The social self in Zen and American pragmatism
By: Steve Odin.
Series: SUNY series in constructive postmodern thought
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Albany
Language: eng
Number of pages: 482
Subjects: Self (Philosophy); Philosophy, Japanese -- 20th century.; Pragmatism.; Philosophy, Comparative.; Zen Buddhism -- Doctrines.
Description: The thesis of this work is that in both modern Japanese philosophy and American pragmatism there has been a paradigm shift from a monological concept of self as an isolated "I" to a dialogical concept of the social self as an "I-Thou relation," including a communication model of self as individual-society interaction. It is also shown for both traditions all aesthetic, moral, and religious values are a function of the social self arising through communicative interaction between the individual and society.

However, at the same time this work critically examines major ideological conflicts arising between the social self theories of modern Japanese philosophy and American pragmatism with respect to such problems as individualism versus collectivism, freedom versus determinism, liberalism versus communitarianism, and relativism versus objectivism.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 461-474) and index.