Embodiment Theory and Chinese Philosophy

<b>This book analyses some of the seminal texts of the Chinese tradition in light of the embodied tradition: the <i>Analects</i> of Confucius the<i> Zhuangzi </i> and the <i>Treatise on Music</i>.</b> Margus Ott's study shows how they exemplify aspects of embodiment theory while highlighting others that have been neglected in contemporary work. Ott also develops far-reaching possibilities of an embodied philosophy.<br/><br/>The embodied understanding did not go unchallenged in Ancient China. There were important counter-currents most notably the Mohists and the so-called Legalists. It has been argued that this challenge set the Chinese philosophical tradition in motion. By using embodiment theory Ott demonstrates how these ideas can be seen as a decontextualizing tendency of thought that plays an important role in human affairs.