Mīmāṃsā and Uṣūl al-fiqh: On comparison

About a year ago, I teamed up with my colleague Omar Farahat to do a roundtable discussion on the topic of the normativity of language in Mīmāṃsā and Uṣūl al-fiqh. The occasion was the annual graduate student conference of Columbia’s Continue reading Mīmāṃsā and Uṣūl al-fiqh: On comparison

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

Has Philosophy Lost Its Way? — Vaidya on the Case of Indian Philosophy

Anand Vaidya, a contributor here on the blog, has written a series of new posts over at the Blog of the APA (American Philosophical Association).  Anand is responding to some recent discussions about the value of philosophy as a discipline Continue reading Has Philosophy Lost Its Way? — Vaidya on the Case of Indian Philosophy

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)?

Teaching the Tarkasaṃgraha to first-year students

What follows is a reflection on my experiences teaching the Tarkasaṃgraha, as I promised in the comments to a recent post. Part of my job at Yale-NUS College is to teach a college-wide common curriculum course that spans two semesters. It’s called Continue reading Teaching the Tarkasaṃgraha to first-year students

Dialog between Science and Philosophy: a new event

The event, sponsored by the Indian council of Philosophical Research, Delhi, is scheduled to be held as a Discussion meeting in the Poornaprajna Institute of Scientific Research, Bangalore from 25th Oct to 27th October. The event is an outgrowth of Continue reading Dialog between Science and Philosophy: a new event

Old Prābhākaras

Mīmāṃsā has had a “split personality” for roughly the past millennium: interpretations generally follow one of the two great teachers, Kumārila Bhaṭṭa or Prabhākara Miśra, and attack the other. The historical development of these “two systems” still needs a good Continue reading Old Prābhākaras

Vaidya on Indian Philosophy and the Inclusion Problem in Critical Thinking Education

Blog contributor Anand Vaidya has written before on what he calls the inclusion problem in philosophy (see links to his previous discussions here).  In a new post on the Blog of the APA he’s considering what Indian philosophy might contribute to Continue reading Vaidya on Indian Philosophy and the Inclusion Problem in Critical Thinking Education