Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China [Hardcover]

A. C. Graham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1989

This history of the Classical period (500-200 BCE) presents a vision of this subject and acts as an introduction for the non-scholar, a comprehensive history for the student, and brimming with bold new insights for the specialist. "Disputers of the Tao" focuses on the dialogues between rival thinkers, tracing the increasing sophistication of argument which developed with growing competition among the schools. The book is equally as concerned with how these philosophers thought as it is with what they thought. Chinese philosophy has unique features, but it has very much to do with what Westerners understand by rationality. Professor Graham identifies the rationalistic and anti-rationalistic trends which culminated in the Later Mohists and the Taoist Chuang-tzu. He presents a full account of Later Mohist proto-logic, explores the nature of Chinese science, and examines the relation between Yin-Yang speculation and the proto-scientific speculation of medieval and Renaissance Europe. Professor Graham analyzes the underlying conceptual differences between Chinese and Western thought, some of them rooted in differences between Chinese and Indo-European languages - affecting, for example, the categories and the concept of Being. Chinese thought raises fundamental questions about the posing of the fact-value issue and the relation between analytic and correlative thinking. Throughout, there are ample quotations from the ancient texts, in new translations which take advantage of recent advances in Chinese linguistics and hermeneutics.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Open Court Pub Co (August 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812690877
• ISBN-13: 978-0812690873
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #797,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic study, June 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China (Paperback)

A.C. Graham's Disputers of the Tao became an instant classic when it was published in 1989. Graham was the foremost scholar in his field in his day, and this book is still the standard study of early Chinese philosophy. (My understanding was that this title is out of print, so if it is still available, snatch it up quickly.)

However, the book is becoming more and more out of date with every passing year. This process of obsolescence is not due to any fault in the work itself, but to the continual discovery of new texts that Graham could not have taken into account, and to the improvement in our understanding of the received texts that the new ones have made possible.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to early Chinese thought, December 15, 1999

By 

M. L. Asselin (Bethesda, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China (Paperback)

A. C. Graham's "Disputers of the Tao" is an excellent introduction to pre-Qin philosophical argumentation. I would highly recommend it for personal study; it would serve well as a textbook for an advanced-level seminar in Chinese thought. The chapter on "The Cosmologists" has a thought-provoking response to the oft-debated question of why, after such a promising, world-leading start in science, the Chinese fell behind the West in later centuries of the Common Era. My major criticism of this book is that the editing could have been a lot tighter: there are a number of inelegant and often nearly incomprehensible sentences. Perhaps it was thought to honor Professor Graham by giving him free rein to his personal expression, but if so, that was a mistake. Otherwise, this is a wonderful book.

9 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An awful introduction to philosophical argument in China., February 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China (Paperback)

I had high expectations for this book. However it's language and syntax is horrible. The language is heavy, boring and badly written. One should not think that something like this would be given out by any publisher.(Hopefully a better book on philosophical in ancient china will be written soon)
The author also tends to quote throughout an amount of sites, but without any good explanations or lack of any explanations at all this is totally useless. And if you are beginner to philosophical argument in China you are ought to lay of this book. Graham writes about things extremely more heavyily and complex than they really are. So my advice is to searh for another book. You will spare both time, frustration and money.
This book gives the history of China a bad name.