The Imperative of Understanding: Chinese Philosophy, Comparative Philosophy, and Onto-Hermeneutics

Edited by On-Cho Ng, 2008

As a tribute to the original thinking and scholarship of Chung-ying Cheng, this volume engages some timely and notable issues in Chinese philosophy and comparative philosophy, with special reference to the hermeneutic project, especially "onto-hermeneutics," which counts as one of Cheng's most significant and influential philosophical achievements. The chapters either directly address or indirectly illustrate the fact that all thoughts, and their apprehension, are in some crucial respects hermeneutic expressions and reflections. Acknowledging and capitalizing on the interpretive possibilities opened up by Cheng's critico-creative engagement with the imperative of understanding, the assembled essays reconstruct and rehearse the distinct Chinese conceptions of texts, reading, and truths by situating them in comparative contexts. In so doing, they are at once contemplation of, companion with, and complement to Western hermeneutic theories.

Contributors: John Berthrong, Nicholas Bunnin, Chung-ying Cheng, Jess Fleming, Joseph Grange, Jay Goulding, Yong Huang, Robert Cummings Neville, On-cho Ng, Richard E. Palmer, Galia Patt-Shamir, Lauren Pfister, Vincent Shen, Richard J. Smith, Kwong-loi Shun, John Allen Tucker, Kuang-ming Wu.