Chinese Thought and Transcendentalism: Ecology, Place and Conservative Radicalism
My central claim is that resonances between Transcendentalist and Chinese philosophies are so strong that the former cannot be adequately appreciated without the latter. I give attention to the <i>Analects</i>, the <i>Mengzi</i> and the Tiantai <i>Lotus Sutra</i>,...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-04-01
|
| Series: | Religions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/5/570 |
| _version_ | 1797598506308861952 |
|---|---|
| author | Matthew Crippen |
| author_facet | Matthew Crippen |
| author_sort | Matthew Crippen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | My central claim is that resonances between Transcendentalist and Chinese philosophies are so strong that the former cannot be adequately appreciated without the latter. I give attention to the <i>Analects</i>, the <i>Mengzi</i> and the Tiantai <i>Lotus Sutra</i>, which Transcendentalists read. Because there was conceptual sharing across Chinese traditions, plus evidence suggesting Transcendentalists explored other texts, my analysis includes discussions of Daoism and Weishi, Huayan and Chan Buddhism. To name just some similarities between the targeted outlooks, Transcendentalists adopt something close to <i>wu-wei</i> or effortless action; though hostile to hierarchy, they echo the Confucian stress on rituals or habits; Thoreau’s individualistic libertarianism is moderated by a radical causal holism found in many Chinese philosophies; and variants of Chinese Buddhism get close to Transcendentalist metaphysics and epistemologies, which anticipate radical embodied cognitive science. A specific argument is that Transcendentalists followed some of their Chinese counterparts by <i>conserving</i> the past and converting it into radicalism. A meta-argument is that ideas were exchanged via trade from Europe through North Africa to Western Asia and India into the Far East, and contact with Indigenous Americans led to the same. This involved degrees of misrepresentation, but it nonetheless calls upon scholars to adopt more global approaches. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:22:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-19836500fe984531bf2beccfbaef6664 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:22:03Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-19836500fe984531bf2beccfbaef66642023-11-18T03:04:00ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442023-04-0114557010.3390/rel14050570Chinese Thought and Transcendentalism: Ecology, Place and Conservative RadicalismMatthew Crippen0Department of Global Studies, Pusan National University, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Republic of KoreaMy central claim is that resonances between Transcendentalist and Chinese philosophies are so strong that the former cannot be adequately appreciated without the latter. I give attention to the <i>Analects</i>, the <i>Mengzi</i> and the Tiantai <i>Lotus Sutra</i>, which Transcendentalists read. Because there was conceptual sharing across Chinese traditions, plus evidence suggesting Transcendentalists explored other texts, my analysis includes discussions of Daoism and Weishi, Huayan and Chan Buddhism. To name just some similarities between the targeted outlooks, Transcendentalists adopt something close to <i>wu-wei</i> or effortless action; though hostile to hierarchy, they echo the Confucian stress on rituals or habits; Thoreau’s individualistic libertarianism is moderated by a radical causal holism found in many Chinese philosophies; and variants of Chinese Buddhism get close to Transcendentalist metaphysics and epistemologies, which anticipate radical embodied cognitive science. A specific argument is that Transcendentalists followed some of their Chinese counterparts by <i>conserving</i> the past and converting it into radicalism. A meta-argument is that ideas were exchanged via trade from Europe through North Africa to Western Asia and India into the Far East, and contact with Indigenous Americans led to the same. This involved degrees of misrepresentation, but it nonetheless calls upon scholars to adopt more global approaches.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/5/570American TranscendentalismConfucianismChinese BuddhismChinese philosophyDaoismecology and place |
| spellingShingle | Matthew Crippen Chinese Thought and Transcendentalism: Ecology, Place and Conservative Radicalism Religions American Transcendentalism Confucianism Chinese Buddhism Chinese philosophy Daoism ecology and place |
| title | Chinese Thought and Transcendentalism: Ecology, Place and Conservative Radicalism |
| title_full | Chinese Thought and Transcendentalism: Ecology, Place and Conservative Radicalism |
| title_fullStr | Chinese Thought and Transcendentalism: Ecology, Place and Conservative Radicalism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Chinese Thought and Transcendentalism: Ecology, Place and Conservative Radicalism |
| title_short | Chinese Thought and Transcendentalism: Ecology, Place and Conservative Radicalism |
| title_sort | chinese thought and transcendentalism ecology place and conservative radicalism |
| topic | American Transcendentalism Confucianism Chinese Buddhism Chinese philosophy Daoism ecology and place |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/5/570 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT matthewcrippen chinesethoughtandtranscendentalismecologyplaceandconservativeradicalism |