Chinese thought in early German Enlightenment from Leibniz to Goethe : abortive approaches to transcultural understanding / by Bretislav Horyna.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Leibniz's concept of translatio sapientiae as a practice of transcultural exchange -- Theoria cum praxi : Christian Wolff's Oratio de sinarum philosophia practica -- A reconstruction of the teachings of the ancient Chinese according to Georg Bernhard Bilfinger -- Political philosophy and system of government in China : the cameralists Johann Heinrich Gottlob von Justi -- The world is the antithesis of all opposites : Goethe enchanted by China -- How is transcultural comparison possible?

"The book is a philosophical-historical examination of the influence of the knowledge of China imparted by the Jesuits on the thinking of the German Enlightenment in the 18th century. Is it not primarily concerned with a comprehensive reconstruction of the philosophy of the thinkers discussed, but rather with the political and intellectual contextualisation of a line of thought that recognised the practical philosophy and state organisation of China as different from that of Europe, but equal to it and in some respects superior to it. This challenged the claim of theology that Christian revelation alone provided access to truth. The volume analyses the opposition to this line of thought, especially on the part of Protestant orthodoxy. It argues that in the German Enlightenment of the 18th century, the possibility emerged to conceive philosophy on the basis of reason as a phenomenon not limited to Europe but as a path followed under different conditions in China"-- Provided by publisher.

Local access dig.pdf. [Horyma-Chinese Thought German Enlightenment.pdf]