English summary: Was the moral philosophy of David Hume shaped by Chinese and Confucian influence? What evidence is there to support this, at the first view, bold thesis? Reinhard May first searches through his evidence for information relevant to the significance of Chinese thought in European philosophy from the end of the 16th to about the mid- 18th century. Hume also stood in this intellectual tradition, as countless of his references to China and Confucius show. Subsequently the core philosophical content (...) of Hume's early moral philosophical writings is compared with the Chinese body of thought in the form of the early version of the Mencius. The corresponding congruence of the moral philosophical positions of both is made graphically clear. The work of Reinhard May provides impressive clues for his initial suspicion: the moral philosophy of David Hume is based on substantial agreements with Chinese thought. The study of Hume is essentially enriched by this new thematic material. German description: Wurde die Moralphilosophie David Humes durch chinesische und confucianistische Einfluesse gepragt? Welche Hinweise sprechen fuer diese auf den ersten Blick recht gewagte These?Reinhard May sichtet in seinem Indizienbeweis zunachst die einschlagigen Informationen zu der Wirkungsmachtigkeit chinesischen Denkens in der europaischen Philosophie vom Ende des 16. bis um die Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts. Auch Hume steht in dieser Denktradition, wie zahlreiche seiner Bezugnahmen auf China und Confucius zeigen.En detail wird anschliessend der philosophische Kerngehalt der fruehen moralphilosophischen Schriften Humes chinesischem Gedankengut in Form der fruehen Mengzi-Versionen gegenueber gestellt. Die sinngemasse Ubereinstimmung beider moralphilosophischer Positionen wird plastisch sichtbar gemacht.Die Arbeit von Reinhard May liefert so eindrueckliche Anhaltspunkte fuer seinen Anfangsverdacht: die Moralphilosophie David Humes basiert auf massgeblichen Ubereinstimmungen mit chinesischem Gedankengut. Die Hume-Forschung wird damit ganz wesentlich um einen neuen Themenkomplex bereichert. (shrink)