Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Dao: Ancient Chinese Thought in Modern American Life introduces the ideas and arguments of the ancient Chinese philosophies of Confucianism and Daoism to some of the most intractable social issues of modern American life, including abortion, gay marriage, and assisted suicide.
- Introduces the precepts of ancient Chinese philosophers to issues they could not have anticipated
- Relates Daoist and Confucian ideas to problems across the arc of modern human life, from birth to death
- Provides general readers with a fascinating introduction to Chinese philosophy, and its continued relevance
- Offers a fresh perspective on highly controversial American debates, including abortion, stem cell research, and assisted suicide
Sam Crane is the Chair of the Political Science Department at Williams College where he teaches, among other topics, contemporary Chinese politics and ancient Chinese philosophy. He blogs at The Useless Tree. He gave a talk at USC titled "Teaching Confucius in Beijng" on October 16. 2014. Click here to watch the video.
Click here for the full list of book interviews.
This video is also available on the USCI YouTube Channel.
