Asian Philosophies

by John M. Koller

With an inside view from an expert in the field, solid scholarship, and a clear and engaging writing style, Asian Philosophies invites students and professors to think along with the great thinkers of the Asian traditions. John M. Koller is a scholar and teacher who has devoted his life to understanding Asian thought and practice. He wrote this text to give readers access to the rich philosophical and religious ideas of both South and East Asia.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Religion, History, Asia

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

Reviews

[Amy Do · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty comprehensive and informative overview of different schools of thoughts in Asia (focusing on India & China)

[Thamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

من أفضل وأهم الكتب المترجمة في موضوعها, الكاتب ليس مجرد ناقل بل عالم كبير بموضوع الكتاب والتحليل القوي والدقة والإجمال في الطرح تثير العجب

[Craine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a breath of fresh air after reading a quite poor book on Christian philosophy (see my review of "Christian Philosopy by Joseph M. de torre") as the book offers many explorations and insights into the major strands of Asian philosophies including Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. I think what stands out in the book is the seriousness in which the author engages with the different religious philosophies and it gave my a new perspective in terms of being better at comparing that of western Philosophy with Asian philosophies which again has a general tendency of being less compartmentalized, more prone to a mixture of subjects and often involving educational parables, metaphors to engage the reader. My favorite section was the section on both Chan and Zen buddhism which I found quite profound in its emphasis on experiential learning and reflections to be primary over religious texts. The motivation obliviously being on not necessarily focusing on becoming a better academic Buddhist, but on being a better human being.

(Note I don't like the star rating and as such I only rate books based upon one star or five stars corresponding to the in my opinion preferable rating system of thumbs up/down. This later rating system encourages in my opinion the degree to which the reader is likely to engage with a review instead of merely glancing at the number of stars)

[Mandee Rayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great starting point for anyone looking to learn more about Asian philosophies. It follows the timeline of how Hinduism began and traveled across Asia. It talks about Confucianism, Daoism, Zen, and many other Asian philosophies. It's a textbook, so it's not going to be as easy as reading an idiot's guide to this topic, but the author presents it in a very digestible way. I learned a lot and will be studying a few of these concepts further. It inspired me to obtain a minor in Philosophy, and it provides a lot of resources to do more digging at the end of each chapter. Awesome book, highly recommend.

[Cor · Rating 3 out of 5]

6th edition review:
Studied this textbook for a course on Asian philosophy. My professor had a fair bit of criticism on some of Koller's assertions. Such as some dated terminology (using British terms, "yinyang", etc) and dated historical assumptions (the portion on Islam + East Asian section). As an undergraduate student previously ignorant of Asian philosophy I found this to be a really interesting overview and very readable. I studied the portions of Indian philosophy and Japanese Philosophy very closely for my papers. We did not cover the chapter on Korea so I can't speak to that.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting concepts but written in a semi-convoluted way.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is essentially a survey, entirely secondary material (with occasional quotes from primary sources and annotated bibliographies at the end of each chapter), written with a fairly high degree of sophistication. It would be a useful supplemental text for a junior or senior level Asian philosophy course, or as a relatively fast review text for graduate exam preparation. It essentially breaks into three major sections, on non-Buddhist Indian philosophies, Buddhist philosophies, and Chinese philosophies. The arguments of various schools are presented in fine detail, and the authors avoid the somewhat condescending temptation of having to find Western isomorphisms for the deepest and most interesting insights of the various traditions. No substitute for primary sources, but a nice introduction for an already philosophically assiduous reader.

[Michael Venzke · Rating 2 out of 5]

book for class, written by professor.

many many many many many words. i think your time would be better spent on his sourcebook, reading primary source text.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good book for those who want a quick introduction to some very complex philosophies. I'd like to continue my studies by reading a few books that go more in-depth.

[Gnuehc Ecnerwal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overview of major branches and origins. Great starting point for selecting further readings. Original Title is Oriental Philosophies. (1970 edition, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York)