A group blog of scholars exploring Indian philosophy
The authors of Advaita Vedānta maintain that God, the impersonal brahman, is the only reality and that each hint of dualism or pluralism is due to māyā ‘illusion’. In other words, the absolute, the brahman, is the only reality and Continue reading Does anything exist according to Advaita Vedānta?
As many of you may have seen on Daily Nous, Edouard Machery (Pittsburgh) and Stephen Stich (Rutgers), along with anthropologist H. Clark Barrett (UCLA) have just been awarded a US$2.5 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation. It will fund Continue reading The Geography of Philosophy
One of our blog members, Andrew Ollett, has recently published Language of the Snakes: Prakrit, Sanskrit, and the Language Order of Premodern India with University of California Press. Not only are congratulations in order for the book, but on his Continue reading “Language of the Snakes” available for download or purchase
Last time I discussed Jan Westerhoff’s potent objection to naturalized Buddhism: if there is no rebirth then we can end our suffering simply by committing suicide. Westerhoff takes this objection as a reason to accept rebirth. I do not. Rather, Continue reading Beyond the removal of suffering
The following, fascinating book from Vrinda Dalmiya is available to be reviewed for Philosophy East and West: Caring to Know, Comparative Care Ethics, Feminist Epistemology, and the Mahabharata, OUP 2016 Link here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/caring-to-know-9780199464760?cc=us&lang=en& If anyone is interested, please send me an Continue reading Soliciting a book review for PEW
A few years ago I wondered how a naturalized Buddhism could avoid advocating suicide. If our goal is the cessation of suffering, and death is not the beginning of a new birth but a simple ending, shouldn’t death itself be Continue reading In defence of Buddhism without rebirth
A colleague from the Savitribai Phule Pune University, Prof. Muzaffar Ali, sent us this question concerning K.C. Bhattacharya. Can readers help? “To reflect on the feeling of pain is necessarily to wish to be free from it. To wish anything Continue reading Pain and freedom in K.C. Bhattacharya: A question
According to the Prābhākara Mīmāṃsā approach to language, the sentence meaning is “something to be done” (kārya). In other words, unlike for Nyāya authors, sentences do not convey the existence of something, but rather that something should be done. Sentences Continue reading The Deontic Nature of Language
A new special issue of the Journal of Indian Philosophy is dedicated to “Locating Philosophy in the Mahābhārata.” James L. Fitzgerald introduces the articles in a paper available online without institutional access. We’ve talked on the blog before (examples here Continue reading Special issue of the Journal of Indian Philosophy: Mahābhārata
For a lucky coincidence, two long term projects of mine reached completion almost at the same time. You can therefore read on the 2017 issue of the Journal of World Philosophies the (Open Access) papers on philosophy of language which Continue reading Open access papers on philosophy of language etc.