The Spirit Of Indian And Western Philosophy

This volume contains select proceedings of the 79th Indian Philosophical Congress held at the Madura College (Autonomous). Madurai, in December 2004.

First published in 1975 The Spirit of Indian Philosophy provides a systematic overview of Indian philosophy. The book is divided into four major parts dealing with Indian epistemology, Indian metaphysics, Indian ethics, and Indian philosophy of religion. It makes a departure from usual method of investigating Indian philosophy by dealing with its different schools individually and separately. It discusses themes like sources of cognition; nature and criterion of true cognition; problem of error; materialism; realism; dualism; Indian theories of causation; reflective morality; the ethics of non-violence; Indian atheism and Indian religion of God, to argue that the usual conception of Indian philosophy in general as religious, spiritualistic and pessimistic is contrary to the fact, that the doctrine of Karma, transmigration and rebirth, strictly speaking is incompatible with the Indian ways of thinking and in deed is an imposition upon them ab extra. This is an essential read for scholars and students of Indian philosophy.

All important matters relating to educational philosophy that have bearing on human life and conduct have been taken into consideration quite exhaustively in this book. Care has also been taken to discuss each topic quite elaborately so that the reader can have a clearer view of each school of philosophy. Educational implications are highlighted in bold. Each chapter has a set of questions which can possibly be asked in any examination relating to education. Most answers to these questions are implicit specifically within the emboldened text contained within each chapter. The book will be highly useful for the M.Ed. and B. Ed. students of any Indian University and also to them who wish to take any competitive examinations at a level where education is one of the papers to be examined.

"No other work treating Indian philosophy on a comparable scale contains the illuminating comparisons between doctrines of Indian schools and the thought of Western philosophy ranging from Plato to Sartre and Wittgenstein...It will, moreover, contribute to the understanding of Western philosophy by Indian thinkers and vice versa...Raju has an intimate acquaintance with a remarkable range of Western thinkers and this distinguishes his work from most of what has gone before...Raju, moreover, is himself a critical thinker and consequently, although he has written a history, he treats the ideas and doctrines in a philosophical mode and his assessments of positions are often original and illuminating." -- John E. Smith, Clark Professor of Philosophy, Yale University "Purpose: To deal with Indian philosophy in a fashion reflecting the way the best German historians of philosophy deal with Western philosophy...The book is remarkable for its comprehensiveness in combination with extensive critical discussions...Raju's book...is more critical than Radhakrishnan's and more philosophical than Dasgupta's. Radhakrishnan's comments are far less philosophically sophisticated and interesting than Raju's....a monument to a senior Indian philosopher's lifelong study and thoughtful critical consideration of the great classical systems of his tradition." -- Karl H. Potter, Professor of Philosophy, University of Washington "Raju's credentials are impeccable. He is one of the few scholars in the world who could presume to write a major work on Indian thought. Accordingly, his knowledge of the Indian schools is accurate and impressive. To the extent that one of his intentions is to cast those schools in terms which make them more intelligible to western readers, his work measures up very well." -- Harold H. Oliver, Professor of Philosophy, Boston University

The object of this book is to provide a simple introduction to the Indian systems of philosophy. Each one of these systems has had a vast and varied development. An attempt has been made to introduce the reader to the spirit and outlook of Indian philosophy and help him to grasp thoroughly the central ideas rather than acquaint him with minute details. Modern students of philosophy feel many difficulties in understanding the Indian problems and theories. Their long experience with university students has helped the authors to realise these, and they have tried to remove them as far as possible. This accounts for most of the critical discussions which could otherwise have been dispensed with. The book has been primarily written for beginners. The first chapter which contains the general principles and basic features of Indian philosophy, as well as a brief sketch of each system, gives the student a bird's-eye view of the entire field and prepares him for a more intensive study of the systems which are contained in the following chapters. It is hoped, therefore, that the book will suit the needs of university students at different stages, as well as of general readers interested in Indian Philosophy.

The main aim of this book is to enquire about the traditions, goals and future of Indian philosophy. The contributors are Indian scholars teaching in the universities in India itself and also in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United states. Seven of the contributors concern themselves primarily, though not exclusively, with the tradition of Indian philosophy; seven others deal with the modern approach to the Indian tradition and six contributors look at the future of Indian philosophy.