Striking a Balance: A Primer in Traditional Asian Values

Striking a Balance is an unusual, well-written introduction to Asian Thought. In addition to clear, lucid explication of primary concepts, Professor Brannigan provides insightful and philosophically sensitive retelling of a host of stories drawn from classical sources in Hinduism, Buddhism, Zen, Taoism and Confucianism. In the process he invites the reader to explore the ethical values woven into these traditions, to get to know the people whose lives have been shaped by those values, and to reflect on a range of similarities as well as differences between Eastern and Western cultures. -- Douglas W. Shrader, State University of New York at Oneonta Brannigan's style is clear and engaging.... Recommended. -- D.A. Haney * CHOICE, June 2010 * Increasingly, Americans are asking whether daunting social problems, from failing schools to violent crime, might be rooted in faulty ethical values-values that place an exaggerated emphasis on individual self-assertion over the goods of family and community. In this readable, deeply informed book, Brannigan explores a variety of non-Western ethical traditions that strike a healthier balance between individual and communal goods. -- Gregory Bassham, King's College