Emotions in Asian Thought: A Dialogue in Comparative Philosophy

Treats the nature and ethical significance of emotions from a comparative cultural perspective emphasizing Asian traditions.

This book broadens the inquiry into emotion to comprehend a comparative cultural outlook. It begins with an overview of recent work in the West, and then proceeds to the main business of scrutinizing various relevant issues from both Asian and comparative perspectives. Finally, Robert Solomon comments and summarizes.

"The book provides a very good survey of how the emotions are understood in various Eastern traditions in the comparative light of contemporary Western theory. The introductory essay by Marks and the closing essays by Lutz and Solomon are particularly helpful in framing the overarching issues and contribute to a well-rounded volume." -- Steven Heine, Pennsylvania State University

"Anyone who has given thought to questions such as 'what is an emotion?' or 'what is the relevance of study of Asian cultures and texts?' will benefit from this book. For more than a quarter-century the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy has provided a lively and learned forum for such questions. At the beginning of the book the editors invite new participants into the conversation by establishing a context and reviewing contributions from the past. At the end, Robert Solomon, who is one of the most important contributors to the philosophical analysis and interpretation of emotion, offers a brilliant summary response. A particularly valuable feature of the book is that it brings to bear new perspectives from the cultures of India, China, and Japan. This is a landmark volume." -- Gene R. Thursby, University of Florida

"This book shows that cross-cultural studies have attained heights of maturity that simply were not possible in the prior generation of scholarship. The authors are well acquainted with the languages of the cultures that are examined here, and truly provide a sympathetic analysis of emotions in their respective contexts." -- Christopher Key Chapple, Loyola Marymount University