Doing Philosophy Comparatively

by Tim Connolly

Critics have argued that comparative philosophy is inherently flawed or even impossible. What standards can we use to describe and evaluate different cultures' philosophies? How do we avoid projecting our own ways of thinking onto others? Can we overcome the vast divergences in history, language, and ways of organizing reality that we find in China, India, Africa, and the West? Doing Philosophy Comparatively is the first comprehensive introduction to the foundations, problems, and methods of comparative philosophy. It is divided into three A wide-ranging examination of the basic concepts of comparative philosophy, including “philosophy”, “comparison”, “tradition”, and “culture” - A discussion of the central problems that arise in extending philosophy across cultural linguistic, justificatory, and evaluative incommensurability; projection and asymmetry; and the validity of cultural generalizations - A critical look at the dominant contemporary approaches to comparative philosophy.Presenting a basic tool-kit for doing philosophy at the cross-cultural level, this textbook draws on many examples from the past and present of comparative philosophy and engages readers in sustained reflection on how to think comparatively.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

243 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 12, 2015

Reviews

[Kamakana · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you like this review i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com

170217: this is a five not simply for textual reasons. yes it is very good, very wide ranging, introductory and thus easy to follow, and i imagine useful as a text for an undergraduate course. yes it is easy to read, concise, well organized, raises interesting questions- everything from universalism, pluralism, generalizing, constructive, cultural, linguistic problems, history, ethnocentrism, and so on... but the reason i value this work is mostly the 'philosophy' that it seems to embody. that is, that there is value, there is purpose, there is reason, to study all world philosophies, rather than just the tradition with which you are most familiar in your given culture...

in reading much fiction from other cultures, though limited to english translations, i have tried to garner a sense of humanity in all cultures, times, places, and also try to do this in philosophy. i have read much philosophy but mostly of 'western' sort, of that mostly 'continental', of that mostly 'phenomenology' (143), so going further afield is venturing from this tradition. at the moment i have been reading much 'indian' philosophy (48) deciding that when it equals what 'feminist' philosophy (46) read, i will read both, deciding myself well read only when such reading approaches 'french' philosophy (155)... which might be some time...

so, i have not needed encouragement to read other works of other philosophies, though i must admit not having read much england, us, or canada (except maybe intros by certain publishers). perhaps exoticism plays a role but mostly it is that i have no given, studied, rec, of work to read, so i have gone wherever seems interesting at the time. i have read all over. this book might be most useful to those readers who already read philosophy, but i rec this to anyone. i believe the entire world benefits when the entire world reads itself...

[Jacques Veldscholten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book in preparation for a thesis in which a comparison will be made between Stoicism and Taoism on the subject "living according to nature". I feel like this book has done its job in showing the potential dangers of cross-cultural comparisons, while also exploring different ways in which one can do comparative philosophy.

[Martine Berenpas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good overview of (a) what comparative philosophy is or should be/can be and (b) a good overview of the differents methods, their opportunities and challenges and (c) a good overview of the different strategies and aims that comparative philsophy can have. Indispensable book for the student in comparative philosophy!

[Jonaes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro nivel undergraduate donde se explican con sencillez las principales teorías metodológicas en filosofía comparada. Cumple su función. Eso sí, ahora estoy con Fundamentals of comparative and intercultural philosophy, de Ma y van Brakel, y ni punto de comparación el nivel de complejidad.

[Antoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good basis for anyone who wants to know about the main thoughts and debates in comparative philosophy.

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Once you've tasted Shafer-Landau, which was fantastic, you'll never want to go back to anything less, even if it was good. Connolly's book is good, it's very pleasant, but it just pales in comparison to Shafer-Landau! zzzzz. One subjective star, thank you...