Structural Depths of Indian Thought

By P. T. Raju

Subjects: Philosophy
Series: SUNY series in Philosophy
Paperback : 9780887061400, 630 pages, June 1989
Hardcover : 9780887061394, 630 pages, August 1985

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Table of contents

PREFACE
Special feature of the work
The need and use for the work
Possible approaches to the study of Indian philosopy: approach of the present work
Presentation of ethics
Main divisions of each philosophy
Misunderstandings and neglect of the subject in the West
Significance and use of comparisons
"Know thyself": the dictum
Order of the chapters and the nature and interrelations of the schools
Significance of sub-titles
Some conventions
The aim and origins of the work
Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION
The meaning of Indian philosophy
History of Indian philosophy
Caste and stages of life
Values and ways of life
Development of Indian religion
Stages of philosophical development
The drive of Indian thought

I. IDEAS OF THE UPANISADS
Introduction
Some Upanisadic personages
Central doctrines of the Upanisads
Concluding remarks

II. THE MIMAMSA AND THE SOVEREIGNITY OF ETHICAL LAW
Introduction
Epistemology
Metaphysics
Life's ideal
General Estimate and Constructive Comment

III. THE CARVAKA AND ITS ANTI-VEDIC MATERIALISM
Introduction
Epistemology
Metaphysics
Life's ideal
Compromises and transformations in the Carvaka school
General Estimate and Constructive Comment

IV. JAINISM AND THE EHTICS OF SELF-CONQUEST
Introduction
Epistemology
Metaphysics
Life's ideal
General Estimate and Constructive Comment

V. BUDDHISM AND THE IDEAL OF ENLIGHTENMENT
Introduction
The schools of Buddhism
Buddha's original teachings: the school of the elders
The developed doctrines of Buddhism
Epistemology
Life's ideal
General Estimate and Constructive Comment

VI. THE NYAYA AND THE ARCHITECHTONIC OF LOGIC
Introduction
Nature of controversy
Epistemology
Metaphysics
Life's ideal
General Estimate and Constructive Comment

VII. THE VAISESIKA AND THE DOCTRINE OF PARTICULARS
Introduction
Epistemology
Metaphysics
Appendix to the Nyaya-Vaisesika: The Neo-Nyaya
Introduction
Epistemology
Metaphysics
General Estimate and Constructive Comment

VIII. THE SANKHYA AND THE IDEAL OF SELF-DISCRIMINATION
Introduction
Epistemology
Metaphysics
Ideal of life
General Estimate and Constructive Comment

IX. THE YOGA AND SELF-REALIZATION THROUGH PSYCHO-PHYSICAL PRACTICE
Introduction
Epistemology
Metaphysics
The practice of Yoga
The metaphysical basis of practice
Extraordinary powers
Transition to the Vedanta
General Estimate and Constructive Comment

X. INTRODUCTION TO THE VEDANTIC SCHOOLS

XI. THE VEDANTA OF SANKARA: NON-DUALISM
Introduction
Epistemology
Metaphysics
Life's ideal
General Estimate and Constructive Comment

XII. THE VEDANTA OF RAMANUJA: NON-DUALISM OF THE QUALIFIED BRAHMAN
Introduction
Epistemology
Metaphysics
Life's ideal
General Estimate and Constructive Comment

XIII. THE VEDANTA OF MADHVA: DUALISM OF GOD AND THE WORLD
Introduction
Epistemology
Metaphysics
Life's ideal
General Estimate and Constructive Comment

XIV. OTHER VEDANTINS, KASMIR SAIVISM, AND SAKTISM
Introduction
The other Vedantins
Kasmir Saivism
Other Saiva schools
Saktism
General Estimate and Constructive Comment

XV. THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE BHAGAVADGITA
Introduction
The doctrines

XVI. CONTEMPORARY INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
Introduction
Contemporary philsophers

XVII CONCLUSION

APPENDICES
Glossary of important Sanskrit terms
A note on transliteration and pronunciation

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

P. T. Raju is best known for his Thought and Reality: Hegelianism and Advaita; Idealistic Thought of India; Comparative Studies in Philosophy; The Concept of Man; The Philosophical Traditions of India; and Spirit, Being, Self.

Reviews

"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