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Discourse and Practice strives to stretch the boundaries of commonly accepted notions of philosophical discourse in order to introduce comparative considerations. It is united by a concern to tease out the philosophical discourse and practices which inhere in seemingly unphilosophical "texts." These texts range from ethnographical materials to mythical and fictive narratives, and finally, to explicitly theoretical traditions. Each author, in attending to the details of his or her area study, strives to demonstrate the implicit and explicit philosophical agendas at play. The comparative examples offer valuable insights for how discourse can be redefined. One consistent assumption presented here is that the element of practice, which has long been posed in opposition to theory, must be treated as an integral aspect of the philosophical import of any tradition.
Historical traditions covered include East Asia, Papua New Guinea, and Tibet as well as the more familiar territory of Western disciplinary fields.
"I believe that Discourse and Practice is a work of considerable significance which opens the way to a vital and progressive view of philosophy of religion reconsidered. It provides a much needed antidote to traditional (and sometimes sterile) treatments of philosophy of religion from purely Western approaches. It shows how 'others' may be seen to have theoretical awareness and interpretive structures of their own, rather than just being the 'objects' of investigation from Western perspectives. Each essay combines theoretical interest with specific details from the writers' specialty." — Frank J. Hoffman, West Chester University
"Every scholar concerned with the methodological and analytical issues of doing comparative studies in religion and philosophy will have to take into account this and other volumes in the series." —Richard J. Parmentier, Brandeis University
Introduction
Frank Reynolds
SECTION I: Philosophy in Narrative and Practice
1. Wisdom and Practice: The Mythic Making of Sacred History among the Bimin-Kuskusmin of Papua New Guinea
Fitz John Porter Poole
2. Samantabhadra and Rudra: Innate Enlightenment and Radical Evil in Tibetan Rnying-ma-pa Buddhism
Matthew Kapstein
3. Buddhist Philosophy in the Art of Fiction
Francisca Cho Bantly
SECTION II: Myth and Practice in Philosophy
4. On Demythologizing Evil
Philip L. Quinn
5. The Myth of Original Equality
Robin W. Lovin
SECTION III: Metapractical Discourse: Comparative Studies
6. Philosophy as Metapraxis
Thomas P. Kasulis
7. Xuni and Durkheim as Theorists of Ritual Practice
Robert F. Campany
8. Embodying Philosophy: Some Preliminary Reflection from a Chinese Perspective
Judith Berling
SECTION IV: Concluding Comparative Reflections
9. The Drama of Interpretation and the Philosophy of Religions: An Essay on Understanding in Comparative Religious Ethics
William Schweiker
10. Reconciliation and Rupture: The Challenge and Threat of Otherness
Richard J. Berstein
Index