Wisdom and Philosophy: Contemporary and Comparative Approaches questions the nature of the relationship between wisdom and philosophy from an intercultural perspective. Bringing together an international mix of respected philosophers, this volume discusses similarities and differences of Western and Asian pursuits of wisdom and reflects on attempts to combine them.

Contributors cover topics such as Confucian ethics, the acquisition of wisdom in pre-Qin literature and anecdotes of stupidity in the classical Chinese tradition, while also addressing contemporary topics such as global Buddhism and analytic metaphysics. Providing original examples of comparative philosophy, contributors look at ideas and arguments of thinkers such as Confucius, Zhuangzi and Zhu Xi alongside the work of Aristotle, Plato and Heidegger.

Presenting Asian perspectives on philosophy as practical wisdom, Wisdom and Philosophy is a rare intercultural inquiry into the relation between wisdom and philosophy. It provides new ways of understanding how wisdom connects to philosophy and underlines the need to reintroduce it into philosophy today.

Hans-Georg Moeller is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University College Cork, Ireland

Andrew K. Whitehead is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Kennesaw State University, USA

1. Introduction, Andrew Whitehead, Kennesaw State University, USA
Part I: Chinese Wisdom
2. Living Wisely: Confucian Role Ethics and Second Enlightenment Thinking, Roger T. Ames, University of Hawai'i, USA
3. The Wisdom of Charioteering (Yu?): Old Practice, New Perspectives, Robin R. Wang, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, USA
4. Lessons from Stupidity: Wisdom and the “Man from Song", Jim Behuniak, Colby College, USA
5. Wisdom and Human Work in Classical Chinese Philosophy, Anna Ghiglione, Université de Montréal, Canada
6. Speaking the Unspeakable: Wisdom in the Chinese Tradition, Karl-Heinz Pohl, Trier University, Germany
Part II: Wisdom Compared
7. The Philosopher or the Sage? Apophaticism in Europe and China, William Franke, Vanderbildt University, USA
8. Wisdom as Knowledge and Wisdom as Action: Plato, Heidegger, Cicero, and Confucius, Allen Miller, University of South Carolina, USA
9. Anonymous Sages: Some Sino-Greco Comparisons, Geir Sigurðsson, University of Iceland
10. Seeking Wisdom with Aristotle and Zhu Xi, May Sim, College of the Holy Corss, Worcester, USA
11. Wisdom as Realisation: Heidegger and Zhuangzi on Belonging in the World, Steven Burik, Singapore Management University, Singapore
Part III: Contemporary Wisdom
12. Philosophy as a Spiritual Practice: An Old Idea Whose Time has Come, Sean McGrath, Memorial University, St John's, Canada
13. Wisdom Through Questioning, Globally, Wes DeMarco, Clark University, USA
14. Wisdom, Modernity, and Global Buddhism, John Harding, University of Lethbridge, Canada
15. Future-Oriented Philosophy and Wisdom East and West, Martin Schonfeld, University of South Florida, USA
16. Returning to Wisdom: Towards a Concrete Metaphysics, Yang Guorong, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
Index