A group blog of scholars exploring Indian philosophy
American University philosopher Karin Meyers made an important contribution to Buddhist philosophical studies with her 2016 essay “The damned topics of Buddhist philosophy“. The essay (available free online) has never been formally published, though it clearly deserves to be: when Continue reading On the damned topics of Buddhist philosophy
My father’s memorial service was last weekend. The event was wonderful, bringing together friends and family I hadn’t seen in decades. It was heartwarming to see colleagues, neighbours, Canadian family, Indian family, American family share their fond recollections of him. Continue reading Passages of death and hope
We recently received the following information from Scott Stroud (University of Texas at Austin) on behalf of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy (SAAP). This prize is an exciting way to recognize the some of the many philosophical Continue reading Ambedkar Prize Established by the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy (SAAP)
Unlike “progressive” Americans who embrace race, the caste reformer B.R. Ambedkar envisioned a world where race/caste distinctions were annihilated – and specifically by mixing, by intermarriage. The view of racial purity shared by the mainstream American left and right – Continue reading “The future will belong to the mestiza”
According to Kumārila, much can be sense-perceived. It goes without saying that sensible qualities can be sense-perceived, but Kumārila thinks that we can also sense-perceive the substance behind the sense-qualities (that is, the substrate of the sense-qualities). He also thinks Continue reading Kumārila and the limits of perception
My previous post on Kumārila’s cognition of the I (here: https://elisafreschi.com/2026/02/15/does-kumarila-accept-i-cognition-as-a-kind-of-perception/) was part of an ongoing conversation with Alex Watson, who patiently prompted me to read or re-read (respectively) his 2010 (“Bhaṭṭa Rāmakaṇṭha’s Elaboration of Self-Awareness (svasaṃvedana)…”) and 2020 (“Four Continue reading Again on ahampratyaya in Kumārila (using Watson 2010 and 2020)
CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, PATNA Forum on International Legal History & Philosophy, 15 April 2026 (in-person) Call for Papers and Engaged Listeners About: This Call for ideas (in the form of detailed abstracts) invites scholars working in International Law, Constitutional Continue reading Forum on International Legal History & Philosophy in India, CfP
Kumārila is an extremely systematic thinker. Thus, if there is a seeming contradiction in Kumārila’s thought, it is likely the case that the contradiction is only a seeming one and that it can be solved. In the case at stake, Continue reading Does Kumārila accept I-cognition as a kind of perception?
Mīmāṃsā authors distinguish between fixed/conditional duties on the one hand, and elective duties on the other. Even Maṇḍana wants to keep them distinct, though insisting that in both cases the commands can be reduced to descriptions of states of affairs. Continue reading Fixed duties vs imperfect duties
The autobiography of (Saint) Teresa of Ávila is a most remarkable book. Its beginning sections on Teresa’s early life feel at once relatable (she recalls her youthful interest in making herself pretty) and utterly alien: she and her brother admired Continue reading Nondual mindfulness in Teresa of Ávila