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PROCESS EXPANDING PHILOSOPHY / EASTERN THOUGHT (cid:42)(cid:42)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:72)(cid:78)(cid:78)(cid:0)(cid:0)(cid:40)(cid:40)(cid:14)(cid:0)(cid:14)(cid:0)(cid:34)(cid:34)(cid:69)(cid:69)(cid:82)(cid:84)(cid:82)(cid:72)(cid:84)(cid:72)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:78)(cid:78)(cid:71)(cid:71) isis AAssssoocciaiatete PProrofefessssoor r oof f EEXXPPAANNDDIINNGG EExxppaannddiningg PProrocceessss eexxpploloreress hhooww ccoommppaararatitvivee EEXXPPAANNDDIINNGG CCoommppaararatitvivee TThheeoolologgyy aat t BBoosstotonn UUnniviveersrsitiyty pphhiliolossoopphhyy eexxppaannddss oouur r uunnddeersrstatannddiningg oof f ththee B e SScchhooool l oof f TThheeoolologgy.y . 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BBeertrhthroronngg eexxaamminineess hhooww that puts Chinese philosophy into a global and contemporaneously g CCoommppaarirsisoonn o of fC Chhuu H Hssi,i ,W Whhitietehheeaadd, ,a anndd N Neevvilillele nnootitoionnss o of fp prorocceessss m maannifiefesst ta anndd s shhaappee t hthee c clalass-- relevant context, while also deftly drawing on the very best scholar- aanndd A Alll lU Unnddeer rH Heeaavveenn: :T Trarannssfoformrminingg P Paararaddigigmmss ship on the history of Chinese thought and American philosophy.” — ssicicaal lC Coonnfufucciaiannisismm o of fX Xuunnzzi,i ,t hthee e eaarlryly m meeddieievvaal l E Judith A. Berling, author of Understanding Other Religious Worlds: inin C Coonnfufucciaiann-C-Chhrirsistitaiann D Diaialologguuee, ,b boothth a alslsoo p puubb-- X DDaaoossimim o of ft hthee L Lieiezzi,i ,a anndd Z Zhhuu X Xi’is’s S Soonngg D Dyynnaasstyty A Guide for Interreligious Education John H. Berthrong lilsishheedd b byy S SUUNNYY P Preressss.. P ddaaooxxuuee ( T(Teeaacchhiningg o of fT Thhee W Waayy).) .B Beertrhthroronngg l ilninkkss A ththeessee vvaariroiouuss CChhinineessee vvieiewwss oof f pprorocceessss aanndd “ Berthrong aspires not just to compare but also to use each pole of the N comparison to reconfigure and reconceptualize the other, which is a trtarannssfoformrmaatitoionn t oto c coonntetemmppoorararyry d deebbaatetess i nin t hthee D much more demanding enterprise.” — John B. Henderson, author of AAmmeerircicaann pprorocceessss, , ppraraggmmaatitcic, , aanndd nnaatuturaralilsist t The Construction of Orthodoxy and Heresy: Neo-Confucian, Islamic, I N pphhiliolossoopphhicicaal l mmoovveemmeenntsts. . SStrteressssiningg hhooww oouur r Jewish, and Early Christian Patterns es ppluluraralilsistitcic w woorlrdld c caalllsls f ofor rc coommppaarirningg a anndd e evveenn s G u r i fa aapppproroppriraiatitningg i ninssigighhtsts f rforomm d diviveersrsee c cuultluturaral lt rtara-- t ep P c ex dditiitoionnss, , BBeertrhthroronngg ccoonntetennddss ththaat t ccoommppaararatitvivee , R r e h s pphhiliolossoopphhyy a anndd t htheeoolologgyy c caann b broroaaddeenn t hthee i nintetel-l- li O b u p e lelecctutuaal lf rforonntiteiersrs a anndd f ofouunnddaatitoionnss o of fa annyy s seeriroiouuss h t C m o fr sstutuddeennt to of fc coonntetemmppoorararyry g glolobbaal lt hthoouugghht.t. n E o i s is S m r e p S t u o h t orm wi Exploring Philosophical f n any (cid:33)(cid:0)(cid:86)(cid:79)(cid:76)(cid:85)(cid:77)(cid:69)(cid:0)(cid:73)(cid:78)(cid:0)(cid:84)(cid:72)(cid:69)(cid:0)(cid:51)(cid:53)(cid:46)(cid:57)(cid:0)(cid:83)(cid:69)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:69)(cid:83)(cid:0)(cid:73)(cid:78)(cid:0)(cid:35)(cid:72)(cid:73)(cid:78)(cid:69)(cid:83)(cid:69)(cid:0)(cid:48)(cid:72)(cid:73)(cid:76)(cid:79)(cid:83)(cid:79)(cid:80)(cid:72)(cid:89)(cid:0)(cid:65)(cid:78)(cid:68)(cid:0)(cid:35)(cid:85)(cid:76)(cid:84)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:69)(cid:0)(cid:115)(cid:0)(cid:50)(cid:79)(cid:71)(cid:69)(cid:82)(cid:0)(cid:52)(cid:14)(cid:0)(cid:33)(cid:77)(cid:69)(cid:83)(cid:12)(cid:0)(cid:69)(cid:68)(cid:73)(cid:84)(cid:79)(cid:82) i d and Theological Transformations e c u d o r p e r be in China and the West t o STATE UNIVERSITY n y OF NEW YORK PRESS a M . www.sunypress.edu d e v r e s e r s t h g i r l l A . s s e © 2008. State University of New York Prunder U.S. or applicable copyright law. K Y M C td he gt it ri ym pr oe Cp EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 10/2/2019 5:02 PM via HEBREW UNIV OF JERUSALEM AN: 256907 ; Berthrong, John H..; Expanding Process : Exploring Philosophical and Theological Transformations in China and the West Account: s5122861 d e t t i m r e p s e s u r i a f t p e c x e , r e h s i l b u p e EXPANDING PROCESS h t m o r f n o i s s i m r e p t u o h t i w m r o f y n a n i d e c u d o r p e r e b t o n y a M . d e v r e s e r s t h g i r l l A . s s e r P k r o Y w e © 2008. State University of N or applicable copyright law. . tS h. gU i rr ye pd on Cu EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 10/2/2019 5:02 PM via HEBREW UNIV OF JERUSALEM AN: 256907 ; Berthrong, John H..; Expanding Process : Exploring Philosophical and Theological Transformations in China and the West Account: s5122861 d e t t i m r e p s e s u r i a f t p e c x e , r e h s i l b u p e h t m SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture o r f n o i s s i m r pe Roger T. Ames, editor t u o h t i w m r o f y n a n i d e c u d o r p e r e b t o n y a M . d e v r e s e r s t h g i r l l A . s s e r P k r o Y w e © 2008. State University of N or applicable copyright law. . tS h. gU i rr ye pd on Cu EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 10/2/2019 5:02 PM via HEBREW UNIV OF JERUSALEM AN: 256907 ; Berthrong, John H..; Expanding Process : Exploring Philosophical and Theological Transformations in China and the West Account: s5122861 d e t t i m r e p s e s u r i a f t p e c x e , r e h s i l b u p e Expanding Process h t m o r f n o i s s i m r e p Exploring Philosophical t u o h t i w and Theological Transformations m r o f y n a in China and the West n i d e c u d o r p e r e b t o n y a M . d e v r e s e r s JOHN H. BERTHRONG t h g i r l l A . s s e r P k r o Y w e © 2008. State University of N or applicable copyright law. . tS ghU. STATE U N I V ER SIT Y OF N EW YOR K PR E SS i rr ye pd on Cu EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 10/2/2019 5:02 PM via HEBREW UNIV OF JERUSALEM AN: 256907 ; Berthrong, John H..; Expanding Process : Exploring Philosophical and Theological Transformations in China and the West Account: s5122861 d e t t i m r e p s e s u r i a f t p e c x e , r e h s i l b u p e h The cover illustration is a Catherine Wheel of Ideas and Ideals by E. N. Berthrong © 2008. t m o r f n o i s is Published by m r pe STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS t ou ALBANY h t i w m © 2008 State University of New York r o f ny All rights reserved a n i d Printed in the United States of America e c u d o r No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever p e r without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval e b systemor transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, t no electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or ay otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. M . d ve For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY r se www.sunypress.edu e r s ht Production by Diane Ganeles g ri Marketing by Michael Campochiaro l l A . Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data s s e r P Berthrong, John H. k r Yo Expanding process : exploring philosophical and theological transformations in China and ew the West / John H. Berthrong. © 2008. State University of N or applicable copyright law. 4t B1r01.1a 9. II2 nPSn—6PshBcp.fhBlidNo.ul i4orcld-cmo22s1emo 2s3saop 2: .t b ph09iioh7y0bn y88la,is- no C0igdn-hr7 rCia9enp1hlehi4igs-ineic7oa.a5 n l1a .r5n 2e-d.f7 eI tP.(rh aehTelnik liWcot.e lspeseoa. s apptn.heIdyrI) ..i nTd3ie.t xleP.:h Eixlopslooprihnyg a pnhdi lroesloigpihonic—al Canhdin tah. eol2o0g0ic7a0l3 7591 . tS ghU. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 i rr ye pd on Cu EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 10/2/2019 5:02 PM via HEBREW UNIV OF JERUSALEM AN: 256907 ; Berthrong, John H..; Expanding Process : Exploring Philosophical and Theological Transformations in China and the West Account: s5122861 d e t t i m r e p s e s u r i a f t p e c x e , r e h s i l b u p e th Contents m o r f n o i s s i m r e p t ou Preface vii h t i w m Acknowledgments xi r o f y n a n i ed 1 Introduction 1 c u d o r p re 2 Xunzi: Acting in the Dao 25 e b t o n y 3 Coursing through the Dao: The Liezi 59 a M . d e erv 4 Daoxue: Zhu Xi and Chen Chun 85 s e r s t igh 5 Modern Permutations: North American Naturalism r l l and Global Philosophy 115 A . s s e r P k r Yo Appendix: The Alchemy of Process 145 w e © 2008. State University of N or applicable copyright law. NRIneodfteeerxse nces 122502739 . tS h. gU i rr ye pd on Cu v EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 10/2/2019 5:02 PM via HEBREW UNIV OF JERUSALEM AN: 256907 ; Berthrong, John H..; Expanding Process : Exploring Philosophical and Theological Transformations in China and the West Account: s5122861 d e t t i m r e p s e s u r i a f t p e c x e , r e h s i l b u p e h t m o r f n o i s s i m r e p t u o h t i w m r o f y n a n i d e c u d o r p e r e b t o n y a M . d e v r e s e r s t h g i r l l A . s s e r P k r o Y w e © 2008. State University of N or applicable copyright law. . tS h. gU i rr ye pd on Cu EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 10/2/2019 5:02 PM via HEBREW UNIV OF JERUSALEM AN: 256907 ; Berthrong, John H..; Expanding Process : Exploring Philosophical and Theological Transformations in China and the West Account: s5122861 d e t t i m r e p s e s u r i a f t p e c x e , r e h s i l b u p e th Preface m o r f n o i s s i m r e p t ou Anyone fascinated by the Daodejing, the Zhuangzi, and the Liezi, classical h t wi Confucian thought and later Song neo-Confucian revivals, as well as prag- m or matism, naturalism, and the process movement in philosophy and theology f y inspired by Alfred North Whitehead is bound to have a strong fascination n a n with the topic of process, change, and transformation. Though I did not con- i ed sciously plan it thus when I began the project, Expanding Process has become c u d the last of a trilogy of works, proceeded by All under Heaven and Concern- o r ep ing Creativity (both published previously by the State University of New York r be Press) about how themes of process philosophy in both Asia and the West are t o becoming increasingly great parts of the growing world of global philosophy n ay in the twenty-first century. M d. The first inspiration for the book was the recognition that the concept e v er of process, change, transformation, or creativity is one of those wonder- s re fully protean ideas that drive philosophers and intellectual historians crazy s ht because it is so hard to define—both in the West and in China. While “pro- g i r cess” might not a hero with a thousand faces, it is a term that has diverse l Al and changing manifestations in different cultural settings. In this book I . ss will explore only a limited way how the notion of process is framed in one e r P broadly defined lineage of modern American thought and in the Chinese k r o Confucian and Daoist traditions. Dorothy Emmet perfectly caught the Y ew nature of the problem in writing: © 2008. State University of N or applicable copyright law. psoaprah“pdaTmiWcnrihdoaedenthcl e ee’weftrvsin sesrot eshnIro tstkir ,fnsec s mhkhot. he rIaai teptjr ru aketwcseljestorard ooit s enh t;sb oxesiine d-pnacgg dl pau‘siAen hilcen tishdpul so arr rietosntahof cglwlpee iecns hacbsogest r m riiott nshfha prgajediua te o dsrniontniid usf to ofhtetenlhrnorieeanew s tonedt Iefctsa odew Cmo amcbfhns oet ei twnhn”ewde vae(e enuEspenetcmnrit ton a mpasjgneufr etdtcocotet c hr 1 Wtea 9hsaan9sien ndce2sosok ,tt s,e m1 heafr)ebta.npsrco. at’uup srItp,ha titilhvoee- . tS ghU. project as well as suggests why such a event is both possible and rewarding. i rr ye pd on Cu vii EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 10/2/2019 5:02 PM via HEBREW UNIV OF JERUSALEM AN: 256907 ; Berthrong, John H..; Expanding Process : Exploring Philosophical and Theological Transformations in China and the West Account: s5122861 ted viii PREFACE t i m r e p As we shall see, the concept of process is a perfect example of a middle- s se range philosophical concept. This is quite clear when we review the Chinese u ir thinkers in chapters 2, 3 and 4. There are the grand ideas of Chinese Confu- a f t cian and Daoist philosophy such as the Dao 道 or tian 天 that govern the onto- p ce logical and cosmological visions of these traditions. In the West they would x e , be comparable to the notion of God, the cosmos, nature, the way things are, r e sh or, for someone like Buchler in the naturalist tradition, a natural complex. i l b Then there are the concepts that govern the opposite end of the cosmological u p e and ontological spectrum—such as things, events, or the stuff of mundane h t m life, the cabbages and kings of the lifeworld of persons in all kinds of cultures. o r f These are the wonderfully variegated superfluous things that give our quotid- n io ian lives such a rich and concrete texture. Between the cosmic and the quo- s s mi tidian dwell notions such as process, change, transformation, and creativity. r e p In Key Concepts in Chinese Philosophy (2002) Zhang Dainian demonstrates t ou how this is the case in Chinese philosophy by showing the place of concepts h t wi such as numinous transformation and the various forms of change that play m or an important role in Chinese intellectual history. f y The second inspiration of the study was Nicholas Rescher’s Process Meta- n a n physics (1996). In this succinct historical and philosophical appreciation of i ed the notion of process in the history of Western philosophy, Rescher makes the c u d point that themes of process, change, and creativity are found beyond the con- o r ep fines of the mature process thought of A. N. Whitehead and the philosophical r be and theological schools he helped to found. It struck me, accepting Rescher’s t o irenic challenge, that it would make a great deal of sense to add another set of n ay voices to the discussion of the concept of process by engaging Confucian and M d. Daoist philosophers and texts. What would “process metaphysics” look like if e v er we added, as we should at the beginning of the twenty-first century, dialogue s re partners from the two great philosophical and religious traditions of China: s ht the broad paths of Confucian and Daoist thought. To use a common meta- g i r phor these days, what is on the Chinese radar that is off the North American l Al screen, and vice versa? . ss I choose to focus on the Confucian tradition by examining key think- e r P ers during the two of the most creative and novel periods in the history of k r Yo Chinese thought,—namely, the work of Xunzi 荀子 at the end of the Warring ew States period (480–221 BCE), and Zhu Xi 朱 熹 (1130–1200) and his students © 2008. State University of N or applicable copyright law. etadfZbcuilqnauohaculdrnsuaiias a nntiliXnhclcngy ,eei p t tapSahhht roahepieerul i ho SastLri osdheildouoeiecgpozstromhihoung epyb 列naSr hltioenaz子ii nrcc eSde agd,t o ol.e dt lnsaToxyiegsv th ,ct i o(pehdrb1 feaeeW1u ar dC2tmat e 7idoibvi–ni-nieyx1Jg fi.2imp numt7Nse ca9 (oriop2t)airi.t2roen c eA0d o stC– dnlehtb4onilhasey2ntonct 0fwouif )usoaug e cre thremmirhsna aeteni h, ilit stlLehpeI syi renheeeae nzi pWdttli iowr dauaeasneomcsordoe krpm, tni nhhtnbthooeesgomewr r tas Shol. ege tff nrIadi Xnetnttghesau ae sotoinld n rspDzr de eaieC ea bdsraroo ira noaiintcslnddo---t . tS ghU. liantly creative philosophical epochs in Chinese intellectual history, especially i rr ye pd on Cu EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 10/2/2019 5:02 PM via HEBREW UNIV OF JERUSALEM AN: 256907 ; Berthrong, John H..; Expanding Process : Exploring Philosophical and Theological Transformations in China and the West Account: s5122861 ted PREFACE ix t i m r e p for Daoists of all stripes. The second chapter charts the notion of process in s se the Xunzi, the third chapter does the same for the Liezi, and the fourth chapter u ir concludes the Chinese section of the study by looking carefully at the work of a f t Zhu Xi and his daoxue 道學 school and how they inherited classical and medi- p ce eval notions of process and forged them into a new synthesis that dominated x e , Chinese intellectual life for the next eight hundred years. r e sh In order to give some specificity in terms of Western philosophy to i l b my three Chinese dialogue partners, I choose the closely related American u p e schools of pragmatism, naturalism, and process thought as conversation h t m allies. I fully recognize that Whitehead was quintessentially English, but his o r f period of constructive speculative philosophy was conducted while he was n io teaching at Harvard and proved to be highly stimulating to his American s s mi colleagues. Whitehead also recognized the close links between his philoso- r e p phy and that of the pragmatists. I have merely linked pragmatists, process t ou thinkers, and the American naturalists—all first cousins—to forge my North h t wi American bricolage in order to balance my three Chinese dialogue partners. m or Moreover, I hope to demonstrate that the naturalists, the least known of the f y American threesome, have a contribution to make to the now global discus- n a n sion of the concept of process along with process philosophers and pragma- i ed tists of all persuasions. The fifth and concluding chapter returns to the North c u d American present and looks at how the three forms of contemporary Western o r ep philosophy can dialogue with Chinese philosophers and texts from various r be periods in Chinese intellectual history. t o At the end of the work I have also added an appendix entitled “The n ay Alchemy of Process.” At one point I was planning to explore the completely M d. alternative universe of discourse, of the Western occult and esoteric tradition e v er going—and so back at least as far back as the Majorcan theologian, philoso- s re pher, and mystic Ramon Llull (1232–1316)—as a counterpoint to the more s ht sober Chinese and Western philosophers I was studying and as a colleague g i r for the author of the Liezi. While I found this a fascinating arena in which to l Al explore the notions of process, I quickly discovered that it was historically, . ss religiously, and philosophically too complex and obscure for me to compose e r P a companion chapter to the other five. Nonetheless, as an appendix I want k r o to offer these first investigations as an indication that the study of process Y ew and change in the Western occult and esoteric tradition probably would more © 2008. State University of N or applicable copyright law. tiptacfneihanarxsanrsditnti g sn nCp c hagraoroten tosunmup dcsioarne ipaaytnstail nossoira sa na(ptnmolthsohyir ev,g io pleepotfo r feurspfparaooshrnhg rpoiasimtdhclfp ooeeieascsarsx toaemssips pvlfg meiehrsnennocy ngd ahm se ecnwoird badoavo nlt lairoesp nrl.ndmdr igoo A sboeiuc)tsayf e sw ntsi ItnChsh h n emeotet ohn nWeaAto rfneimuuetmdy scgc steiohate arhmbotrni nciofb n ea vaetmsgnenhc st, adae on. u Ig aH Drtusthhieucseaae .hrorIv eaa nieh spl eitiolpsts i lptsrnd,m eh k opctieefilrh oaadaeitns gtmioAssom p nmnctha oooatei imcvnrsbaeitde--l,l . tS ghU. understanding of notions of process broadly conceived. With the revival of i rr ye pd on Cu EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 10/2/2019 5:02 PM via HEBREW UNIV OF JERUSALEM AN: 256907 ; Berthrong, John H..; Expanding Process : Exploring Philosophical and Theological Transformations in China and the West Account: s5122861

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