TEHRAN (IBNA) -- Featuring philosophical investigations in Asian traditions, ‘Key Concepts in ‎Eastern Philosophy’ (1999), a book by Oliver Leaman has been published in Persian and ‎is available to Iranian readership.‎
The book provides an extensive glossary of the main terms and concepts used in Eastern philosophy. ‘Key Concepts in Eastern Philosophy’ has been translated into Persian by Shirin Sadat Bathaei and released by Elm Publishing in 432 pages and 330 copies.
Oliver Leaman writes exclusively about Eastern philosophy, with entries varying in length from a paragraph to several pages. He uses Asian terms in his explanations of philosophical concepts, and where philosophies differ in their interpretation of concepts he covers those differences in the entry.
This shows the adoption, and adaptation, occurring among and between neighboring traditions. Leaman successfully separates philosophy and religion, allowing definitions of philosophical terms to stand on their own. He also includes coverage of Islam, giving the book an interesting breadth.
The lists of key thinkers and concepts are helpful, and readers will gain from the definitions and discussion of major ideas of this large region’s philosophies. Leaman is successful in his focus on Eastern philosophy; for academic and larger public libraries.
“The discussions of Islamic philosophy are some of the best parts of the book, and the author demonstrates a keen understanding of the works of ibn Rushd, ibn Sina, Al-Ghazali, and al-Suhrawardi. References to Islamic concepts make clear connections to Greek philosophical sources-a helpful touchstone for those grounded in the Western tradition.
Leaman is a professor of philosophy and Zantker Professor of Judaic studies at the University of Kentucky, where he has been teaching since 2000. He studies the history of Islamic, Jewish and Eastern philosophy. He received his Ph.D. from Cambridge University in 1979.