Indian Epistemology and Metaphysics

Description

Indian Epistemology and Metaphysics introduces the reader to new perspectives on Indian philosophy based on philological research within the last twenty years. Concentrating on topics such as perception, inference, skepticism, consciousness, self, mind, and universals, some of the most notable scholars working in classical Indian philosophy today examine core epistemological and metaphysical issues. Philosophical theories and arguments from a comprehensive range of Indian philosophical traditions (including the Nyaya, Mimamsa, Saiva, Vedanta, Samkhya, Jain, Buddhist, materialist and skeptical traditions, as well as some 20th century thought) are covered. The contributors to this volume approach the topics from both a philosophical and a philological perspective. They demonstrate the importance of the subject matter for an understanding of Indian thought in general and they highlight its wider philosophical significance. By developing an appreciation of classical Indian philosophy in its own terms, set against the background of its unique assumptions and historical and cultural development, Indian Epistemology and Metaphysics is an invaluable guide to the current state of scholarship on Indian philosophy. It is a timely and much-needed reference resource, the first of its kind.

Joerg Tuske is Professor in the Philosophy Department at Salisbury University, Maryland, USA.

Gathering together work by many of today's leading scholars of Indian philosophy, this volume well represents the great range and sophistication of India's diverse traditions of philosophy. These traditions ought to have an honored place in the curricula of contemporary philosophy departments, and this collection of essays makes for a fine introduction to the philosophically engaged study of them. * Dan Arnold, Associate Professor of the Philosophy of Religions, University of Chicago, USA * This is a fine and wide-ranging collection of rigorously argued, textually-grounded, and philosophically fruitful essays. The topics covered should be of interest to both specialist in Indian thought, and the increasing number of scholars of Western philosophy who recognize the significance of the classical Indian traditions. The essays are original, while also serving as sophisticated introductions to a variety of issues in epistemology and metaphysics. * Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, Professor of Comparative Philosophy and Religion, Lancaster University, UK *