Heidegger, Rorty, and the Eastern Thinkers

Wei Zhang

Description

Wei Zhang joins the ongoing hermeneutic quest for understanding and appropriating the East-West encounter and cross-cultural engagement by exploring Martin Heidegger's and Richard Rorty's cross-cultural encounters with Eastern thinkers. Zhang begins by examining Rorty's correspondence with Indian philosopher Anindita N. Balslev, outlining their debate about the discipline of comparative philosophy and curriculum reform, as well as the nature or origin of philosophy itself. She then focuses on the dialogue between Heidegger and a Japanese professor concerning the nature of human language and discusses whether Heidegger's view of language allows for a true understanding between East and West or whether it admits only misunderstanding and prejudice are possible. Finally, the author presents a conceptual dialogue with Heidegger's primary text on hermeneutics and phenomenology, Ontology—The Hermeneutics of Facticity. Utilizing the dialogues and correspondence between Heidegger, Rorty, and the Eastern thinkers as textual examples, Zhang deconstructs and recovers layers of misconceptions of the various interpretations of the East-West encounter.
Part I. The Recurring East-West Hermeneutic Riddle

Introduction

Part II. Richard Rorty’s Correspondence with a Comparative Philosopher

1. The Question of Legitimacy of Comparative Philosophy

2. Philosophy and Cultural Otherness

Part III. Martin Heidegger’s Dialogue with a Japanese Visitor

3. On the Way to a “Common” Language

4. On the Way to a Cross-Cultural Hermeneutics

Part IV. A Conceptual Dialogue with Heidegger’s Text on Hermeneutics

5. Heidegger’s Ontological Hermeneutics as a Worldview and World Encounter

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie moderne
• Philosophie moderne
• Philosophy

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791481806
• Langue: English

Extrait

we i z h a ng

Heidegger, Rorty, and the Eastern Thinkers a h e r m e n e u t i c s o f c r o s s  c u lt u r al u n d e r s t a nd i ng

H EIDEGGER , R ORTY , AND THE E ASTERN T HINKERS

SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture

Roger T. Ames, editor

H EIDEGGER , R ORTY , AND THE E ASTERN T HINKERS

A Hermeneutics of CrossCultural Understanding

Wei Zhang

S TATE U NIVERSITY OF N EW Y ORK P RESS

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2006 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise with out the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 122102384

Production by Judith Block Marketing by Anne M. Valentine

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Zhang, Wei, 1958– Heidegger, Rorty, and the Eastern thinkers : a hermeneutics of crosscultural understanding / Wei Zhang. p. cm. — (SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–7914–6751–1 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Philosophy, Comparative. 2. East and West. 3. Rorty, Richard. 4. Heidegger, Martin, 1889–1976. I. Title. II. Series.

B799.Z38 2006 109—dc22

2005026769

ISBN–13: 978–0–7914–6751–0 (hardcover : alk. paper)

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Rob who shares the love and labor — in crosscultural understanding

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Part III.

Part II.

vii

Part IV.

Notes

87

Index

ix

The Recurring EastWest Hermeneutic Riddle

Bibliography

C ONTENTS

Acknowledgments

5.

Part I.

45 47 67

1. 2.

1 3

3. 4.

9 11 27

Martin Heidegger’s Dialogue with a Japanese Visitor

125

On the Way to a “Common” Language On the Way to a CrossCultural Hermeneutics

Richard Rorty’s Correspondence with a Comparative Philosopher

121

Heidegger’s Ontological Hermeneutics as a Worldview and World Encounter

A Conceptual Dialogue with Heidegger’s Text on Hermeneutics

109

89

Introduction

The Question of Legitimacy of Comparative Philosophy Philosophy and Cultural Otherness

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book evolved from a conference paper, “Heidegger and East West Dialogue,” delivered for the committee of International Society for Universal Dialogue at the Fourth World Conference at Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland, July 2001. The paper was later expanded and published inDao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy, and hence I am thankful to the journal editor for giving me permission to use a portion of the material in the current book. My continuing research on Heidegger’s thought in EastWest studies on the topics of language, hermeneutics, metaphysics, and technology constitutes a large portion of the book. The critical reading of Rorty’s correspondence with Anindita N. Balslev on the disciplinary study of comparative philosophy and the notion of “cultural otherness” high lights some of the social concerns and political dimensions of the crosscultural dialogue. I extend my deep appreciation to the leading scholars in com parative philosophy and East Asian studies in this country as well as abroad: Roger Ames, professor and editor of the Chinese Philosophy and Culture series for the State University of New York Press and editor ofComparative Philosophy; Zhongying Cheng, professor and editor of Journal of Chinese Philosophy; Yong Huang, professor and editor ofDao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy; and Jay Gaudling, professor of East Asian philosophy at York University, Ontario, Canada, for reviewing the book manuscript and providing insightful critiques. I would also like to thank my colleagues and graduate students for reading and dis cussing the manuscript with me at its various stages. Dr. Carlos Lopez, a Sanskrit scholar who recently joined our faculty in Religious Studies at the University of South Florida, had a chance to read the final ver sion of the work and made important comments on the Sanskrit origin of Buddhist concepts. I also heartily thank the State University of New York Press for preparing the manuscript for publication, and especially senior acquisition

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