Overview

Bringing the analytical approach of modern philosophy to bear upon the literature of ancient and classical India, Jonardon Ganeri here explains and explores the central methods, concepts and devices of a rich and sophisticated philosophical tradition. Original in content and approach, Philosophy in Classical India focuses on the rational principles of Indian philosophical theory, rather than the mysticism more usually associated with it. Ganeri asks what are the philosophical projects of a number of major Indian philosophers and what are the methods of rational inquiry deployed in pursuit of those projects. In so doing, he illuminates a network of mutual reference and criticism, influence and response, in which reason is simultaneously used constructively and to call itself into question. This fresh perspective on classical Indian thought unravels new philosophical paradigms and points towards new applications for the concept of reason.

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9780415240352

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Reviews

Ganeri's work in Indian philosophy is reminiscent of the extraordinary scholarship of his teacher, the late Bimal K. Matilal, in its depth, degree of abstraction, and in the intellectual demands placed upon (or adhikara, eligibility, required of!) its readers.Indologists seeking the same intensity of Matilal's scholarship will applaud Ganeri's book. Further, comparative philosophers interested in logic and rationality will welcome Ganeri's groundbreaking tome. <br>- Religious Studies Review <br> Ganeri's text points the way forward for producing text-books for philosophy courses on non-western traditions.... As a template, it deserves to be widely copied. Scholars in the field of Islamic philosophy have much to learn from it.. <br>-Transcendent Philosophy, September 2001, volume 2, number 3 <br> Jonathon Ganeri has combined scholarly engagement with philisophical clarity in this book This book goes beyond facile comparisions; it eschews them altogether, in favor of an internally coherent and textually informed exploration of thematic cross-currents that flow from classical India into today's global imaginaire. <br>-Amazon.com.uk <br>

'... a brilliant contribution to the study of some of the basic questions of classical Indian Philosophy, and at the same time quite a convincing presentation of new philosophical paradigms ... What is striking in Ganeri's work is the commendable combination of sound grasp of the Sanskrit texts with outstanding interpretive skills. There is no doubt that the book will be acknowledged as a pathfinder in the interpretation of classical Indian Philosophy.' - John Vattanky, De Nobili College, India, Nagoya Studies in Indian Culture and Buddhism 'Excellent, just what we need right at this moment.' - Arindam Chakrabarti, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Author Information

Jonardon Ganeri read mathematics at Cambridge before pursuing graduate studies in philosophy at London and Oxford. He is the author of Semantic Powers: Meaning and the Means of Knowing in Classical Indian Philosophy 0Clarendon Press, 1999). He is currently Spalding Fellow in Comparative Religions, Clare Hall, Cambridge

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