Self-Cultivation Philosophies in Ancient India, Greece, and China

Christopher W. Gowans shows how philosophy played a central role in self-cultivation programs in three ancient cultures. On the basis of a philosophical understanding of human nature, self-cultivation philosophies give an analysis of what is problematic in human life, propose an ideal state of being we can hope to attain, and provide a set of practices (philosophical, moral, therapeutic, or spiritual) we can undertake to achieve this end. This book explains the importance of self-cultivation philosophies in three ancient traditions: India (the Bhagavad Gita, Samkhya and Yoga, and Buddhism), Greece and Rome (Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Pyrrhonian Skepticism) and China (Confucianism, Daoism, and Chan Buddhism).