A Comparative History of Ideas

Front Cover
Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1992 - 572 pages
Hajime Nakamura argues with remarkable erudition that particular intellectual and social developments can be traced in all great cultures; that each culture deals with its problems in about the same order. Discussing, in their similarities and in their subtle differences, ideas from India, China, Japan and Europe, the author considers such inclusive notions as the concept of God, the controversy over universals and the nature of orthodoxy and heterodoxy. This is a lucid and rewarding book which sets a new standard for dealing with a history of thought across many cultures.
 

Contents

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 33
3
Gods and Man
26
The Search for the Absolute
47
Conclusion
69
The Rise of Philosophy
76
B Elements Regarded as the Fundamental Principle
85
The Concept of the Absolute
91
Problems of Practice
125
Human Existence
237
The Ideal of the Universal State
317
Concluding Remarks
344
FEATURES OF MEDIEVAL THOUGHT
351
Two Types of Religion
370
Theology and its Counterparts
423
Conclusion
469
COMMON FEATURES OF MODERN THOUGHT
475

The Development of Heterodoxies
142
F Concluding Words
183
EARLY UNIVERSAL RELIGIONS
191
B Faith
206
Concluding Words
215
B Attitude toward Philosophy in General
225
Revival of Skepticism
490
Modern Religious Attitudes
511
B Changes in the Evaluation of Man
536
Conclusion of the Discussions on Modern Thought
561
INDEX
568
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 23 - ... souls, because they will not use their memories: they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves.

Bibliographic information