About elisa freschi

My long-term program is to make "Sanskrit Philosophy" part of "Philosophy". You can follow me also on my personal blog: elisafreschi.com, on Academia, on Amazon, etc.

What is a commentary? And how the Nyāyamañjarī and the Seśvaramīmāṃsā do (not) fit the definition UPDATED

What makes a text a “commentary”? The question is naif enough to allow for a complicated answer. First of all, let me note the obvious: There is not a single word for “commentary” in Sanskrit, where one needs to distinguish Continue reading What is a commentary? And how the Nyāyamañjarī and the Seśvaramīmāṃsā do (not) fit the definition UPDATED

News from Manipal University (a guest post by Mrinal Kaul)

Dear readers of the Indian Philosophy Blog, I am delighted to share with all of you that we have been able to establish a Centre for Religious Studies (CRS) in Manipal University. As the coordinator of this centre I look Continue reading News from Manipal University (a guest post by Mrinal Kaul)

Interview with Mark Siderits, a guest post by Debajyoti Gangopadhyay* (part 2)

Debajyoti Gangopadhyay: Let us now turn towards the concept of śūnyatā in Buddhist Philosophy. Śūnya had been famously advocated by Nāgārjuna as going even beyond the catuṣkoṭi —the four possible state of affairs advocated by the Buddha, so that given Continue reading Interview with Mark Siderits, a guest post by Debajyoti Gangopadhyay* (part 2)

Interview with Mark Siderits, a guest post by Debajyoti Gangopadhyay* (part 1)

(This dialog is part of the Dialog mission, about which see here and this post) Debajyoti Gangopadhyay: Professor Siderits, you are widely acclaimed for your contribution in Buddhist Philosophy. What precisely motivated you to study Philosophy in Asia? The Question Continue reading Interview with Mark Siderits, a guest post by Debajyoti Gangopadhyay* (part 1)

Beckwith on the lateness, corruption, and lack of scholarly editions of Indian sources on early Buddhism

GUEST POST* BY: Monte Ransome Johnson, Philosophy Department, UC, San Diego I’d like to thank the editors of this blog for inviting me to post here, and for allowing me to introduce myself. I work in the Philosophy Department at Continue reading Beckwith on the lateness, corruption, and lack of scholarly editions of Indian sources on early Buddhism

Gandhi’s Synthesis of Liberal and Communitarian Values (a guest post by Sanjay Lal)

This is a guest-post by Sanjay Lal (Clayton State University). For further info on guest-posts on the Indian Philosophy Blog, check this page. ———————— I would like to share some of what I’m working on with the readers of the Continue reading Gandhi’s Synthesis of Liberal and Communitarian Values (a guest post by Sanjay Lal)

Again on the existence of a separate Yogasūtra

As most readers know, Philipp Maas (elaborating on a short article by Johannes Bronkhorst) has claimed that it is highly probable that an independent Yogasūtra never existed and that we should therefore only speak of the Pātañjalayogaśāstra, a work including Continue reading Again on the existence of a separate Yogasūtra

Is philosophy an involution of Buddhism (and other religions)?

This is more or less the thesis advanced by Jayarava in his longest comment on this post. The idea is that the (Buddhist) religion is primarily experiential and that philosophy is a later reification which misses the main point at Continue reading Is philosophy an involution of Buddhism (and other religions)?