{"product_id":"the-propensity-of-things-toward-a-history-of-efficacy-in-china-9780942299953","title":"The Propensity of Things: Toward a History of Efficacy in China","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn this strikingly original contribution to our understanding of Chinese philosophy, Fran ois Jullien uses the Chinese concept of \u003ci\u003eshi\u003c\/i\u003e -- disposition or circumstance, power or potential -- as a touchstone to explore Chinese culture and to uncover the intricate and coherent structure underlying Chinese modes of thinking. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis term -- whose very ambivalence and disconcerting polysemy, on the one hand, and simple efficacy, on the other, defy the order of a concept -- insinuates itself into the ordering and conditioning of reality in all its manifold and complex representations. Jullien traces its appearance from military strategy to politics, from the aesthetics of calligraphy and painting to the theory of literature, and from reflection on history to \"first philosophy.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt the point where these various domains intersect, a fundamental intuition, assumed to be self-evident for centuries on end, emerges: namely, that reality -- every kind of reality -- may be perceived as a particular deployment or arrangement of things to be relied upon and worked to one's advantage. Art or wisdom, as conceived by the Chinese, lies in strategically exploiting the propensity that emanates from this particular configuration of reality. Jullien's analysis of \u003ci\u003eshi\u003c\/i\u003e and his excursion through Chinese culture ultimately deepen our own comprehension of the world of things and renew the impulse to discover the endless pleasures of inquiry.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-11842639\"\u003eFrancois Jullien\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Zone Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/10\/1999\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.90w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780942299953\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0942299957\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-PHI\"\u003ePhilosophy\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-PHI009000\"\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Surveys | General\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-PHI\"\u003ePhilosophy\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-PHI003000\"\u003eEastern\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS008000\"\u003eAsia | China\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrancois Jullien is Professor at the Universite Paris VII-Denis Diderot and director at the Institut de la Pensee Contemporaine. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eDetour and Access: Strategies of Meaning in China and Greece\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Propensity of Things: Toward a History of Efficacy in China\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eIn Praise of Blandness: Proceeding from Chinese Thought and Aesthetics\u003c\/i\u003e all published by Zone Books.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Zone Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42692954587373,"sku":"9780942299953","price":31.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_ee448d75-793e-4321-b47f-e6f1d7e0cef9.jpg?v=1649856329","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/the-propensity-of-things-toward-a-history-of-efficacy-in-china-9780942299953","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}