Seeking Comparative Political Philosophy from an East Asian Perspective: A Transversal Cross-Cultural Dialogue

This article speculatively explores comparative political philosophy from an East Asian perspective. First, the article presents the objective conditions that are currently facilitating the shift away from Western-centrism in favor of a more polycentric world, particularly the urgent need to create global common goods through international cooperation and the recent strong economic performance by non-Western regions and nations. Then, methodological ideas are suggested for conducting comparative political theory that traverses and links seemingly contradictory theories. Concepts such as transversality and cross-cultural dialogue are discussed, along with biological concepts such as homology, analogy, and convergent/divergent evolution. Whereas transversality provides the basic foundation for a comparative political theory, cross-cultural dialogue supplies a concrete method to apply the theory. The guiding spirit can come from evolutionary theory, which demonstrates that people and civilizations are never in a state of stasis or immutability, but rather exist as a steadily flowing and ever-changing wave. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]