Oriental Philosophy

by Stuart C. Hackett

Book Overview

This insightful explication of oriental philosophy meets a long felt need for a critical introduction to four systems of eastern thought--Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism--presented in familiar western terms.

Students of comparative religion, eastern philosophy and civilization, and the philosophy of religion who have been trained in traditional western modes of thought often find the intuitive and aphorisic quality of eastern writing a major stumbling block to understanding. This is eastern philosophy presented to westerners by a westerner, a practical and understandable guide for students and for others who wish to expand their understanding in this important area.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0299077942
• ISBN13: 9780299077945
• Release Date: June 1979
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Length: 252 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Good text for an overview of Eastern philosophy.

I teach NonWestern Philosophy at the college level. I found Hackett's book accurate and well organized. He addresses the core philosophical positions of the major schools of Eastern thought. Moreover, unlike most of the other books I have looked at on the subject, he provides a fairly indepth treatment of the arguments that the leading philosophers of these schools present for their position, along with a sensitive philosophical evaluation and critique of their philosophical views and arguments, something few books on the subject do. In addition, he does not get bogged down in the philosophical terminology of these schools, but instead wherever possible uses descriptive names from the Western philosophical tradition: e.g., he refers to the Yogacara school of Buddhism as the "idealist school," since what distinguished them from the other schools is that they held a variation of the philosophical view of idealism. Hackett also keeps from getting bogged down with details of the religious practices of these schools. The merit of this is that it keeps the philosophical issues in focus; the disadvantage is that one gets very little sense of the ethical and religious practices associated with the various philosophies.One major drawback to the book is that it is terribly wordy. He could have expressed himself in much simpler language. Fortunately, brief summaries and outlines in the margins on every page keep the reader from getting lost. After looking at all other books currently available on the subject, I have decided to use his book as the primary textbook for my course. Except for its lack of simple, straightfoward sentences, I believe it presents one of the best treatments of the key philosophical issues for those who are studying Eastern philosophy for the first time.