Those familiar with the first edition of this book might be surprised
at the appearance of a new edition less than a decade after the book’s
initial publication. It would be natural to assume that the content
of a book like this one—dealing, as it does, with the ‘basics’ of premodern Asian philosophies—would not stand in need of urgent
revision. I, too, was sceptical of the need for a new edition when
the idea was first put to me. This scepticism was quickly dispelled,
however, as I began revising the manuscript.
It is genuinely breathtaking how much excellent scholarship on
the philosophical traditions of both India and China has been produced over the last few years. When I began my research in this area
several decades ago, available source and secondary material was limited and often difficult to access. This situation changed because of
the efforts of pioneering scholars who worked hard to insert Indian
and Chinese philosophies into the philosophical curriculum of western schools and universities. As a result, a new generation of scholars
has come of age, and it is now virtually impossible to keep abreast of
all the developments in the field.
Nonetheless, our understanding of the philosophical traditions
of Asia is still incomplete, and good scholarship has the potential
to transform our understanding of the past while filling in missing
pieces of our global intellectual heritage. I hope that the present
book makes its own modest contribution to this effort by helping
to prepare the next generation of scholars to take up this work in
what is currently one of the most exciting and rewarding branches
of academic philosophy.