Book Reviews The Way of Awareness in Daoist Philosophy AUTHOR: James Giles
This book explores ancient Daoist philosophy and argues against interpretations that paint the early Daoist philosophers as mystics or cosmologists. It claims that Dao is best understood as awareness and that Daoist concerns are primarily with the nature of human experience, meditation, and our relation to the world. The Dao of Awareness starts by placing Daoist philosophy within the context of ancient Chinese thought. It then proceeds by critically engaging each of the major Daoist thinkers, works, or schools: Laozi, Yang Zhu, Zhuangzi, the Inward Training, Liezi, and NeoDaoism. It concludes by pointing to ways in which Daoist thought can offer insights into contemporary Western philosophy.
work on ethics, metaphysics, and the philosophy of mind.
Throughout the book, comparisons are drawn with Western thinkers, psychological research, and Buddhist thought. The book is both a scholarly examination of Chinese and crosscultural philosophy as well as an original
The Way of Awareness in Daoist Philosophy • 200 Pages • Hardback: $34.95 plus shipping and handling • PDF: $15M • ISBN: 978-1931483-45-2 www.threepinespress.com/ books
James Giles was born in Vancouver and studied at the University of British Columbia and the University of Edinburgh, where he gained a PhD in philosophy. He is an external associate professor of psychology at Roskilde University, Denmark, and tutor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge, Institute for Continuing Education. He has also taught at universities in Australia, Canada, Hawaii, and Guam, and has traveled widely through East and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. His published works include Sexual Essays: Gender, Desire, and Nakedness; The Nature of Sexual Desire; The Search for Personal Identity; and A Study in Phenomenalis.
Full Potential: Daoist Wisdom Meets Western Psychology AUTHOR: Livia Kohn Blending modern psychology and Daoist wisdom into a recipe for the fully actualized person, this book shows how human beings form an integral part of the greater universe. Activated differently in the brain, subject to both genes and training, inherent aptitudes become apparent in different stages of childhood development and are enhanced by optimal learning conditions, manifold forms of play, and
conscientious parenting — leading to the realization of full potential and attainment of Daoist harmony. This book offers a unique presentation: none other pulls the same level of information together, let alone present it in such a vibrant and engaging way.
Chinese Daoism / Science / Psychology • 170 pages • Paperback ($27.95) • (PDFbook) / $15 Fall 2020 — Page 15
