This book examines and analyses the legitimacy of the widely held claim that Mulla Sadra's philosophy (al-hikmah al-muta'aliyyah) is a synthesis of principles and doctrines drawn from revelation (wahy), gnosis ('irfan/ma'rifah) and discursive philosophy (al-hikmah al-bahthiyyah). In Mulla Sadra's view, these three major sources of knowledge can be brought together without contradiction and accorded their respective roles in the human quest for true and certain knowledge.

This book discusses and demonstrates how Mulla Sadra achieves this synthesis as contained in and exemplified by his text, al-Hikmah al-'arshiyyah or Wisdom from the Divine Throne. An evaluation on whether or not Mulla Sadra's synthesis is successful is also undertaken. The criteria used for the evaluation are the internal coherence of his ideas, their conformity to Islamic teachings and impact on Islamic thinkers after him.

This book examines and analyses the legitimacy of the widely held claim that Mulla Sadra's philosophy (al-hikmah al-muta'aliyyah) is a synthesis of principles and doctrines drawn from revelation (wahy), gnosis ('irfan/ma'rifah) and discursive philosophy (al-hikmah al-bahthiyyah). In Mulla Sadra's view, these three major sources of knowledge can be brought together without contradiction and accorded their respective roles in the human quest for true and certain knowledge.

This book discusses and demonstrates how Mulla Sadra achieves this synthesis as contained in and exemplified by his text, al-Hikmah al-'arshiyyah or Wisdom from the Divine Throne. An evaluation on whether or not Mulla Sadra's synthesis is successful is also undertaken. The criteria used for the evaluation are the internal coherence of his ideas, their conformity to Islamic teachings and impact on Islamic thinkers after him.

Stephen Sturgess draws on decades of study and practice to present a comprehensive and engaging account of Raja and Kriya Yoga. These authentic forms represent true Yoga, and their practice provides spiritual seekers with the ultimate pathway towards self-realisation, inner freedom and ineffable peace and joy. The book begins by providing a complete view of Yoga and its spiritual dimensions, including an account of the history and philosophy of all Yoga traditions. It then covers Raja and Kriya Yoga in depth, with instruction on the asanas, breathing techniques and meditations of each tradition. With a glossary and an introduction to Sanskrit, this book provides everything a truth-seeker needs to embark on the journey to spiritual awakening. A complete guide to Raja and Kriya Yoga, this book is an incomparable resource that will be a valued addition to the shelves of yoga practitioners and yoga teachers as well as anyone with an interest in yogic or Vedic traditions.

This is an analytical examination of Ibn Khaldun's epistemology, centred on Chapter Six of the Muqaddima. In this chapter, entitled The Book of Knowledge (Kitab al'Ilm), Ibn Khaldun sketched his general ideas about knowledge and science and its relationship with human social organisation and the establishment of a civilisation.

Originally published in 1978. These essays are written by distinguished philosophers from many countries and were published as a homage to Spinoza in the year which marked the three-hundredth anniversary of his death. A special feature of the book is that it includes a recently discovered letter by Spinoza, reproduced for the first time in English and in facsimile, with a commentary. The controversial influence of Spinoza on Freud is discussed, and illustrated by facsimile reproductions of original letters, hitherto unknown to Freudians and Spinozists alike. These letters direct revealing light on some of Freud's attitudes. Important parallels between East and West will also attract the student of Spinoza.

Philosophy of the Buddha is a philosophical introduction to the teaching of the Buddha. It carefully guides readers through the basic ideas and practices of the Buddha, including kamma (karma), rebirth, the not-self doctrine, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, ethics, meditation, nonattachment, and Nibbâna (Nirvana).

The book includes an account of the life of the Buddha as well as comparisons of his teaching with practical and theoretical aspects of some Western philosophical outlooks, both ancient and modern. Most distinctively, Philosophy of the Buddha explores how Buddhist enlightenment could enable us to overcome suffering in our lives and reach our full potential for compassion and tranquillity.

This is one of the first books to introduce the philosophy of the Buddha to students of Western philosophy. Christopher W. Gowans' style is exceptionally clear and appropriate for anyone looking for a comprehensive introduction to this growing area of interest.

Philosophy of the Buddha is a philosophical introduction to the teaching of the Buddha. It carefully guides readers through the basic ideas and practices of the Buddha, including kamma (karma), rebirth, the not-self doctrine, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, ethics, meditation, nonattachment, and Nibbâna (Nirvana).

The book includes an account of the life of the Buddha as well as comparisons of his teaching with practical and theoretical aspects of some Western philosophical outlooks, both ancient and modern. Most distinctively, Philosophy of the Buddha explores how Buddhist enlightenment could enable us to overcome suffering in our lives and reach our full potential for compassion and tranquillity.

This is one of the first books to introduce the philosophy of the Buddha to students of Western philosophy. Christopher Gowans' style is exceptionally clear and appropriate for anyone looking for a comprehensive introduction to this growing area of interest.

This book presents a fascinating examination of modern Indian philosophical thought from the margins. It considers the subject from two perspectives - how it has been understood beyond India and how Indian thinkers have treated Western ideas in the context of Indian society. The book discusses the concepts of the self, the other and the border that underline various debates on modernity. In this framework, it proposes the notion of the other as an enabler in taking cue from the lives of Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. It focusses on the nature and compulsions of the colonised self, and its response to the body of unfamiliar and sometimes oppressive ideas. The study traces these themes with allusion to the works of Edward Said, Frantz Fanon and Krishna Chandra Bhattacharyya and the Bhagavad Gita. The author exposes the limitations in existing theories of self, the incompatibility between the slavery of self and svaraj in ideas, how the premodern village intersects modern city and democracy, the radical challenges that confront society with its accumulated social evils, inequality, hierarchy and the need for reform and non-violence. This engaging work will be of interest to scholars and researchers of Indian philosophy, social and political philosophy, Indian political theory, postcolonialism and South Asian studies.

What is the most distinctive feature of human nature? Does human nature play any significant role in explaining ethical objectivity? How do we arrive at moral judgments? What is the relationship between moral judgments and moral motivation? In answering these questions, this book defends a naturalist, realist and internalist theory of the foundations of ethics. This theory, grounded on a particular concept of humanity, combines insights from Mencius and David Hume. The views of each show how important features left underdeveloped by the other can be supplemented and refined. The unified theory that results is a robust contender among current ethical theories. This illuminating book, relating Chinese and Western philosophical traditions, presents a unique account of the unity of the virtues in Mencius, breaks new ground in Hume studies through its discussion of the concept of sympathy in Hume's theory, and brings combined insights to bear on contemporary analytical theories of ethics.

Contents:
Part I - The Background and Context of the Ãlaya-vijñana
1. The Early Buddhist Background
2. The Three Marks of Existence
3. The Formula of Dependent Arising
4. Causation and continuity without a self
5. Viññana in the Formula of Dependent Arising
6. Viññana as Consciousness
7. Karmic Formations and Craving increase Viññana and Perpetuate Samsara
8. Consciousness and the Potential for Karmic Fruition
9. Viññana as Cognitive Awareness
10. Cognitive Processes and the Production of Karma
11. The Underlying Tendencies (anusaya)
12. The Underlying Tendency "I am" and Conceptual Proliferation
13. The Debate over Latent and Manifest
14. Reciprocal Causality Between the Two Aspects of Viññana
Part II - The Abhidharma Context
15. The Abhidharma Project and its Problematic
16. Background of the Abhidharma
17. The Aim and Methods of Abhidharma: Dharma as Irreducible Unit of Experience
18. The Basic Problematic: Two Levels of Discourse Two Dimensions of Mind
19. Analysis of Mind and its Mental Factors
20. The Initial Formulation of the Problematic in its Synchronic Dimension: The Accumulation of Karmic Potential, the Presence of the Underlying Tendencies and their Gradual Purification in the Kathavatthu
21. The Problematic in its Diachronic Dimension: Immediate Succession vs the Continuity of Karmic Potential
22. The Persistence of Traditonal Continuities: Karma and Klesa in the AbhiDharma-Kosa
23. AbhiDharmic Responses to the Problematic
24. The Sarvastivadin Theory of Possession
25. The Sautrantika Theory of Seeds in the Mental Stream
26. Questions Raised by Consciousness, Seeds and the Mental Stream
27. The Theravadin Theory of Life Constituent Mind
28. Conclusion
Part III - The Alaya-vijñana in the Yogacara Tradition, The Alaya-vijñana in the Early Tradition
29. The Origins of the Alaya-vijñana
30. The New Model of Mind in the Samdhinirmocana Sutra
31. The Alaya-Vijñana as Mental Stream
32. The Alaya Treatise of the Yogacarabhumi
33. The Proof Portion
34. The Alaya Treatise, Pravrtti Portion: Analysing the Alaya-Vijñana in Avhidharmic Terms
35. Its subliminal objective supports and cognitive processes
36. Its mutual and simulataneous relationship with manifest cognitive awareness
37. Manifest Cognitive Processes Produce Karma and Increase the Alaya-vijñana
38. Its Simultaneous Arising with Afflictive Mentation
39. The Alaya treatise, Nivrtti Portion: Equating the Alaya-Vijñana with Samsaric Continuity
40. Conclusion
Part IV - The Alaya-Vijñana in the Mahayana-samgraha I : Bringing It All Back Home
41. Appropriating the Traditional Buddhist Framework
42. Synonyms of the Alaya-vijñana in the Disciple's Vehicle
43. The Two Vijnanas and the Two Dependent Arisings
44. Seeding the Alaya-vijñana: The Karmic Process as Simultaneous Intrapsychic Causality
45. Resolving the Abhidharmic problematic
46. Karma, Rebirth and the Alaya-vijñana
47. The continuity of the Afflictions
48. Afflicitve Mentation in the Mahayana-samgraha
49. The Path of Purification:Mundane and SupraMundane
50. Beyond Abhidharma: Adventitious Defilements, Pure Seeds and Luminous Minds
Part V - The Alaya-vijñana in the Mahayana-samgraha II: Looking Beyond
51. The Predispositions of Speech, Self View and the Life Constituents
52. Common Experience, Common Embodiment: Language, the Alaya-vijñana and the Arising of the World

Contents:
Chapters:
1. Boethius: from antiquity to the Middle Ages
2. From the beginnings to Avicenna
3. Averroes
4. Jewish philosophy
5. Philosophy and its background in the early medieval West
6. John Scottus Eriugena and Anselm of Canterbury
7. The twelfth century
8. The intellectual context of later medieval philosophy: universities, Aristotle, arts, theology
9. Metaphysics and science in the thirteenth century: William of Auvergne, Robert Grosseteste and Roger Bacon
10. Bonaventure, the German Dominicans and the new translations
11. Thomas Aquinas
12. The Paris arts faculty: Siger of Brabant, Boethius of Facia, Radulphus Brito
13. Henry of Ghent and Duns Scotus
14. Ockham's World and future
15. Walter Burley, Peter Aureoli and Gregory of Rimini
16. Paris and Oxford between Aureoli and Rimini
17. Late medieval logic
18. Late medieval philosophy, 1350-1500
19. Suárez (and later scholasticism)

The popular perception of yoga in the West remains for the most part that of a physical fitness program, largely divorced from its historical and spiritual roots. The essays collected here provide a sense of the historical emergence of the classical system presented by Patañjali, a careful examination of the key elements, overall character and contemporary relevance of that system (as found in the Yoga Sutra) and a glimpse of some of the tradition's many important ramifications in later Indian religious history.

In the 20th century theorists of mind were almost exclusively concerned with various versions of the materialist thesis, but prior to current debates accounts of soul and mind reveal an extraordinary richness and complexity which bear careful and impartial investigation. This book is the first single-authored, comprehensive work to examine the historical, linguistic and conceptual issues involved in exploring the basic features of the human mind - from its most remote origins to the beginning of the modern period. MacDonald traces the development of an armature of psychical concepts from the Old Testament and Homer's works to the 18th century advocacy of an empirical science of the mind. Along the way, detailed attention is paid to the Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics and Epicurus, before turning to look at the New Testament, Neoplatonism, Augustine, Medieval Islam, Aquinas and Dante. Treatment of Renaissance theories is followed by an unusual (perhaps unique) chapter on the words "soul" and "mind" in English literature from Chaucer to Shakespeare; the story then rejoins the mainstream with analyses of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume. Chapter-focused bibliographies.

The phrase "martial arts studies" is increasingly circulating as a term to describe a new field of interest. But many academic fields including history, philosophy, anthropology, and Area studies already engage with martial arts in their own particular way. Therefore, is there really such a thing as a unique field of martial arts studies? Martial Arts Studies is the first book to engage directly with these questions. It assesses the multiplicity and heterogeneity of possible approaches to martial arts studies, exploring orientations and limitations of existing approaches. It makes a case for constructing the field of martial arts studies in terms of key coordinates from post-structuralism, cultural studies, media studies, and post-colonialism. By using these anti-disciplinary approaches to disrupt the approaches of other disciplines, Martial Arts Studies proposes a field that both emerges out of and differs from its many disciplinary locations.

Translated, edited, and introduced by Edward Y. J. Chung, The Great Synthesis of Wang Yangming Neo-Confucianism in Korea: The Chonon (Testament) by Chong Chedu (Hagok), is the first study in a Western language of Chong Chedu (Hagok, 1649-1736) and Korean Wang Yangming Neo-Confucianism. Hagok was an eminent philosopher who established the unorthodox Yangming school (Yangmyonghak) in Korea. This book includes an annotated scholarly translation of the Chonon (Testament), Hagok's most important and interesting work on Confucian self-cultivation. Chung also provides a comprehensive introduction to Hagok's life, scholarship, and thought, especially his great synthesis of Wang's philosophy of mind cultivation and moral practice in relation to the classical teaching of Confucius and Mencius and his critical analysis of Zhu Xi Neo-Confucianism and its Songnihak tradition. Chung concludes that Hagok was an original scholar in the Songnihak school, a great transmitter and interpreter of Yangming Neo-Confucianism in Korea, and a creative thinker whose integration of these two traditions inaugurated a distinctively Korean system of ethics and spirituality. This book sheds new light on the breadth and depth of Korean Neo-Confucianism and serves as a primary source for philosophy and East Asian studies in general and Confucian studies and Korean religion and philosophy in particular.

Islamic Philosophy has unusual origins. Originally a hybrid of Greek philosophy and early Islamic theology, its technical language consisted of a number of words translated from the Greek. This book studies how Islamic philosophers of the ninth century AD, such as al-Kindi, al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, developed an indigenous set of terms and concepts. Their Books of Definition influenced the revision of the Arabic language to incorporate these new fields of knowledge.
Books of Definition in Islamic Philosophy: The Limits of Words uses the work of these philosophers as a basis from which a comparison with their Greek precedents is enabled. The book presents a framework for incorporating an Islamic and historically contextualised philosophy into a continuum of world philosophers. At the core of this framework is Ibn Sina's Kitab al-hudud which the author has translated into English and situates it in its correct geopolitical framework. In establishing a historical and literary context for the writing and circulation of Ibn Sina's definitions, the book breaks new ground in the integration of Islamic philosophy within a general history of philosophies.
This fascinating and comprehensive study will be of interest to scholars and postgraduate students of Islamic Philosophy.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203221370

The expulsion from Spain did not only result in the destruction and dispersion of Spanish Jewry but led to a crisis in Jewish faith. Don Isaac Abravanel provided a systematic treatment of the main philosophical and theological beliefs of Judaism in an attempt to resolve the inner doubts of his co-religionists. In their Italian exile his son Judah too recognized that Jews were now living in a new cultural world, but he forged a different road for Jews to pursue in their entry into the culture of the Renaissance. This book presents a picture of one family facing the challenges of a new era in Jewish history.

Nyana is the most rational and logical of all the classical Indian philosophical systems. In the study of Nyana philosophy, Karikavali with its commentary Muktavali, both by Visvanatha Nyayapancanana, with the commentaries Dinakari and Ramarudri, have been of decisive significance for the last few centuries as advanced introductions to this subject. The present work concentrates on inference (anumana) in Karikavali, Muktavali and Dinakari, carefully divided into significant units according to the subject, and translates and interprets them. Its commentary makes use of the primary interpretation in Sanskrit contained especially in the Ramarudri and Subodhini. The book begins with the Sanskrit texts of Karikavali and Muktavali; followed by English translation of these texts. Next is given the Sanskrit text of Dinakari which comments on the first two texts, followed by its English translation. Lastly, the book contains a commentary on all the texts included.

Designed as an introduction to their ideas, this book concentrates on the Brethren's writings, analysing the impact on them of thinkers such as Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle and the Neoplatonists and tracing the influences of Judaism and Christianity.

'How do gender constructions transform religious experiences?' 'What is the role of bodily materiality in ethics and epistemology?' 'How does rethinking gender and sexuality force us to reconceptualise settled ontological frameworks?' This collection provides the first research resource to Indian philosophical gender issues, exploring a variety of texts and traditions from Indian philosophy where the treatment of gender is dynamic and diverse. Organised around three central themes - the gender dynamics of enlightenment in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions; the simple binary opposition of genders in Indian traditions; the ways in which symbolic representations of gender differ from social realities in Hindu and Buddhist practice - a team of respected scholars discuss feminist readings, examinations of femininity and masculinity, as well as queer and trans identities, representations, and theories. Beginning with the Vedic tradition and ending with sections on Sri Ramakrishna and Gandhi, this wide-ranging handbook encourages fresh inquiry into classic philosophical questions. Offering critical analyses relevant to literary, cultural and religious studies, The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Indian Philosophy and Gender opens up new ways of understanding gender and South Asian philosophy.

How was the post-modernist project contested, subverted and assimilated in India? This book offers a personal account and an intellectual history of its reception and response. Tracing independent India's engagement with Western critical theory, Paranjape outlines both its past and 'post'. The book explores the discursive trajectories of post-modernism, post-colonialism, post-Marxism, post-nationalism, post-feminism, post-secularism - the relations that mediate them - as well as interprets, in the light of these discussions, core tenets of Indian philosophical thought. Paranjape argues that India's response to the modernist project is neither submission, willing or reluctant, nor repudiation, intentional or forced; rather India's 'modernity' is 'unauthorized', different, subversive, alter-native and alter-modern. The book makes the case for a new integrative hermeneutics, the idea of the indigenous 'critical vernacular', and presents a radical shift in the understanding of svaraj (beyond decolonisation and nationalism) to express transformations at both personal and political levels. A key intervention in Indian critical theory, this volume will interest researchers and scholars of literature, philosophy, political theory, culture studies and postcolonial studies.

Contents:
Introduction
Section I: Sankara: Externality
1. Sankara and the philosophical framework of Advaita
2. Sankara, Vasubandhu and the idealist use of dreaming
3. Sankara, dreaming and non-realism
Section II: Vacaspati: Determinacy
1. Vacaspati on anirvacaniyatva
Section III: Sri Harsa: Existence
1. Knowledge and Existence
2. The non-realist critique of Existence
Discursive Appendix: Reading Sri Harsa through 20th century anti-sceptical naturalism
Section IV: Applying Non-Realism
1. Causal connections, cognition and regularity: comparativist remarks on David Hume and Sri Harsa
2. Immediacy and the direct theory of perception: problems with Sri Harsa

"Dogen's famous text on Zen practice comes alive in the hands of a modern meditation master." --Carl Biefeldt, Professor of Religious Studies, Stanford University and author of Dogen's Manuals of Zen Meditation This is the definitive English translation of a foundational work of Zen Buddhism--the Bendowa ("On the Endeavor of the Way") by Eihei Dogen, founder of the Soto school of Zen in Japan. Written in 1231, it contains the master's essential teachings on zazen, or seated meditation, which is the fundamental pathway to Buddhist enlightenment. The first part of the book introduces the notion of "wondrous dharma" and looks at the role of the individual to society and notions of time and interconnection. The second part of the work is cast in the form of a dialogue, the Q&A format offering answers to questions a Zen novice might pose regarding the paths to enlightenment: How can passively sitting being a means of attaining enlightenment? Why is sitting so key to meditation? Can seated meditation be combined with other practices? How can I maintain a practice that accords with my other responsibilities in life? What sets this edition apart are the contemporary insights by modern Zen master Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, which tackle some of the difficulties readers face in comprehending Dogen's guidance and demystify some of the terms and concepts central to an understanding of zazen practice and Buddhist philosophy. He discusses the notion of dharma as presented in the text and looks at Buddhist thought through the lens not of abstraction, but in terms of its concrete realities.

This probing and engaging book is a critical guide to some of the most important issues in modern African philosophy. Bell introduces readers to the complexity of Africa, the legacy of colonialism, and the challenges of post-independence Africa, and the history and achievement of the various options in African philosophy. The book discusses African oral and written philosophical traditions, concepts of 'negritude', 'African Socialism', and 'race' and topics in international development ethics.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203800745