I have agreed to guest edit, along with Prasanta Bandyopadhyay, the Fall 2017 edition of the APA Newsletter on Asian and Asian-American Philosophers and Philosophies. The theme of the issue will be “B. K. Matilal: The Past and Future of Indian Philosophy.” Please see the Call for Papers below. Submissions are due June 1, 2017.
A recent issue of the journal Sophia has a similar theme (see our post on that issue). I’m hoping this issue of the newsletter might compliment the Sophia issue. Additionally, we will consider submissions that are not directly responding to Matilal’s work. Papers on issues with which Matilal was concerned such as philosophical methodology or specific topics in Indian philosophy will be considered.
Call for Papers
B. K. Matilal: The Past and Future of Indian Philosophy
B. K. Matilal (1935-1991) had an extraordinary influence on the direction of the study of Indian philosophy during his lifetime and this influence has grown in the 25 years since his untimely death. The APA Newsletter on Asian and Asian-American Philosophers and Philosophies seeks short papers (1000-3000 words) on the legacy of B. K. Matilal and his influence, both direct and indirect, on the study of Indian philosophy today and into the future. Topics might include, but are not limited to:
- Matilal is known for his efforts at comparing classical Indian and contemporary analytic philosophy. Is this a promising strategy for scholars of Indian philosophy today, or are there other methodological approaches that might be just as fruitful? Might Matilal’s approach be combined with other approaches? For instance, Matilal himself became more interested in continental philosophy toward the end of his life, and he always considered his work to be a kind of history of philosophy as well.
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What were Matilal’s reasons for engaging in analytic-Indian comparative projects? Are his reasons still relevant going forward into the future of the study of Indian philosophy?
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How have Matial’s contributions in areas such as logic, epistemology, ethics, the philosophical relevance of literature, etc. added to contemporary understandings of these topics? What are some avenues for new research in these areas that might be inspired by Matilal, either directly or indirectly?
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How has the story of Matilal’s legacy been told in the last 25 years? How is he likely to be remembered into the future?
Please submit your paper of roughly 1000-3000 words to Ethan Mills (Ethan-Mills@utc.edu) by June 1, 2017. Papers chosen for publication will appear in the Fall 2017 issue of the newsletter.
Dear sir.,
I am an engineering student and I am very much interested in Indian philosophy. I am not yet found what is the core part of philosophy that grabs my interest. Can you please suggest me some sources or books that could give a overall idea and overview of Indian philosophy
Hello, Shreevatsa. There are a lot of great introductory books. One that I like is J. N. Mohanty’s Classical Indian Philosophy. It’s short yet fairly comprehensive.
Here’s a recent review from this blog of another good introductory book: Roy Perrett’s An Introduction to Indian Philosophy: https://indianphilosophyblog.org/2016/12/06/book-review-of-an-introduction-to-indian-philosophy-by-roy-w-perrett-reviewed-by-matthew-r-dasti/
Good luck!
Dear Ethan, I am glad to see this.
I have just received funding from the University of Florida’s Humanities Center and Honors College to co-teach a course called “Cosmopolitan Philosophy: Western and Indian Philosophy in 20th century Oxford” with a Western philosopher. It will be about Matilal’s responses to the philosophical situation of his day, with a special focus on epistemology (skepticism), notions of self, and language. I’ll present Matilal’s work and Robert D’Amico, professor of philosophy, will present AJ Ayer, etc. We’ll read a lot of _Perception_ and some of his essays. We’ll do this in Spring 2018.
I’d be happy to say something about this for the newsletter if helpful to you.
Jonathan, This sounds like a great course! If you want to write a brief description of the course or something based on some element of the course, it would be a good thing to submit. Feel free to contact me via email with any other questions you might have.