Introduction to Eastern Thought

This volume is a triumph of the spirit of cultural accommodation and inclusiveness that is driving the comparative philosophy movement. And as an internationally renonwed voice in this movement, Marietta Stepanients is singularly equipped in breadth of scholarship and in passion to offer the academy her interpretation of world wisdom. This survey includes both interpretive insight and a rich vein of the original philosophical literature, both context and content. It belongs on the bookshelf of every serious student of world culture. -- Roger T. Ames, University of Hawai'i
Professor Marietta Stepaniants is in many ways uniquely qualified to present non-western philosophical traditions to western students of philosophy. Having authored ten books and edited over twenty volumes in both western and mainly, modern Muslim philosophy, and having spent many months living in nonwestern countries, Stepaniants is widely recognized internationally as one of the most outstanding interpreters of Asian thought. She is able to present extremely difficult ideas, often quite alien to westerners, with clarity and deep understanding. -- Eliot Deutsch, University of Hawaii * From The Foreword *
In a time of mounting international conflicts it is inspiring and a breath of fresh air to read this enlightening book by the Russian author well known for her studies of Sufism. Instead of dividing the world into good and evil, Introduction to Eastern Thought acquaints the reader with the rich patrimony of world cultures—from India and Islam to China—from which we still have so much to learn. A particular virtue of the book is that it combines well informed and erudite interpretations with an extensive collection of primary sources. A much-needed contribution to cross-cultural understanding in our troubled world. -- Fred Dallmayr, University of Notre Dame
Marietta Stepaniants' Introduction to Eastern Thought raises important questions about the nature of philosophy in the Indian, Chinese, and Islamic traditions. Presenting the distinctive perspective of Russian scholarship, she provides lucid interpretations along with translations of essential primary sources, both medieval and modern. This book is required reading for anyone interested in a truly global concept of philosophy, and it should become the standard reference in courses on world philosophy. -- Carl Ernst, (University of North Carolina)