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You and Your Profile
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 149

You and Your Profile

More and more, we present ourselves and encounter others through profiles. A profile shows us not as we are seen directly but how we are perceived by a broader public. As we observe how others observe us, we calibrate our self-presentation accordingly. Profile-based identity is evident everywhere from pop culture to politics, marketing to morality. But all too often critics simply denounce this alleged superficiality in defense of some supposedly pure ideal of authentic or sincere expression. This book argues that the profile marks an epochal shift in our concept of identity and demonstrates why that matters. You and Your Profile blends social theory, philosophy, and cultural critique to unf...

The Moral Fool
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 224

The Moral Fool

Justice, equality, and righteousness these are some of our greatest moral convictions. Yet in times of social conflict, morals can become rigid, making religious war, ethnic cleansing, and political purges possible. Morality, therefore, can be viewed as pathology-a rhetorical, psychological, and social tool that is used and abused as a weapon. An expert on Eastern philosophies and social systems theory, Hans-Georg Moeller questions the perceived goodness of morality and those who claim morality is inherently positive. Critiquing the ethical "fanaticism" of Western moralists, such as Immanuel Kant, Lawrence Kohlberg, John Rawls, and the utilitarians, Moeller points to the absurd fundamentalis...

Genuine Pretending
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 244

Genuine Pretending

Genuine Pretending is an innovative and comprehensive new reading of the Zhuangzi that highlights the critical and therapeutic functions of satire and humor. Hans-Georg Moeller and Paul J. D’Ambrosio show how this Daoist classic, contrary to contemporary philosophical readings, distances itself from the pursuit of authenticity and subverts the dominant Confucianism of its time through satirical allegories and ironical reflections. With humor and parody, the Zhuangzi exposes the Confucian demand to commit to socially constructed norms as pretense and hypocrisy. The Confucian pursuit of sincerity establishes exemplary models that one is supposed to emulate. In contrast, the Zhuangzi parodies...

Luhmann Explained
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 314

Luhmann Explained

  • Type: Book
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  • Published: 2011-04-15
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  • Publisher: Open Court

What are systems? What is society? What happens to human beings in a hypermodern world? This book is an introduction to Niklas Luhmann's social system theory which explains specific functions like economy and mass media from a cybernetic perspective. Integrating various schools of thought including sociology, philosophy and biology Luhmann Explained results in an overall analysis of "world society". Special attention is given to the present-day relevance of Luhmann's theory with respect to globalization, electronic mass media, ethics, and new forms of protest.

The Philosophy of the Daodejing
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 186

The Philosophy of the Daodejing

For centuries, the ancient Chinese philosophical text the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) has fascinated and frustrated its readers. While it offers a wealth of rich philosophical insights concerning the cultivation of one's body and attaining one's proper place within nature and the cosmos, its teachings and structure can be enigmatic and obscure. Hans-Georg Moeller presents a clear and coherent description and analysis of this vaguely understood Chinese classic. He explores the recurring images and ideas that shape the work and offers a variety of useful approaches to understanding and appreciating this canonical text. Moeller expounds on the core philosophical issues addressed in the Daodejing, ...

The Radical Luhmann
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 183

The Radical Luhmann

Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998) was a German sociologist and system theorist who wrote on law, economics, politics, art, religion, ecology, mass media, and love. Luhmann advocated a radical constructivism and antihumanism, or "grand theory," to explain society within a universal theoretical framework. Nevertheless, despite being an iconoclast, Luhmann is viewed as a political conservative. Hans-Georg Moeller challenges this legacy, repositioning Luhmann as an explosive thinker critical of Western humanism. Moeller focuses on Luhmann's shift from philosophy to theory, which introduced new perspectives on the contemporary world. For centuries, the task of philosophy meant transforming contingency i...

Daodejing
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 231

Daodejing

  • Type: Book
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  • Published: 2015-11-13
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  • Publisher: Open Court

This translation presents Daoism’s basic text in highly readable contemporary English. Incorporating the latest scholarship in the field (including the most recent discoveries of ancient manuscripts in the 1970s and '90s), the book explains Daodejing's often cryptic verses in a clear and concise way. The introduction interprets the Daodejing's poetic imagery in the context of ancient Chinese symbolism, and a brief philosophical analysis accompanies each of the 81 translated chapters of the Daodejing.

Daoism Explained
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 188

Daoism Explained

  • Type: Book
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  • Published: 2011-04-15
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  • Publisher: Open Court

Hans-Georg Moeller has achieved the perfect blend with At the Center of the Circle: it is both a fascinating introduction to Daoist thought as well as an original and insightful contribution to Eastern philosophy. This book will take the place of The Tao of Pooh by Hoff. Like that book, At the Center of the Circle offers a comprehensive presentation of Daoist philosophy that is interesting and easy to follow. Two ways the present book differs from the earlier classic are (1) this one has a more rigorous philosophical grounding so teachers will not hesitate to use it in classes and (2) it takes into account the research and discoveries in the decades following the release of the Pooh book. It...

The Mutual Cultivation of Self and Things
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 324

The Mutual Cultivation of Self and Things

Yang Guorong is one of the most prominent Chinese philosophers working today and is best known for using the full range of Chinese philosophical resources in connection with the thought of Kant, Hegel, Marx, and Heidegger. In The Mutual Cultivation of Self and Things, Yang grapples with the philosophical problem of how the complexly interwoven nature of things and being relates to human nature, values, affairs, and facts, and ultimately creates a world of meaning. Yang outlines how humans might live more fully integrated lives on philosophical, religious, cultural, aesthetic, and material planes. This first English translation introduces current, influential work from China to readers worldwide.

Imagination: Cross-Cultural Philosophical Analyses
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 318

Imagination: Cross-Cultural Philosophical Analyses

Imagination: Cross-Cultural Philosophical Analyses is a rare intercultural inquiry into the conceptions and functions of the imagination in contemporary philosophy. Divided into East Asian, comparative, and post-comparative approaches, it brings together a leading team of philosophers to explore the concepts of the illusory and illusions, the development of fantastic narratives and metaphors, and the use of images and allegories across a broad range of traditions. Chapters discuss how imagination has been interpreted by thinkers such as Zhuangzi, Plato, Confucius, Heidegger, and Nietzsche. By drawing on sources including Buddhist aesthetics, Daoism, and analytic philosophy of mind, this cross-cultural collection shows how the imagination can be an indispensable tool for the comparative philosopher, opening up new possibilities for intercultural dialogue and critical engagement.