Humanism in Trans-civilizational Perspectives: Relational Subjectivity and Social Ethics in Classical Chinese Philosophy

This  book introduces into the current global ethics debate models of  humanism developed in classical Chinese traditions, which have not yet  been comprehensively presented to Western scholarship or integrated into  the framework of global discourses on social ethics and morality. It  creates new paradigms for an understanding of humanism that meets the  demands of our time. It begins by presenting European descriptions and  critical assessments of this discourse, and then moves to an exploration  of humanistic ideas shaped through historical developments in Asia,  with a focus on the Chinese tradition. In this sense, the book is  written from a transcivilizational perspective. The methods used in the  research transcend---that is, surpass and overcome---the rigid,  isolating, and essentialist concept of civilization. At the same time,  the book points to the possibility of transformation through the  exchange of knowledge and ideas between different civilizations. Within  this framework, the book starts from the assumption that the ontology of  civilizations and cultures is not based on immutable substances, but on  the relations between different factors that constitute them as  categories. The transcivilizational perspective rooted in transcultural  dialogues between philosophies that originated in different cultures and  civilizations is particularly valuable because of the globalized world  in which we live today. This means that the problems that affect people  in different parts of the world and the issues that are embedded in  different geopolitical and developmental frameworks also affect all of  humanity. 

This book is of particular interest to scholars and students of global ethics, globalization, Asian philosophy and Sinology.