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Global Encounters: Studies in Comparative Political Theory Ser.: State of Nature in Comparative Political Thought : Western and Non-Western Perspectives by Owen Flanagan (2013, Hardcover)

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About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherLexington Books/Fortress Academic

ISBN-100739167634

ISBN-139780739167632

eBay Product ID (ePID)168266259

Product Key Features

Number of Pages328 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication NameState of Nature in Comparative Political Thought : Western and Non-Western Perspectives

Publication Year2013

SubjectHistory & Theory, Comparative Politics, Political Ideologies / General, World / Asian

TypeTextbook

Subject AreaPolitical Science

AuthorOwen Flanagan

SeriesGlobal Encounters: Studies in Comparative Political Theory Ser.

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height0.8 in

Item Weight21.8 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

LCCN2013-028474

Reviews"In this collection there are some fine individual essays which have important lessons for comparative political thought . . . so too does the volume as a whole." -- History of Political Thought "This book draws together an admirably extensive range of contributors to broaden and complicate the 'state of nature,' a concept which plays a pivotal role in Euro-American political theory. Chapters attempt to move beyond simplistic East versus West comparisons, to consider deeper questions in culturally diverse settings about the relationship of politics to conceptions of nature, society, and religion. The arguments in this book are sure to be controversial, but they draw much-needed attention to important political ideas from a diverse set of places and times." --Leigh Jenco, London School of Economics and Political Science "This excellent, timely, and erudite collection of essays successfully demonstrates the significance and necessity of adopting a comparative perspective in western political theory. Thematic focus of the volume, on notions of the natural condition of mankind across cultures and civilizations, presents compelling reasons for political theorists and social scientists alike to revisit, re-contextualize, and renew existing understandings of the political." --Hassan Bashir, Texas A&M University at Qatar, This book draws together an admirably extensive range of contributors to broaden and complicate the 'state of nature,' a concept which plays a pivotal role in Euro-American political theory. Chapters attempt to move beyond simplistic East versus West comparisons, to consider deeper questions in culturally diverse settings about the relationship of politics to conceptions of nature, society, and religion. The arguments in this book are sure to be controversial, but they draw much-needed attention to important political ideas from a diverse set of places and times., This excellent, timely, and erudite collection of essays successfully demonstrates the significance and necessity of adopting a comparative perspective in western political theory. Thematic focus of the volume, on notions of the natural condition of mankind across cultures and civilizations, presents compelling reasons for political theorists and social scientists alike to revisit, re-contextualize, and renew existing understandings of the political., In this collection there are some fine individual essays which have important lessons for comparative political thought . . . so too does the volume as a whole.

TitleLeadingThe

Dewey Edition23

Dewey Decimal320.01

Table Of ContentIntroduction: Comparative States of Nature Russell Arben Fox Part One: The State of Nature and Applications in Chinese Thought Chapter 1. Self-Transformation and Civil Society: Lockean vs. Confucian Sungmoon Kim, City University of Hong Kong Chapter 2. Han Feizi's Philosophical Psychology: Human Nature, Scarcity, and the NeoDarwinian Consensus Owen Flanagan and Jing Hu, Duke University Chapter 3. The Confucian Tradition, Nature, and Civil Education Russell Arben Fox, Friends University Chapter 4. States of Nature: Counter-Confucianism and the Daoist Encounter with Liberalism Eric Goodfield, American University, Beirut Chapter 5. Mozi, Hobbes, Locke and the State of Nature Al Martinich and Siwing Tsoi, University of Texas Chapter 6. Chinese Sage Kings and the Hobbesian State of Nature: Bridging Comparative Political Thought and International Relations Theory Jon D. Carlson, University of California, Merced Part Two: The State of Nature in Islam, India and Beyond Chapter 7. States of Nature and Islands of Politics: Animality, Death, Colonialism Murad Idris, Penn University, Cornell University Chapter 8. Ibn Khaldoun: Writing from the Margin--'The State of Nature'--To Remain There. Magid Shihade, Birzeit University Chapter 9. The State of Nature and Domesticated Differences in Ancient Indian Political Thought: A Historical-Comparative Approach Stuart Gray, University of California, Santa Barbara, Johns Hopkins University Chapter 10. On Matsyanyaya: The State of Nature in Indian Thought (from Asian Philosophy) David Slakter, University of Central Oklahoma Chapter 11. I'd Rather Just Devolve, Thank You: Enkidu, Gilgamesh, and an Ambiguous State of Nature Stefan Dolgert, Brock University Chapter 12. The Problem of the State of Nature in Medieval Jewish Political Philosophy Abraham Melamed, University of Haifa Chapter 13. The Nature of the State without the State of Nature: Micronesia and Polynesia Michael Stoil, University of Guam Conclusion. States of Nature: Consilience, Syncretism, and Challenges for Comparative Political Thought Jon D. Carlson, University of California, Merced

SynopsisThis book addresses a fundamental concept in political thought--the "state of nature"--through a comparative and cross-cultural approach. Western social contract thinking usually falls along lines identified with scholars like Hobbes or Rousseau, with accordant debate over whether humans are good, bad, or just selfish; conflict prone or cooperative; egocentric or altruistic; with subordinate discussions about the proper limits of sovereign authority. Depending on how one views the "natural" condition of human beings and the communities which they build, various questions arise. What constitutes a "good" or natural political order? What is the best basis for understanding the "nature" of sovereignty or political legitimacy, and what is its future? In an age of increased global interaction and potential cultural, civilization-based, misunderstanding, this volume takes the Hobbesian rhetorical device of a pre-social contract "state of nature" and seeks to address this concept--and thereby, many of the aforementioned questions--in light of contributions from non-Western thinkers. In our globalizing age when cultures and peoples increasingly talk and interact, it is not viable to use only Western political thinkers to address allegedly universal concepts. So we overtly seek to break open the frame of reference for any future discussion of the "state of nature." This volume adds to the emerging body of work grouped under the heading "comparative political thought" and serves as a model for how key political concepts may be addressed in a comparative and cross-civilizational manner. Chapters engage Chinese, Indic, Polynesian, Jewish, Babylonian, and Islamic interpretations of this fundamental question of politics. In addressing competing interpretations of the state of nature, the exclusionary hegemonic aspects of the Western canon may be both exposed and potentially reconciled with alternative visions of political behavior, legitimacy, justice, rights, and "appropriate" social and political behavior., The State of Nature in Comparative Political Thought addresses non-Western conceptions of the "state of nature", revealing how basic questions related to political thought are reflected in Chinese, Islamic, Indic, and other cultural contexts. It contributes to the burgeoning field of comparative political theory, and should be of interest to political theorists, regional specialists, students of globalization, as well as anyone interested in non-Western approaches to basic political questions.

LC Classification NumberBD581.S7138 2013