Master Sun's The Art of War is by no means the only ancient Chinese treatise on military affairs. One chapter in the Huainanzi; an important compendium of philosophy and political theory written in the second century BCE; synthesizes the entire corpus of military literature inherited from the Chinese classical era. Drawing on all major; existing military writings; as well as other lost sources; it assesses tactics and strategy; logistics; organization; and political economy; as well as cosmology and the fundamental morality of warfare.This powerful work set out to become the last word on military matters; subsuming and replacing all preceding literature. Written under the sponsorship of Liu An; king of Huainan; the Huainanzi's "military methods" emphasize the preservation of peace as the ultimate value to be served by the military; insisting that the army can be effectively and rightly used only when defending the sacred hereditary position of the emperor and his vassals. This position stands in stark contrast to that of The Art of War; which prioritizes the enrichment and empowerment of the state. Liu An's philosophy also argues that military success depends on the personal cultivation of the commander and that deception is not enough to secure victory. Only a commander with the exceptional qualities of insight and cognition; developed through a program of meditative practice and yogic refinement; can effectively control and interpret the strategic situation. Andrew Seth Meyer offers both a full translation of this text and an extensive analysis of its historical context. His thorough treatment relates Liu An's teachings to issues in Chinese philosophy; culture; religion; and history; helping to interpret their uncommon message.
#949541 in Books 2009-06-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.10 x 1.50 x 6.00l; 1.55 #File Name: 0231142226400 pages
Review
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Dense.By Jonathan HomrighausenPatil; a Harvard professor of religious studies; documents the philosophical debates between Buddhist thinker Ratnakirti and his Hindu adversaries; the Nyaya school; over the existence of a Creator deity named Isvara. Patil expands this issue into a broader discussion of Buddhist epistemology; philosophy of mind; and philosophy of language. Much of this book was highly inaccessible and technical; and I skimmed much of it. But what I skimmed was illuminating.The Nyayas' argument for the existence of a Creator should be familiar to anyone read in Western religion. In effect; it is a blending of the argument from design and the cosmological argument. Every effect has a cause; and for a complex object/effect; that cause must be intelligent. Just as a pot (a la William Paley's watch) has a cause; so must the earth; and that cause must be intelligent. Just as the argument parallels Western critiques; so do the objections. The design argument only proves a deity who is a creator; not an all-knowing or all-powerful one. Its analogy between a universe and a pot fails; we have seen pots created so we can infer that any pot we encounter is created; but we have not seen a universe created. This analogy - the inference from "universe" to "creator" - leads into broader issues of mind; language; and knowledge; the debate Patil spends his book reconstructing.The final chapter was the most interesting. Here Patil reflects on the value of philosophy for Buddhism. Many Buddhists eschew philosophy; citing a story from the Pali Canon (the earliest Buddhist scriptures) in which the Buddha compares abstract metaphysical questions to a man shot by a poisoned arrow (suffering/dukkha). This man refuses to have the arrow removed and poison remedy applied until he finds the name and clan of the man who shot the arrow; the type of poison on the arrow; the manufacturer of the arrow; etc. While this story is often used to demonstrate the priority of practice over detached rational reflection; Buddhists have not always seen it so. Ratnakirti sees philosophy not as an end in itself; but as a foundation for the dharma. If one is afflicted with wrong views on the nature of mind and reality; such as the view that we have eternal souls; the dharma cannot be heard. Philosophical argument can convince us of the reality of agelessness; a reality which we can then internalize and embody through practice. Philosophy leads us to the dharma but does not replace it. This is similar to the traditional Thomistic conception of philosophy; or natural theology. Once we become aware of the truth of God's existence; revealed theology or faith can step in.Still; from a historical perspective; I can't help but think that Buddhist philosophy emerged as a form of competition. Hindus had elaborate schools of philosophy. Perhaps Buddhists looked unintelligent without any. Hence Buddhist philosophy. Patil is immensely learned; but skimming the first and last chapter of this book gave me all I need. But then again; I'm not versed in Sanskrit or Indian philosophy.
