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Emanuel Pastreich's avatar

There are many articles on the topic of the impact of Confucianism on enlightenment thinking. I do not have a specific book in mind. Matthew Ehret has written on the topic recently. Perhaps "China in Early Enlightenment Thought" by Simon Kow to start.

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G.T. Yang's avatar

Thanks, Emanuel. It's a fascinating topic in and of itself, but also germane to the effort of fostering mutual and informed respect. Many of the Chinese people I know deeply appreciate the accomplishments of Western societies (perhaps to a fault) whereas most of the Americans I know who opine about Asia in general and China specifically (their number seems to be increasing these days) have worse-than-no knowledge of Asian history and world history. Sorry, a bit of venting there! Thanks again for the recommendations.

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G.T. Yang's avatar

This interview, like many of Emanuel Pastreich's speeches and essays, is filled with provocative insights about urgent, vexing and terrifying matters. Take together they're helping me develop a framework for understanding our present moment. But I was also surprised by how optimistic I felt after reading this interview. Here, Emanuel and Jeff strike a note of hope for mutual respect between the West and the Rest.

A question for Emanuel: I found your statements about 18th century Enlightenment's taking inspiration from Chinese and Ottoman traditions of noocracy very interesting. Do you know of any books that specifically explore this topic? Thanks

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KW NORTON's avatar

This is an excellent interview. Lots of great ideas for progress. I like the fact you both are connected on this. We in the United States would like to grow up and to finally be citizens of the world and able to communicate without the intervention of the government & corporations in our personal affairs. Freedom is a threatening idea to so many. I know of many people dedicated to these ideas in Washington D.C. They seriously want to do good but are prevented by the overlords.

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