The Philosophical Thought of Wang Chong

This book is a study of the methodological, metaphysical, and epistemological work of the Eastern Han Dynasty period scholar Wang Chong. It presents Wang's philosophical thought as a unique and syncretic culmination of a number of ideas developed in earlier Han and Warring States philosophy. Wang's philosophical methodology and his theories of truth, knowledge, and will and determinism offer solutions to a number of problems in the early Chinese tradition. His views also have much to offer contemporary philosophy, suggesting new ways of thinking about familiar problems. While Wang is best known as a critic and skeptic, Alexus McLeod argues that these aspects of his thought form only a part of a larger positive project, aimed at discerning truth in a variety of senses.

Alexus McLeod is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Asian/Asian-American Studies at the University of Connecticut, USA. He works primarily in Comparative Philosophy, particularly early Chinese and Mesoamerican Philosophy.

1. Introduction: Wang Chong and Philosophy in Early China.- 2. Background, Writings, and Influence.- 3. Philosophical and Critical Method.- 4. Truth: Properties and Pluralism.- 5. Naturalism: Tian and Qi.- 6. Free Will, Allotment, and Inborn Characteristics.- 7. Conclusion: The Significance of Wang Chong's Philosophical Thought.