Confucian Moral Self Cultivation

Philip J. Ivanhoe is Professor in and Chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Georgetown University.

The publication of this book itself is news. Hackett has emerged as one of the three leading publishers in English of books in philosophy, especially of classic texts and studies of classic texts. Their publication of a second edition of Ivanhoe's study is a strong signal that China is now on the English-speaking world's philosophical map . . . . Besides being a harbinger, Ivanhoe's book has singular merits. He is a careful and thorough interpreter of texts, and also has the knack of presenting an insight or an interpretive move in a short space and in pointed language. This ability to say something important in a condensed and vivid way is invaluable in a book whose intended audience includes not only scholars of Chinese philosophy but also philosophically grounded readers whose previous knowledge of Chinese philosophy has been slight. Another merit is the way in which Ivanhoe presents other people's scholarship. He provides a wide range of citations of recent interpretations of the texts under discussion; but in general the explanation and Ivanhoe's answering comment are kept brief, which enhances the readability of the book for its intended audiences . . . . As a detailed presentation of Confucian accounts of moral self cultivation, and of recent scholarship pertaining to this, [this book] is I think superb and unrivaled. --Joel J. Kupperman, Journal of Chinese Philosophy