The term Indianphilosophy may refer to any of several traditions of philosophical thought that originated in the Indian subcontinent, including Hindu philosophy, Buddhist philosophy, and Jain philosophy. India has a rich philosophical heritage right from the Vedic-Upanishadic to the Scholastic period. Commentaries over commentaries were written. Schools and sub-schools of philosophical thought were formed. Sects and subsects took birth as per the need and demands of the time, and the amount of freedom the (...) scholars exercised. In this paper it is an attempt to highlights the relevance of Indianphilosophy in the 21st century as a dominant school of Asian philosophy. (shrink)
This paper attempts to articulate certain inadequacies that are involved in the traditional way of categorizing Indianphilosophy and explores alternative approaches, some of which otherwise are not explicitly seen in the treatises of the history of Indian Philosophies. By categorization, I mean, classifying Indianphilosophy into two streams, which are traditionally called as astica and nastica or orthodox and heterodox systems. Further, these different schools in the astica Darsanas and nastica Darsanas are usually numbered (...) into six and three respectively. Nyaya - Vaisesika, Sankhya -Yoga and Purva & Uttara Mimamsa are identified as astica darsanas and Carvaka, Buddhism and Jainism are identified as nastica darsanas (6+3). It is my endeavor to critically analyze the usual astica-nastica distinction of 6+3 classification of Indianphilosophy so as to find out the meaning of such a rationale in this categorization. This general consensus is contested in this paper. What I am intended to support and strengthen such a critical analysis and exploration is to discuss these systems of India’s philosophy within the general intellectual milieu of Indian cultural traditions, its orientations, presuppositions and preferences. In order to carry out such a task, I shall be taking recourse to the theories of different scholars, both traditional and modern, in approaching and appropriating IndianPhilosophy from different perspectives and their critical-creative approaches shall be scrutinized. (shrink)
Contemporary IndianPhilosophy is related to contemporary Indian thinkers and contains the proceedings of First Session of Society for Positive Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies (SPPIS) Haryana. It is neither easy nor impossible to translate into action all noble goals set forth by the eminent thinkers and scholars, but we might try to discuss and propagate their ideas. In this session all papers submitted electronically and selected abstracts have been published on a website especially develop for this (...) session. In this volume we included some papers from this session and also from open sources and contributors include teachers, research scholars and students etc. This volume is divided into two parts. First part contains papers on Swami Vivekananda and second part contains papers of B. G. Tilak, Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Saheed Bhagat Singh and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar etc. It is the general intention of the Centre to produce informative as well as positive literature to inspire and motivate the students and the general readers. (shrink)
Common themes in American Indianphilosophy -- First introductions -- Common themes : a first look -- Constructing an actual American Indian world -- NelsonGoodman's constructivism -- Setting the stage -- Fact, fiction, and feeders -- Ontological pluralism -- True versions and well-made worlds -- Nonlinguistic versions and the advancement of understanding -- True versions and cultural bias -- Constructive realism : variations on a theme by Goodman -- True versions and cultural bias -- An American (...) class='Hi'>Indian well-made actual world -- Relatedness, native knowledge, and ultimate acceptability -- Native knowledge and relatedness as a world ordering principle -- Native knowledge and truth -- Native knowledge and verification -- Native knowledge and ultimate acceptability -- An expansive conception of persons -- A western conception of persons -- Native conceptions of animate beings and persons -- An American Indian expansive conception of persons -- The semantic potency of performance -- Opening reflections and reminders about performances -- Symbols and their performance -- The Shawnee naming ceremony -- Gifting as a world constructing performance -- Closing remarks about the semantic potency of performances -- Circularity as a world ordering principle -- Goodman briefly revisited -- Time, events, and history or space, place, and nature? -- Circularity as a world ordering principle -- Circularity and sacred places -- Closing remarks about circularity as a world ordering principle -- The dance of person and place -- American Indianphilosophy as a dance of person and place -- Consequences, speculations, and closing reflections. (shrink)
Ethics and the History of IndianPhilosophy (Motilal Banarsidass 2007). Regretfully, it is not an uncommon view in orthodox Indology that Indian philosophers were not interested in ethics. This claim belies the fact that Indian philosophical schools were generally interested in the practical consequences of beliefs and actions. The most popular symptom of this concern is the doctrine of karma, according to which the consequences of actions have an evaluative valence. Ethics and the History of (...) class='Hi'>IndianPhilosophy argues that the orthodox view in Indology concerning Indian ethics is false. The first half the book deals with theoretical issues in studying ethics: defining moral terms, understanding the subject matter of ethics so as to transcend culturally specific substantive commitments and touches upon issues of cross-cultural hermeneutics and translation. The second half consists of a systematic explication of the moral philosophical aspects of nine major Indian philosophical schools. I argue that “dharma” in its various uses in Indianphilosophy is always rationally treated as a moral term—even in so called “ontological” employments of the term as seen in Buddhism and Jainism. In understanding “dharma” in this manner, the Indian philosophical tradition is replete with different versions of moral realism that fit tidily with other philosophical commitments of Indian philosophers. Pains are taken to show the breath of moral philosophical disagreement in this tradition. On a comparative note, some Indian moral philosophy resembles realist approaches of the Western tradition (such as the Non-natural realism of Neo-Platonism, or the Naturalism of Utilitarianism). Out of the major Indian philosophical schools, a slim minority are shown to be committed to moral irrealism while some are shown to regard their entire philosophical orientation as firmly planted within moral philosophy (such as Jainism, Buddhism, Purva Mimamsa and Yoga). In response to those who would argue that what Indian philosophers meant by “dharma” is very different from what moral philosophers in the West have meant by “ethical” or “good,” I argue that this is as vacuous as noting that Utilitarians have a different conception of the good from Deontologists. If philosophy is concerned with theoretical debate, as I argue it is, philosophical terms function to articulate such disagreements. The various seemingly desperate uses of “dharma” in the Indian tradition are no longer confusing or disorderly when we understand the theoretico-philosophical function of this term in Indian philosophical disputes. (shrink)
Some postcolonial theorists argue that the idea of a single system of belief known as "Hinduism" is a creation of nineteenth-century British imperialists. Andrew J. Nicholson introduces another perspective: although a unified Hindu identity is not as ancient as some Hindus claim, it has its roots in innovations within South Asian philosophy from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. During this time, thinkers treated the philosophies of Vedanta, Samkhya, and Yoga, along with the worshippers of Visnu, Siva, and Sakti, as (...) belonging to a single system of belief and practice. Instead of seeing such groups as separate and contradictory, they re-envisioned them as separate rivers leading to the ocean of Brahman, the ultimate reality. -/- Drawing on the writings of philosophers from late medieval and early modern traditions, including Vijnanabhiksu, Madhava, and Madhusudana Sarasvati, Nicholson shows how influential thinkers portrayed Vedanta philosophy as the ultimate unifier of diverse belief systems. This project paved the way for the work of later Hindu reformers, such as Vivekananda, Radhakrishnan, and Gandhi, whose teachings promoted the notion that all world religions belong to a single spiritual unity. In his study, Nicholson also critiques the way in which Eurocentric concepts—like monism and dualism, idealism and realism, theism and atheism, and orthodoxy and heterodoxy—have come to dominate modern discourses on Indianphilosophy. (shrink)
A spirit of disintegration and disunity is conspicuous on the contemporary social, as well as philosophical scene. There is a celebration of fragments and differences. In such a scenario, no less than a person like Amartya Sen, an eminent economist and a Noble Laureate rose to the occasion and traced out the roots and the space for a democratic discourse that has been sustained in the Indian philosophical tradition. It is laudable that he opened up a discussion that will (...) strengthen the democratic spirit which is missing in the present. This paper examines the ‘dialogic tradition’ projected by Amartya Sen in his Argumentative Indian (2005). (shrink)
The article deals with some facets of the phenomenon of the underdetermination of meaning by (linguistic) data which are particularly relevant for textual exegesis in the historico-philological disciplines. The paper attempts to demonstrate that lack of relevant information is by no means the only important reason why certain issues of interpretation cannot be definitely settled by means of traditional philological methods but that the objective nonexistence of pertinent data is equally significant. It is claimed that the phenomenon of objective under-determination (...) possesses among others two major consequences: (1) A strict separation between the exploration of the history of (Indian) philosophy and philosophical criticism is theoretically incorrect. (2) Transference of indeterminacy and vagueness to the target langue in translations of textual sources is not only legitimate but sometimes most appropriate. Presumably the relevance of the discussed issues is not strictly confined to the area of Indianphilosophy. (shrink)
Philosophy is a way of being in the world of questions, interacting with it, and responding to it. Human mind is an ongoing dialogue about the topics of philosophy such as good and evil, right and wrong, truth and falsity, appearance and reality. Education refers to an act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, physical ability of an individual. Values are whatever an individual desires, prefers and likes. In context of present education system (...) moral, cultural and spiritual values should be preferred. New Education Policy of India should be built on the foundation of ancient spiritualistic, modern culture and technical sophistication. It should develop scientific temper and spirit of inquiry in the students also. The present work entitled, “Philosophy, Education and Indian Value System” is an attempt to relate philosophy, education and values at the same ground, so that they can perform the conception of complete education. Here we have three chapters i.e. (i) Philosophy and Values in School Education of India, Sri Aurobindo’s Philosophy of Education and Spiritual Approach to Education: An Indian Experience, respectively. I would like to thank my students and colleagues of Milestone Education Society (Regd.) Pehowa for their full time support and corporation in our educational programmes. (shrink)
It is therefore most appropriate that Yoga and Indianphilosophy be given equal attention both in the context of academic research and in the framework of ...
Chapter INTRODUCTION WHY STUDY INDIANPHILOSOPHY TODAY ? Indianphilosophy in the past has been ingenious and original, a worthy contender with Greek and ...
INTRODUCTION The subtitle of this dissertation, "Brahman, the pure unity of thought within itself", which epitomizes Hegel's view of Indianphilosophy and ...
India has a long, rich, and diverse tradition of philosophical thought, spanning some two and a half millenia and encompassing several major religious traditions. Now, in this intriguing introduction to Indianphilosophy, the diversity of Indian thought is emphasized. It is structured around six schools of thought that have received classic status. Sue Hamilton explores how the traditions have attempted to understand the nature of reality in terms of inner or spiritual quest and introduces distinctively Indian (...) concepts, such as karma and rebirth. She also explains how Indian thinkers have understood issues of reality and knowledge-issues that re also an important part of the Western philosophical tradition. (shrink)
Oxford is pleased to be bringing back into print this classic two-volume work on Indianphilosophy by one of India's greatest thinkers. First published in 1923, the work was revised in 1929.
Preface R. Baine Harris Most Western scholars are not aware of the complexity, richness, and antiquity of IndianPhilosophy. It is one of the oldest, ...
The Essentials of IndianPhilosophy provides a concise, connected account of Indianphilosophy, and interpretation and criticism are provided within the limits ...
Most writings on Indianphilosophy assume that its central concern is with moska, that the Vedas along with the Upanishadic texts are at its root and that it consists of six orthodox systems knowns as Mimamasa, Vedanta, Nyaya, Vaisesika, Samkhya, and Yoga, on the one hand and three unorthodox systems: Buddhism, Jainism and Carvaka, on the other. Besides these, they accept generally the theory of Karma and the theory of Purusartha as parts of what the Indian tradition (...) thinks about human action. The essays in this volume question these assumptions and show that there is little ground for accepting them. A new counter-perspective is presented for the articulation of the Indian philosophical tradition that breaks from the traditional frame in which it has usually been presented. (shrink)
Machine generated contents note: 1 A Plea for a New History of Philosophy in India -- 2 Towards a Field Theory of IndianPhilosophy: -- Suggestions for a New Way of Looking at IndianPhilosophy -- II -- 3 IndianPhilosophy in the First Millennium A.D.: -- Fact and Fiction -- 4 Where are the Vedas in the First Millennium AD.? -- 5 Vedinta in the First Millennium A.D.: The Case Study -- of (...) a Retrospective Illusion Imposed by th Historiography -- of IndianPhilosophy -- III -- 6 Prltftyasamutpada-Does it Say Anything New? -- 7 ilow Anekantika is Anekanta? Some Reflections on the -- Jain Theory of Anekfntavada -- IV -- 8 MTmamsa before JaiminT: Some Problems in the -- Interpretation of Rule in the Indian Tradition -- 9 The MTmamsaka versus Yajfiika: Some Further Problem in -- the Interpretation of Sruti in the Indian Tradition -- 10 Syena yaga: The Achilles Heel of Sruti in Indian Tradition -- 11 Is the Doctrine of Arthavada Compatible with the -- Idea of Srut? -- V -- 12 The Myth of the Prasthana TrayF -- 13 Is "Tattvam asi" The Same Type of Identity Statement as -- "The Morning Star is the Evening Star"? -- 14 Can the Analysis of Adhyasa ever Lead to an -- Advaitic Conclusion? -- 15 Was Acarya Samkara Responsible for the Disappearance -- of Buddhist Philosophy from India? -- VI -- 16 Is Nyaya Realist or Idealist? -- 17 Can Navya Nyaya Analysis Make a Distinction -- between Sense and Reference? -- VII -- 18 Did the GopTs Really Love Krsna?: Some Reflections -- on Bhakti as a Purusartha in the Indian Tradition -- 19 The Vamasrama Syndrome of Indian Sociology -- 20 'Shock-proof, 'Evidence-proof, 'Argument-proof -- World of Sampradayika Scholarship of IndianPhilosophy -- 21 Nyaya; Realist or Idealist: Is the Debate Ended, the -- Argument Completed? -- Appendix. (shrink)
Selected from the works of J. N. Mohanty over a forty-year period, these essays provide an intellectual biography of the man and insights into Eastern philosophy. Part I brings together various writings on problems in metaphysics, epistemology, and language, alongwith thoughtful treatments of notions such as experience, self consciousness, doubt, tradition, and modernity. Part II collects essays written during the exciting though turbulent years following India's independence, and they survey issues in social ethics, reform activities, and religion in the (...) works of Aurobindo, Gandhi, Vinobha, and Ramohan Roy. Part III comprises essays that treat the encounter between phenomenology and philosophy, between Eastern and Western philosophy, and does so through an incisive analysis of the major concerns of philosophy anywhere. The collection concludes with ruminations on the future of Indianphilosophy. (shrink)
This book retraces the severity of the impact of colonialism and Western philosophy on the making of Indian thought. It highlights the general tendency in contemporary Indianphilosophy to avoid direct dialogue as opposed to the rich and elaborate debates that formed the pivot of classical Indian tradition. The author peruses works in and on Indianphilosophy, searching for possible and hidden dialogues and identifies three important areas where there is a clear possibility (...) of dialogue: between Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi, V.D. Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi, and Sri Aurobindo and K.C. Bhattacharya. He retrieves these debates on state and pre-modern society, religion, and politics, and science and spiritualism respectively. He concludes by indicating possible directions that Indianphilosophy can take, and explicates the nature of the postcolonial self not merely at a political level but by restoring the metaphysical texts of contemporary India. This book will be of considerable interest not only to students and scholars of Indianphilosophy and religious studies but to scholars of politics and sociology as well. (shrink)
The story of Indianphilosophy.--Basic tenets of Indianphilosophy.--Testimony in Indianphilosophy.--Hinduism.--Hinduism and Hindu philosophy.--The Jain religion.--Some riddles in the behavior of Gods and sages in the epics and the Purānas.--Autobiography of a yogi.--Jainism.--Svapramanatva and Svapraksatva: an inconsistency in Kumārila's philosophy.--The nature of Buddhi according to Sānkhya-Yoga.--The individual in social thought and practice in India.--Professor Zaehner and the comparison of religions.--A comparison between the Eastern and Western portraits of man in our time.
We (relatively few) Western analytic philosophers who also work on classical Indianphilosophy commonly encounter puzzlement or suspicion from our colleagues in Western philosophy because of our Indian interests. The ubiquity of these attitudes is itself revealing of Western conceptions of Indianphilosophy, though their origins lie in cultural history often unknown to those who hold them. In the first part of this paper I relate a small but significant slice of that history before (...) going on to distinguish and illustrate three different Western conceptions of Indianphilosophy associated with three different approaches to India: the magisterial, the exoticist and the curatorial. I argue that none of these three approaches gives us an adequate conception of Indianphilosophy: the magisterial approach is overly dismissive, the exoticist approach misrepresents the analytical achievements of Indianphilosophy, and the curatorial approach fails to take seriously Indianphilosophy's concern with truth. I advocate instead a different Western approach to Indianphilosophy, an approach suggested by the Indian philosophers' own discussions of the problem of truth. (shrink)
Using recontructive ideas available in classical Indian original works, this book makes a departure in the style of modern writings on Indian moral philosophy.
The present volume appears to be the first general introduction, for English-reading students, to that which, in Indian tradition, corresponds to 'philosophy' ...
Today India is being crushed between two millstones of internal disintegration of man’s personality and society vis-à-vis globalization. India’s spiritual culture and multiple human cultures are being crushed. Indian culture is a lived experience of the inner self. We are to develop an integrative world-view of IndianPhilosophy. We are concerned with IndianPhilosophy in 2008. Philosopher analyzes ideology for restoring justice in society. He creates values, judgement and tries to translate them in praxis. His (...) thinking is distinct from history of philosophy and exegetical explanations. Philosophy of history is recapitulating archeology ofknowledge. He critiques various types of disintegrations and reintegration. Rethinking, thus, is a hermeneutical epistemic necessity. If old techniques of epistemology are insufficient, it enjoins upon the philosopher to develop new tools of interpretation for solving current philosophical problems. Philosophical hermeneutic technique is to be used to interpret the ciphers of the scriptures for discerning real meanings in the modern context. For globalization, comparative and interdisciplinary methods are most significant. Minor multiple cultures are to be protected. My concern is with spiritual voluntarist Indian culture that steels human will for confronting existential human problems. The ideal man develops cosmic vision and asserts that the external world is the epiphany of the Numinous. He is font of nishkama karma. The Divine executes the cosmic law through the realized self (sthithyaprajana of The Gītā or sant-spahi of Guru GobindSingh) who is representative of the eternal Being (Akalapurakh) in history for restoring justice in society. The charismatic personality of the avatara (incarnate) done away with. All moral and societal responsibilities of restoring justice in society fall on man’s shoulders. (shrink)
Materialism is the oldest known philosophy. Philosophy was born as materialism and man had been essentially materialistic in character. In general, all our earliest experiences are of the material world. Philosophy means love for knowledge which is the unique characteristic of man. Man is never satisfied with mere food and shelter. Reason impels him towards a quest for knowledge. Philosophy is born at a man's attempt to have rational explanation of the universe around him and of (...) himself as a part of the universe out of which he had originated and where he has to live, act and think. There is strong and widely prevalent notion that we Indians are basically spiritualistic in outlook and materialism belongs to western thought. This popular view IndianPhilosophy perhaps originated from the false notion that "East is East and West is West"- a notion which according to Radhakrishnan, is sign of "abysonal ignorance". Man is either naturally materialists or naturally idealist the study of the history of philosophy, on the contrary, shows that materialism is the earliest philosophy. Prof. Stace rightly points out: "Materialism is ingrained in all men. We easterns and westerns, are born materialists. (shrink)
The period of British colonial rule in India is typically regarded as philosophically sterile. Indianphilosophy written in English during the British colonial period is often ignored in histories of Indianphilosophy, or, when considered explicitly, dismissed either as uncreative or as inauthentic. The late Daya Krishna thought hard about this at the end of his life, and we have been thinking about this in conversation with him. We show that this dismissal is unjustified and that (...) this is a fertile period for Indianphilosophy in which traditional Indian philosophical ideas were brought into dialogue with the West and advanced with great acumen. In this paper, we present one case study to illustrate this point. (shrink)
The period of British colonial rule in India is typically regarded as philosophically sterile. Indianphilosophy written in English during the British colonial period is often ignored in histories of Indianphilosophy, or, when considered explicitly, dismissed either as uncreative or as inauthentic. The late Daya Krishna thought hard about this at the end of his life, and we have been thinking about this in conversation with him. We show that this dismissal is unjustified and that (...) this is a fertile period for Indianphilosophy in which traditional Indian philosophical ideas were brought into dialogue with the West and advanced with great acumen. In this paper, we present one case study to illustrate this point. (shrink)
Schopenhauer was one of the first Western philosophers to appreciate the significance of Indianphilosophy. He comments on “the admirable agreement” between his own thought and the teachings of Buddhism, and he praises the wisdom of the Upanishads as among the most profound productions of the human mind. But how accurate is his grasp of Indianphilosophy? In this essay I focus on three significant points of comparison: compassion, the illusory nature of the individual, and the (...) value of life. To what extent are these themes shared by Schopenhauer and Indianphilosophy? To what extent is Schopenhauer’s account at odds with prevailing Indian views? Schopenhauer’s philosophy raises significant questions concerning the limits of cross-cultural appropriation and encounter. (shrink)
This book publishes, for the first time in decades, and in many cases, for the first time in a readily accessible edition, English language philosophical literature written in India during the period of British rule. Bhushan's and Garfield's own essays on the work of this period contextualize the philosophical essays collected and connect them to broader intellectual, artistic and political movements in India. This volume yields a new understanding of cosmopolitan consciousness in a colonial context, of the intellectual agency of (...) colonial academic communities, and of the roots of cross-cultural philosophy as it is practiced today. It transforms the canon of global philosophy, presenting for the first time a usable collection and a systematic study of Anglophone Indianphilosophy. -/- Many historians of Indianphilosophy see a radical disjuncture between traditional Indianphilosophy and contemporary Indian academic philosophy that has abandoned its roots amid globalization. This volume provides a corrective to this common view. The literature collected and studied in this volume is at the same time Indian and global, demonstrating that the colonial Indian philosophical communities were important participants in global dialogues, and revealing the roots of contemporary Indian philosophical thought. -/- The scholars whose work is published here will be unfamiliar to many contemporary philosophers. But the reader will discover that their work is creative, exciting, and original, and introduces distinctive voices into global conversations. These were the teachers who trained the best Indian scholars of the post-Independence period. They engaged creatively both with the classical Indian tradition and with the philosophy of the West, forging a new Indian philosophical idiom to which contemporary Indian and global philosophy are indebted. (shrink)
Aims of education: historicism and In the castle of my skin -- The meaning of life and Black lightning -- The inner radiance of the shelf in Palace of the peacock -- Knowledge and human understanding in A house for Mr Biswas -- Existentialism and The children of Sisyphus -- Tragic vision in Wide Sargasso Sea -- African conceptions of a person and Myal -- The law of karma in Sastra -- The moralty of reparations in Salt -- Plato versus (...) Kincaid?: A reading of The autobiography of my mother. (shrink)
This classic work is a general introduction to Indianphilosophy that covers the Vedic and Epic periods, including expositions on the hymns of the Rig Veda, the Upanisads, Jainism, Buddhism and the theism of the Bhagvadgita. Long acknowledged as a classic, this pioneering survey of Indian thought charts a fascinating course through an intricate history. From the Rig Veda to Ramanuja, Radhakrishnan traces the development of Indianphilosophy as a single tradition of thought through the (...) ages. The author showcases ancient philosophical texts and relates them to contemporary issues of philosophy and religion. This second edition with a new Introduction by eminent philosopher J.N. Mohanty, highlights the continuing relevance of the work and the philosophic tradition it represents. (shrink)
This classic work is a general introduction to Indianphilosophy that covers the Vedic and Epic periods, including expositions on the hymns of the Rig Veda, the Upanisads, Jainism, Buddhism and the theism of the Bhagvadgita. Long acknowledged as a classic, this pioneering survey of Indian thought charts a fascinating course through an intricate history. From the Rig Veda to Ramanuja, Radhakrishnan traces the development of Indianphilosophy as a single tradition of thought through the (...) ages. The author showcases ancient philosophical texts and relates them to contemporary issues of philosophy and religion. This second edition with a new Introduction by eminent philosopher J.N. Mohanty, highlights the continuing relevance of the work and the philosophic tradition it represents. (shrink)
Amongst its many other merits this collection of essays demonstrates the growing maturity of the study of the Indian philosophical tradition. Much of the good scholarship done on non-Western, and in particular on Indianphilosophy over the last decades has attempted to show that these texts hailing from east of Suez contain interesting and sophisticated discussions in their own right, discussions that have to be understood against the Ancient Indian intellectual and cultural context rather than evaluated (...) by how closely they can be seen as conforming to current fashions in the Western philosophical debate. While this approach has helped much in alerting us to the difficulties of forcing an ancient intellectual tradition on the procrustean bed of the philosophical interests and concerns of the current day,[...]. (shrink)
Positive Philosophy for Contemporary Indian Society has three chapters to read i.e. (i) Meaning of Positive Philosophy which deals with the conception of Positive Philosophy and Methodology, (ii) Nature of Philosophy in General which discuss about general conception of philosophy , methods of study and writing philosophy, and (iii) Philosophy of Social Change which discuss the need of Indian Model of Philosophy of Social Change and in the end there is (...) a concluding remarks. (shrink)
Jonardon Ganeri gives an account of language as essentially a means for the reception of knowledge. The semantic power of a word and its ability to stand for a thing derives from the capacity of understanders to acquire knowledge simply by understanding what is said. Ganeri finds this account in the work of certain Indian philosophers of language, and shows how their analysis can inform and be informed by contemporary philosophical theory.
One of the classical systems of IndianPhilosophy is specially concerned with the problems of logic c This system is called Nyaya which has a long history of about two thousand years. In the extent of the literature it has produced and in the depth of the philosophical problems it discusses, it is of considerable interest and importance. However, the spirit of pure rationality in which Nyaya discusses these problems and the techniques it makes use of in handling (...) them are quite different from other systems of Indian thought and at once renders it a unique achievement of the Indian mind. The term Nyaya means the method of coming to a conclusion with certainty and the system of Indianphilosophy in which philosophical problems are discussed according to this method came to be called Nyayadarsana or just Nyaya. Nyaya has been sedulously cultivated in restricted circles of traditional learning. Nyaya and in particular, Navyanyaya studies with unparalleled rigour and exactitude the nature, the dimensions and conditions of human knowledge. And by common consent the philosophical problem par excellence is the problem of knowledge. With rare insight, both the old and modern Nyaya analyse the problems connected with human knowledge and sets forth in detail the exact conditions in which valid knowledge is possible. This essay highlights the nature and scope of Nyaya logic comparing and contrasting it with other systems of logic especially the Buddhist and Aristotelian. (shrink)
v. 1. The philosophy of the Veda and of the epic.--The Buddha and the Jina.--The Sāmkhya and the classical Yoga-system.--v. 2. The Nature-philosophical schools and the Vaiśeṣika system.--The system of the Jaina.--The materialism.
Gandhi, M. K. [Answers to three questions]--Tagore, R. The religion of an artist.--Abhedānanda, Swāmi. Hindu philosophy in India.--Bhattacharyya, H. The principle of activism.--Bhattacharyya, K. C. The concept of philosophy.--Chatterji, G. C. Common-sense empiricism.--Coomaraswamy, A. K. On the pertinence of philosophy.--Damle, N. G. The faith of an idealist.--Das, B. Ătma-vidyā, or The science of self.--Das, R. Pursuit of truth through doubt and belief.--Dasgupta, S. Philosophy of dependent emergence.--Datta, D. M. Knowledge, reality and the unknown.--Haldar, H. Realistic idealism.--.
This volume explores three significant issues - absence, the consciousness of the contemporary, and new philosophical episteme - relevant to thought-systems in the Indian subcontinent. The author discusses the present lack of original philosophical discourse in the context of South Asia, especially India and investigates the reasons of such absences. It also investigates the reasons for decline in traditional philosophical schools and Sanskritic studies in the subcontinent. The book discusses the manner in which Indian thinkers from the times (...) of nineteenth century social reforms to the present day have interacted with the contemporary issues of philosophical engagement the world over. (shrink)
They conclude that desireless action is action performed without certain desires; other desires are permissible.In this book, the author surveys the ...
Introduction By the late fifth century BCE Panini had composed the Astadhyayi, consisting of nearly 4000 rules giving a precise and fairly complete ...
In the Indian tradition, the identification of pure consciousness as an independent monistic principle identical with Being can be traced, as is well known, to the earliest Upaniṣadic speculations. The general picture to emerge from these reflections on the nature of subjective experience and external reality, although far from systematic, described consciousness as the ultimate subject of all mental states, itself ever precluded from becoming an object; as a universal type, it transcends the psychophysical complex constituting the empirical individual (...) and the three associated levels of waking, dream, and deep-sleep consciousness common to all. Ubiquitous, pure consciousness is the foundation for the knowledge .. (shrink)
Reconsidering Classical Indian Thoughts neither claims, nor attempts to be a definitive study of all the characteristics as concept(s) of classical Indian thoughts. It is a modest attempt of the editor to familiarise the common, but philosophy reader with the fundamental conceptions of ancient Indian culture. I hope, by studying this book the reader will understand the relevance of Indian classical thoughts. -/- Here we have collected 17 papers both in English and Hindi languages written (...) on Indian epistemology, metaphysics, logic, ethics and social philosophy. To study the nature of philosophy in India and its implementation in all spheres of human life is one of the most important objectives of our Centre. In this regard we have published two online books entitled Philosophy, Education and Indian Value System and Positive Philosophy for Contemporary Indian Society, respectively. ISBN: 978-81-922377-2-5 Second Edition, 2012 Publisher: Centre for Positive Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies (CPPIS), Milestone Education Society (Regd.), Balmiki Dharmashala, Ward No.06, Pehowa (Kurukshetra)-136128 (Haryana) Emails: mses.02@gmail.com, dr.sirswal@gmail.com Price: Rs.300/- (Three Hundred Rs. Only) -/- . (shrink)
: Aristotle struggles with two basic tensions in his understanding of reality or substance that have parallels in Indian metaphysical speculation. The first of these tensions, between the understanding of reality as the underlying substrate (to hupokeimenon) and as the individual "this" (tode ti), finds a parallel in the concept of dravya in Patañjali's Mahābhāsa. The second tension, between the understanding of reality as the individual this and as the intelligible essence of the individual this (to ti ēn einai), (...) corresponds to an ambiguity in the concept of vastu in Kumārila's Ślokavārttika. (shrink)
In this article, I examine some traditional Indian conceptions of unconscious mental activity. There are concepts in the Indian philosophical tradition, notably saskāras and vāsanās, which can be taken to refer to unconscious mental states and dispositions. My discussion, which is essentially philosophical by nature, is loosely based on the English philosopher C.D. Broad's distinctions concerning the unconscious. Saskāras, which are interpreted realistically in Indian tradition, may manifest themselves as what I (and Broad) call relatively unconscious states. (...) Evidence for this interpretation can be found in discussions concerning the nature of dream state and the supernatural powers of yogis in Indian tradition. It is interesting to try to view the retributive system of karma as an absolutely unconscious system, but this is not a plausible interpretation of the Indian view of karma. (shrink)
CHAPTER I Introduction The history of mankind can boast not only of its times of fame and glory but also of quieter times with a different kind of heroism. ...
The present work is designed to survey the evolution of philosophical thought in the Vedic and post-Vedic periods preceding the rise of Jainism and Buddhism.
This work is indeed a masterly survey of Mahayana Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta and kashmira Shaivism which brings into rominence the author`s original contributions some of which are of outstanding merit for a correct appreciation of the ...
