Konzepte von Mensch, Person und Selbst in Java: eine historische PerspektiveArndt Graf

ASIEN – Nr. 82 (2002) pp. 22–34

Current discussions about „Human rights in Asia“, „Asian values“, „Democracy and religion in Asia“ etc. would gain much if the historical developments of the related concepts in the cultures of Asia were taken more into account. This is especially true for those Asian countries where constant cultural change does not allow to depart from a reductivist single formula, as it is the case with the Malayo-Indonesian world. In an exemplary way, the present article gives an overview of the main historical trends of the concepts of Man, Person, and Self in Java. Throughout the complicated intellectual history of this culture, change and reorientation are far more often to be observed than static „tradition“ and fixed identity. This article argues therefore for a dynamic, discourse-oriented view of the underlying philosophical concepts.