A group blog of scholars exploring Indian philosophy
Recently, Malcolm Keating brought up the idea for a thread on syllabi for courses in Indian philosophy. And Elisa Freschi’s thread yesterday reinforced the importance of such a discussion. Here’s what I’d like you all to do. Please send me Continue reading Soliciting syllabi for courses on Indian philosophy
A reader (Robert Gressis) asked me to give him some advice for a class on philosophy of religion in which he would (admirably) like to insert something more than “the typical western philosophy of religion”. He would be interested in Continue reading Ultimate reality in Hinduism, Buddhism (etc.): Some suggestions for a possible syllabus
Miri Albahari has a nice review of Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy, by friend and contributor to the IPB, Evan Thompson. This is a ground-breaking philosophical exploration of consciousness and the self as they occur Continue reading NDPR Review of Evan Thompson’s Waking, Dreaming, Being
Rajiv Malhotra, whose criticisms of scholarship on India will be familiar to many on this blog, has been accused by Richard Fox Young of plagiarism in his recent book Indra’s Net. Examples of the problematic passages are publicly available. Many Continue reading Petition regarding plagiarism
Like postulation (arthāpatti), the pramāṇa or instrument of knowledge known as upamāna, often translated as “analogy,” is both fascinating and underdeveloped in contemporary analysis. There are few stand-alone books focusing just on upamāna, although it is frequently treated along with testimony and perception. I suspect this is Continue reading Analogical reasoning and postulation
My friend Stephen Harris recently posted an interesting article on the question of whether Śāntideva’s ethics is “overdemanding”. I appreciate the article’s methodological approach. It engages Śāntideva’s ethics with the categories of analytical moral philosophy while moving beyond the relatively Continue reading Does Śāntideva’s theory make demands?
Why does a devotee love God? Because He is good, merciful, omniscient…? Or just out of love? This seems to be one of the moot issues between the two currents within the form of Vaiṣṇavism later to be known as Continue reading Loving God for no reason
The Eleventh East-West Philosophers’ Conference will be held in Honolulu, Hawai’i on May 24-31, 2016. The theme of the conference is “Place.” The deadline for panel and paper submissions is November 1, 2015. Please see the Call for Papers at Continue reading Eleventh East-West Philosophers’ Conference: May 24-31, 2016
In the last week, two students have asked me about the distinction between jñā- and vid- and this made me think that it might be worth adding a new section to Andrew’s collaborative enterprise (see here and here) of mapping Continue reading Keywords: jnā– and vid–
Patricia Y. Mumme. The Śrīvaiṣṇava Theological Dispute. Maṇavāḷamāmuni and Vedānta Deśika. xviii+320 pp., index. Bangalore: Navbharath Publications, 2000 (1st ed. Madras 1988). 25 USD. The book is a unique contribution to the study of Śrīvaiṣṇavism insofar as it takes into Continue reading Book Review of The Śrīvaiṣṇava Theological Dispute by Patricia Y. Mumme (Reviewed by Elisa Freschi)