About

The Indian Philosophy Blog was founded in January 2014 by Elisa Freschi and Amod Lele. Its purpose is captured in the opening statement of our first post.

The Indian Philosophy Blog is a venue for the discussion of Indian (South Asian) philosophy, however defined. All periods of Indian thought from the ancient to the modern, and all Indian philosophical schools, can be discussed here. We expect the blog to consist above all of substantive reflection on topics related to Indian philosophy, though we will also post announcements such as calls for papers.

For an introductory, big-picture discussion of Indian philosophy, consider the following thread. Our rules are posted here.

If you would like to communicate with one of our moderators, please contact:

Amod Lele: amod.lele (at) gmail (dot) com
Elisa Freschi: elisa.freschi (at) gmail (dot) com
Ethan Mills: ethan-mills (at) utc (dot) edu

If you would like a conference, new book or the like to be announced on the Indian Philosophy Blog, please send an email request to the moderators. If you would like to review a book or have a book reviewed, please contact Ethan Mills.

Views expressed in posts on the Indian Philosophy Blog are those of their individual authors and do not necessarily represent those of the moderators. Views expressed in comments do not necessarily represent those of the moderators or the post authors.

29 Replies to “About”

  1. Some Ph D dissertations about Indian Philosophy in Spanish Universities:
    Some Ph D dissertations read in Spanish universities:
    -1991. Title: La realidad supramental y la transformación integral: teoría y praxis en la obra de Sri Aurobindo.
    Universidad de Valencia
    Author: Vicente Merlo Lillo
    Advisor: Adela Cortina
    -1992. Title: El yoga del conocimiento. La práctica del Vedānta no dualista en la obra de Svāmī Kṛṣṇānanda.
    Universidad Pontificia de Comillas. Madrid.
    Author: Javier Ruiz Calderón.
    -1997. Title: La nocio de temps en Raimon Panikkar. Un diàleg amb el buddhisme.
    Universitat de Barcelona
    Author: Angels Cabadell Prat
    Advisor: Dr. Miquel Morey Farré
    -1997. Title: Paz y educación en Krishnamurti.
    Universidad de Granada.
    Author: Alfonso Fernández Herrería.
    Advisor: Enrique Gervilla Castillo.
    -2000. Title: El juego dramático de la energía en el Shivaísmo de Cachemira. Un estudio de estética comparada.
    Universidad de Málaga.
    Author: María Rosa Fernández Gómez
    Advisor: Chantal Maillard
    -2001 Title: Naturaleza del yo / Autoconciencia e Identidad en el Vedanta Advaita, a la luz de la crítica al sujeto de Heidegger,
    Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
    Author: Mónica Cavallé Cruz.
    Advisors: Raimón Panikkar, and Alfonso López Quintás.
    http://biblioteca.ucm.es/tesis/fsl/ucm-t24946.pdf
    -2001 Title: La filosofía del Buddha según los sermones del canon pali.
    Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
    Author: Jesús Abraham Vélez de Cea.
    Advisor: Raimón Panikkar.
    -2003. Title: El ioga de Joan Mascaró i Fornés.
    Universitat de les Illes Balears.
    Author: Joan Miquel Mut i Garcia.
    Advisor: Francesc Casadesús.
    -2007. Tiltle: De Kosala a Bollywood: dos mil años contando historias. Un estudio semiótico del Ramayana.
    Universitat de València.
    Author: Roser Noguera Mas
    Advisor: Antonia Cabanilles Sanchis
    -2009. Title: Conocer y ser a través de la práctica del yoga, una propuesta feminista de investigación performativa.
    Universidad de Barcelona.
    Author: Alejandra Araiza Díaz.
    Advisor: Luz María Martínez Martínez
    -2004. Title: Savitri: Análisis desde la filosofía integral de Sri Aurobindo.
    Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
    Author: Olga Real Najarro.
    Advisors: Félix Martín Gutiérrez, Benjamín Preciado Solís
    -2010. Title: «Oriente no es una pieza de museo». Jorge Luis Borges y las culturas de la India.
    Universidad de Salamanca
    Author: Sonia Betancort Santos
    Advisor: Carmen Ruíz Barrionuevo.
    -2011. Title: “El surgimiento de la doctrina de la transmigración de las almas en la India”
    Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
    Author: Madayo Kahle
    Advisors: Eugenio R. Luján Martínez, Alberto Bernabé Pajares.

  2. In the category view, four Buddhist philosophical schools are categorized under one heading “Buddhist philosophy” which makes perfect sense. But why the same has not been done for six orthodox Hindu philosophical traditions? Even the Shaiva philosophy should also be clubbed under the Hindu philosophical school. Why they are scattered all over. It seems you guys are very reluctant to have anything named Hindu philosophy. You like it or not, as a matter of fact, it was there and it will continue to prevail. There are differences among these Hindu schools but despite that the common thread that connects them is that they all believed in the existence of the soul. So from purely academic perspective this grouping is not only valid but absolutely necessary. It provides valuable prospective which makes easier to grasp the main differences between Hindu and Buddist thinking. But from the beginning if you deny the existence of any coherent Hindu thinking that is not acceptable. I would like to know your views (if any) on why you rejected this classification.

    • The term “Hindu” is anachronistic to most of the reflection that is now sometimes categorized under the term. The closest indigenous term is āstika, and that (along with the identification of the darśanas as being a list of six) is an invention of the late medieval period – see Andrew Nicholson’s Unifying Hinduism on this.

      • Amod, while I agree with the spirit of your post, “invention” is too strong a word. The notion of discrete schools with some sort of family resemblance is older than that.

    • This is an odd query. To what post are you referring? And who is the “you” that you critique? Who is rejecting “Hindu” as a qualifier?

      In any case, I have used “Hindu” in a way roughly akin to what you suggest, with the caveat that it is not a very helpful word, since it is too broad and not a term familiar to the ancients. But it shouldn’t be based on accepting the soul, as you suggest, since Jainas accept a self.

      Rather, “Hindu” would be those schools which in some way accept the Vedas and the ancient culture associated with the Vedas as their own cultural ancestors.

      Given the modern baggage with the term, “Hindu,” however, which does not at all suit our ancient thinkers, it makes sense for many people to use terms like Vedic or Vaidika instead for a similar sort of distinction.

  3. Hello Indian Philosophy Blog,

    My name is Ted Christopher and I have written a book that might interest you. The book is entitled “A Hole in Science: An Opening for an Alternative Understanding of Life” and it investigates the heritability problem unfolding for science. Although, this problem was not surprising in light of a number of unusual (and accepted) behavioral phenomena, it is a big and under-appreciated deal.

    Secondarily, the book considers some explanations available via the premodern transcendental (or reincarnation-based) understanding. The coherence provided with that explanation – along with unfolding hole in science – offer some serious traction for the Hindu religious perspective.

    The book is available at Amazon et al. There you can see a review from Kirkus Reviews. That reviewer was apparently a philosopher. At the Kirkus Reviews’ review of the book you can also find a downloadable PDF sample which covers the initial 50 pages of the book.

    I hope things are going well for you.

    Sincerely,

    Ted Christopher
    Rochester, NY

  4. Hello. Great Indian Philosophy members!
    I would like to attend this field.
    My name is Dae-yong Park.
    Buddhist name is Ven. Dong Gwang.
    My Ph.D dissertation will be Dignaga on Apoha_focusing on PSV V translation & comment, maybe this spring at Dongguk University in S.Korea. I also attended last IABS conference, Toronto Univ.
    The most recently concern of mine is the relation between Dignaga and the other indians philosophers such as Bhartrhari, Kumarila, Jayanta Bhatta, Utpaladeva, Abhinavagupta, and so on.

    • Thank for your message. As you might have noticed, I personally work on Kumārila and Jayanta, which means I often cross paths with Dignāga:-) Good luck with your dissertation! (by the way, did you write in your PhD also about Torsten Much’s book on apoha? And about O. Pind’s one?)

  5. Hello members,

    Please add me to the emailing list. I am a graduate student at the Department of Religion, Columbia University.

    Looking forward!

  6. Dear Admins and fellow members,

    Congratulations for the wonderful blog. I would like to know if you have come across a book named ‘Critique of Hinduism and Other Religions’ By Lakshmaṇaśāstrī Jośī (1996)? It’s an excellent work but unfortunately out of print in India and i couldn’t find it in any library online. If you have, would appreciate if you you could guide for an access to it.

    I would also request to be added to mailing list. Looking forward.
    Regards

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