Watsuji Tetsurô’s Global Ethics of Emptiness:A Contemporary Look at a Mode Japanese Philosopher (Global Political Thinkers)

by: Anton Luis Sevilla (Author)

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Edition: 1st ed. 2017

Publication Date: 2017/9/11

Language: English

Print Length: 291 pages

ISBN-10: 3319583522

ISBN-13: 9783319583525

Book Description

This book is a rethinking of ethics and socio-political life through the ideas of Watsuji Tetsurô. Can we build a systematic philosophy of morality, society, and politics, not on the basis of identity and ego, but rather on the basis of selflessness? This book explores such an attempt by the leading ethicist of mode Japan. Using concrete examples and contemporary comparisons, and with careful reference to both English and Japanese sources, it guides the reader through Watsuji’s ideas. It engages three contemporary issues in depth:First, how do we approach the moral agent, as an autonomous being or as a fundamentally relational being? Second, is it the individual or the community that is the starting point for politics? And finally, is ethics something that is globally shared or something fundamentally local? This book aims to be an informative and inspiring resource for researchers, students, and laypersons interested in Buddhist thought.

About the Author

This book is a rethinking of ethics and socio-political life through the ideas of Watsuji Tetsurô. Can we build a systematic philosophy of morality, society, and politics, not on the basis of identity and ego, but rather on the basis of selflessness? This book explores such an attempt by the leading ethicist of mode Japan. Using concrete examples and contemporary comparisons, and with careful reference to both English and Japanese sources, it guides the reader through Watsuji’s ideas. It engages three contemporary issues in depth:First, how do we approach the moral agent, as an autonomous being or as a fundamentally relational being? Second, is it the individual or the community that is the starting point for politics? And finally, is ethics something that is globally shared or something fundamentally local? This book aims to be an informative and inspiring resource for researchers, students, and laypersons interested in Buddhist thought.