Philosophy

The series West-östliche Denkwege is not only a forum for the philosophical exchange of ideas, but also constitutes a shared effort towards the truth reached in dialogue not only with East-Asian and Western cultures, but also within the space of Europe itself, to the past and present of which a West–East structure of difference belongs. The primary aim of the series is not simply to compare thinking cultures, but to connect them together in order to make them fruitful for the purposes of a common effort. In dealing with the fundamental topics of theoretical and practical philosophy, political thinking and bioethics, the series aims to encourage a lively discourse between East and West by disclosing a wealth of different traditions.

As a result of globalisation in the 21st century, philosophy is experiencing almost revolutionary change in all its dimensions – from logic via theoretical and practical knowledge of the world to the philosophy of language and the philosophy of history. Philosophy no longer focuses only on Europe; it is also looking for parallels in the Arab world, the Far East and Africa. Even the diversity of its own culture is becoming apparent. In this respect, philosophy can only be a point of reference for related disciplines, such as theology, philology, political science, social sciences and law, if it acquaints itself with intercultural issues. This series of publications contains outstanding monographs, collections of conference papers and anthologies which are devoted to the study of intercultural philosophy, employ a variety of interdisciplinary and methodological approaches, and which focus particularly on the tense relationship between religion and reason. These works also offer new thoughts on ethical questions, such as the relationship between universality or the culture of values and norms and human dignity and human rights, and focus on the relationship between law and political thinking. This series should be regarded as an international, interdisciplinary forum extending beyond the context of school and the common confines of this subject area.