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Books > Philosophy > Non-Western philosophy > Oriental & Indian philosophy
Philosophers of Nothingness examines the three principal figures of
what has come to be known as the "Kyoto school" -- Nishida Kitaro,
Tanabe Hajime, and Nishitani Keiji -- and shows how this original
current of twentieth-century Japanese thought challenges
traditional philosophy to break out of its Western confines and
step into a world forum.
Since the earliest period of Islamic history, Arab thought has
been dominated by a reverence for tradition and textual analysis.
In this groundbreaking work, the great contemporary Arab
philosopher Mohammed Abed Al-Jabiri seeks to chart a route towards
modernity via the proposition that respect for textualism and
tradition are not inconsistent with rationalism and that both
history and philosophy are key to the evolution of knowledge
systems and ways of reasoning in Arab culture. This book has been
an enormous influence within the Arab world on the Islam and
modernity discourse. It is published here for the first time in
English and provides a fascinating insight into the currents of
contemporary Arab thought.
Daya Krishna (1924-2007) was easily the most creative and original
Indian philosopher of the second half of the 20th century. His
thought and philosophical energy dominated academic Indian
philosophy and determined the nature of the engagement of Indian
philosophy with Western philosophy during that period. He passed
away recently, leaving behind an enormous corpus of published work
on a wide range of philosophical topics, as well as a great deal of
incomplete, nearly-complete and complete-but-as-yet-unpublished
work.
Daya Krishna's thought and publications address a broad range of
philosophical issues, including issues of global philosophical
importance that transcend considerations of particular traditions;
issues particular to Indian philosophy; and issues at the
intersection of Indian and Western philosophy, especially questions
about the philosophy of language and ontology that emerge in the
context of his Samvada project that brought together Western
philosophers and Nyaya pandits to discuss questions in the
philosophy of language and metaphysics.
The volume editors have organized the volume as a set of ten
couplets and triplets. Each draws together papers from different
periods in Daya Krishna's life: some take different approaches to
the same problem or text; in some cases, the second paper
references and takes issue with arguments developed in the first;
in still others, Daya Krishna addresses very different topics, but
using the same distinctive philosophical methodology. Each set is
introduced by one of the editors.
These couplets are framed by two of Daya Krishna's finest
metaphilosophical essays, one that introduces his approach, and one
that draws some of his grand morals about the discipline. Daya
Krishna's daughter, Professor Shail Mayaram of the Center for the
Study of Developing Societies contributes a preface, and Professor
Arindam Chakrabarti, a longtime colleague of Daya Krisha and a
collaborator on some of his most important philosophical ventures
has written the introduction.
The Psychology of the Yogas explores the dissonance between the
promises of the yogic quest and psychological states of crisis.
Western practitioners of yoga and meditation who have embarked upon
years-long spiritual quests and who have practiced under the
guidance of a guru tell of profound and ongoing experiences of
love, compassion and clarity: the peaks of spiritual fulfillment.
However, after returning to the West, they reported difficulties
and crises in different areas of their lives. Why did these
practitioners, who had apparently touched the heights of
fulfillment, still suffer from these crises? The author explores
the psychological theory of yoga and its concrete yogic
psychological methods such as 'cultivating of the opposite'
(pratipaksa bhavana), transforming it to 'imagining the opposite',
a practice aimed at healing negative habitual tendencies. These
methods are extracted from an in-depth study of the Yoga of
Patanjali and the Tibetan-Buddhist Ati-Yoga of Longchenpa - the
Dzogchen. The works of Patanjali (3rd century) and Longchenpa,
(14th century) provide a profound psychological framework for
understanding the human psyche. These methods are effective but at
times difficult to implement. However, as demonstrated through a
case study Western psychology can effectively undo habitual
tendencies in a manner which may complement yoga practice,
enhancing the integration of one's spirituality and psychology.
Reflecting the currently growing eco-movement, this book presents
to western readers Tao Yuanming, an ancient Chinese poet, as a
representative of classical oriental natural philosophy who offered
lived experience of "dwelling poetically on earth." Drawing on
Derrida's specter theory, it interprets Tao Yuanming in a
postmodern and eco-critical context, while also exploring his
naturalist "kindred spirits" in other countries, so as to urge the
people of today to contemplate their own existence and pursuits.
The book's "panoramic" table of contents offers readers a wonderful
reading experience.
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