A group blog of scholars exploring Indian philosophy
The term tuccha means in Classical Sanksrit “worthless”, “insignificant”. In Vedānta, however, it gets a more specific technical meaning, to denote the absolute unreality of chimeral entities, such as the khapuṣpa (flower in the air), which will not and cannot Continue reading What is unreal?
Several years ago I had some pain in convincing a friend working on Husserl that the “phenomenologist” J. Mohanty which he knew too well was the same as the scholar of Sanskrit Philosophy J.N. Mohanty (I had similar problems in Continue reading Will the journey ever come to its goal? On Clooney 2013
Veṅkaṭanātha (traditional dates 1269–1370 (see Neevel 1977 for a convincing explanation of these too long life spans) is a complex figure who can be interpreted in different ways according to the facet one is focusing on. What is sure is Continue reading Veṅkaṭanātha’s contribution to Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta
A strange coincidence surprised me as I designed this spring’s course in Indian philosophy – but one that I suspect is quite significant. The coincidence resulted from three of my primary concerns in selecting content for the course syllabus, and Continue reading The accidental Gītā
Yāmuna (967–1038 according to Mesquita 1973) is one of the chief figures of the philosophy later known as Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta. In fact, to me one of the most intriguing questions regards his role in the formation of this school. It Continue reading Was Yāmuna the real founder of Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta? (On Mesquita 1971 and 1973)
…or can one just say that his existence cannot be denied? During his commentary on Maṇḍana Miśra’s Vidhiviveka (henceforth VV), 1.14–15, Vācaspati Miśra focuses on the possibility of the existence of omniscients. Why so? Because the VV is a Mīmāṃsaka Continue reading Can one establish the existence of an omniscient?
Dear Fellow Scholars of Indian Philosophy I would like to draw your attention to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP). The IEP is a peer-reviewed online publication. I am the editor for its Indian Philosophy content. Many of the contributors Continue reading CFP: Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
To have moral standing is to be the kind of thing that should be taken into account in ethical deliberation. Asking the question of moral standing raises the prospects of there being many kinds of things that count, and in Continue reading Moral Standing and Yoga
As a scholar trained in Western Academia, one has at least three choices while dealing with Sanskrit Philosophy: One can treat it as if it were Western philosophy and discuss, e.g., of monotonic or non-monotonic logic in Nyāya, One can Continue reading Doing research on free will in Indian Philosophy
Once a month, I publish on my personal blog a post in Sanskrit. Last month, Matthew Dasti suggested to cross-post one here, too. Thus, if you enjoy what follows, praise Matthew, if you don’t blame me (or at least let Continue reading शब्दविषये रसेल(Russell)मत: संस्कृतायां वाचि निरूपितः