Great Thinkers of the Eastern World
Great Thinkers of the Eastern World

Edited by Ian P. McGreal

Published by HarperCollins, 1995.

This is a hard bound book of 7.5" X 9.5", running 505 pages.

The preface begins, "Great Thinkers of the Eastern World presents informative essays on over 100 of the outstanding philosophical and religious thinkers of China, India, Japan, Korea, and the world of Islam. Each article in this book summarizes and discusses the central ideas of an outstanding Eastern thinker (or, in some cases, the ideas of a classic work of great influence whose authorship is unknown). The essays are designed to serve as introductions for the general reader to the distinctive philosophical perspectives of the authors or the books discussed."

41 scholars contributed essays to the collection. Each article finishes with a bibliography for further reading.

Interesting is the inclusion of a few 20th Century thinkers, as difficult as it is to estimate the ultimate importance of people who were writing only a short time ago. For example, the Indian politician Jawaharlal Nehru is included, but not Gandhi. The Japanese philosopher Nishitani Keiji and the Chinese philosopher Fung Yu-lan are included, perhaps because they represent new engagement with the Western philosophical tradition from Eastern perspectives. This is an interesting aspect of the book.

Besides constituting a very useful reference work on individual thinkers, the book can also serve as an interesting and not insubstantial introduction to Eastern philosophy, a subject of growing importance in today's globalized world.