- Centre for Philosophy, SSS.
JNU. South Delhi 110067. - +91 6301523096
- Professor of Philosophy, consciousness studies and Vedanta interest me. Cognitive Phenomenology and J Krishnamurti f... moreProfessor of Philosophy, consciousness studies and Vedanta interest me. Cognitive Phenomenology and J Krishnamurti find place in my studies. Areas of Research interest include: Philosophy and Literature, Mīmāmsa school, Philosophy of M.K.Gandhi.edit
Research Interests:
It seems that we can talk meaningfully about non-existing things but interestingly there is nothing that we can refer to. As understood, a sentence can only be meaningful if the subject term refers to something existing out there. The... more
It seems that we can talk meaningfully about non-existing things but interestingly there is nothing that we can refer to. As understood, a sentence can only be meaningful if the subject term refers to something existing out there. The problematic discussed by the Navya Nyāya in its philosophical logic related to the empty terms has far reaching significance. Some examples of the empty terms that are often found in the Nyāya literature are ‘the rabbits horn’, ‘golden mountain’, ‘the son of a barren woman’, ‘the sky flower’, ‘the winged horse’ etc,. An empty term is a term that lacks a referent. The Buddhists and the Mimāṃsakas are considerate to some extent in accepting a weak from of the empty terms, but the Naiyāyikas are vehemently opposed to any such place for the empty terms.
Research Interests:
In terms of creating peace, philosophy is reasonably said to have the method to create peace that is the method of dialogue and morality. As for dialogue, it might be considered as the initial step for creating the peace. Anyways,... more
In terms of creating peace, philosophy is reasonably said to have the method to create peace that is the method of dialogue and morality. As for dialogue, it might be considered as the initial step for creating the peace. Anyways, morality is one of those factors for creating peace owing that it separately involves in training process, especially how to train mind. Regarding Buddhism, there are certainly two kinds of peace; namely, external peace and inner peace. External peace is concerned with how to live one’s life with others in society peacefully. With this, five precepts which is well- known among the Buddhists as a moral law are practically used as a social regulation in which people in the society should comply with stringently. Thus, the process of creating the external peace in Buddhism relies on moral discipline that is five precepts. As for inner peace, it inevitably depends on getting mind trained. Owing that violence results from hatred mind, Buddhism turns to utilize ...
Certain questions have always intrigued the minds of philosophers regarding the nature and essence of philosophy for ages. "What is philosophy?, What is philosophy for?, How should philosophy be done?", etc. These questions were answered... more
Certain questions have always intrigued the minds of philosophers regarding the nature and essence of philosophy for ages. "What is philosophy?, What is philosophy for?, How should philosophy be done?", etc. These questions were answered by many a thinker over the ages, and each of these answers had laid the path for a new theoretical discourse in philosophy. One such discourse is related to pragmatism that stresses on the practical application of philosophical theories. However, the pragmatic school of thought was vehemently criticized by analytic philosophy to such an extent that it was on the verge of extinction from the philosophical scenario. In the contemporary era, Richard Rorty is credited to have revived the spirit of pragmatism once again. Rorty revised the traditional pragmatic theories and put them in a new format and labelled it as neo-pragmatism. Our main aim in this paper would be to analyse the neo-pragmatic theory of Rorty and to argue whether or not his theory is successful in answering the age-old questions of philosophy that we cited above.
Research Interests:
Abstract: if a thing is well known to us, there is no point of enquiring in to its nature. If a thing is unknown, we cannot enquire at all. the question is: is the nature of Brahman or Pure Consciousness known to us or unknown to us?.... more
Abstract: if a thing is well known to us, there is no point of enquiring in to its nature. If a thing is unknown, we cannot enquire at all. the question is: is the nature of Brahman or Pure Consciousness known to us or unknown to us?. this paradox was spelt by Śankara in his commentary on the first sutra of Brahma Sūtra(s). Some of the general features of Brahman are known to us, something like existence, happiness etc., and some specific features are unknown. Therefore, the inquiry makes sense. This paper would investigate in to the essential characteristics and per accidence feature of pure consciousness as up held by the Advaita vedānta tradition.
Research Interests:
Abstract Indian philosophies are, generally, presented in the language of Kant, Hegel or Husserl. The challenge before us is: Can we reverse this model of doing Indian philosophy? Can we Understand and present the western philosophies... more
Abstract
Indian philosophies are, generally, presented in the language of Kant, Hegel or Husserl. The challenge before us is: Can we reverse this model of doing Indian philosophy? Can we Understand and present the western philosophies in the language and conceptual framework of Indian traditions, may be that of Nyaya or Vedanta?. This does not mean distorting the philosophies of Kant or Husserl, but to creatively interpret them, and there by improvise the domain of knowledge. Instantly, two names of Indian philosophers come to my mind. One is K.C. Bhattacharya who appropriates Kant’s philosophy and creatively interprets it using an Indian language, and also using terminology and concepts from Vedanta tradition. The second philosopher following this ‘New Approach’ in doing Indian Philosophy is R. Balasubramanian. He would interpret, more often than not, Husserl or Sartre in the language of Advaita Vedanta.
In this paper, I would discuss the hard problem of ‘Enworlded Subjectivity’ and Advaita philosophy. The focus of the paper would be to explore this ‘new approach’ of doing Indian philosophy as developed and perfected by RB. I would refer to the writings of RB on the problem of enworlded subjectivity in Advaita philosophy, and bring out the significance of this ‘new approach’. How Balasubramanian creatively interprets Husserl and Sartre in the language of Vedanta is the central theme of this paper.
Key Words: Phenomenology, Advaita Vedanta, Enworlded Subjectivity, ego-consciousness, intentionality, reflexivity etc.
Indian philosophies are, generally, presented in the language of Kant, Hegel or Husserl. The challenge before us is: Can we reverse this model of doing Indian philosophy? Can we Understand and present the western philosophies in the language and conceptual framework of Indian traditions, may be that of Nyaya or Vedanta?. This does not mean distorting the philosophies of Kant or Husserl, but to creatively interpret them, and there by improvise the domain of knowledge. Instantly, two names of Indian philosophers come to my mind. One is K.C. Bhattacharya who appropriates Kant’s philosophy and creatively interprets it using an Indian language, and also using terminology and concepts from Vedanta tradition. The second philosopher following this ‘New Approach’ in doing Indian Philosophy is R. Balasubramanian. He would interpret, more often than not, Husserl or Sartre in the language of Advaita Vedanta.
In this paper, I would discuss the hard problem of ‘Enworlded Subjectivity’ and Advaita philosophy. The focus of the paper would be to explore this ‘new approach’ of doing Indian philosophy as developed and perfected by RB. I would refer to the writings of RB on the problem of enworlded subjectivity in Advaita philosophy, and bring out the significance of this ‘new approach’. How Balasubramanian creatively interprets Husserl and Sartre in the language of Vedanta is the central theme of this paper.
Key Words: Phenomenology, Advaita Vedanta, Enworlded Subjectivity, ego-consciousness, intentionality, reflexivity etc.
Research Interests:
Abstract: The idea that the mind is similar to a mirror which reflects the objects existing independently in the outside world or the theory of representationalism, is a topic of discussion since the time of Plato. This idea is evident in... more
Abstract:
The idea that the mind is similar to a mirror which reflects the objects existing independently in the outside world or the theory of representationalism, is a topic of discussion since the time of Plato. This idea is evident in the works of modern philosophers like Descartes, Locke, Kant etc., and is also accepted by the analytic or linguistic philosophers. However, this idea is subjected to severe criticism and one such critique is Richard Rorty, an American philosopher who initially was interested in the works of analytic philosophy but soon changed his views and became a vigorous critique of it. Rorty attacked the basic assumption of analytic philosophy which claims that to be meaningful, language must accurately represent the fact. He questioned, ‘How language could be able to represent facts while talking about the notions of God, soul, just, good or beautiful? And without the existence of such facts, ‘How philosophy was able to speak meaningfully about the notions of ethics, metaphysics, religion, aesthetics, and justice? In this paper, our aim would be to analyze the notion of representationalism with reference to the works of Richard Rorty and to explain whether or not Rorty’s claims are substantial.
Keywords: Mind, Analytic Philosophy, Representationalism, Mind as Mirror, Richard Rorty, Descartes.
The idea that the mind is similar to a mirror which reflects the objects existing independently in the outside world or the theory of representationalism, is a topic of discussion since the time of Plato. This idea is evident in the works of modern philosophers like Descartes, Locke, Kant etc., and is also accepted by the analytic or linguistic philosophers. However, this idea is subjected to severe criticism and one such critique is Richard Rorty, an American philosopher who initially was interested in the works of analytic philosophy but soon changed his views and became a vigorous critique of it. Rorty attacked the basic assumption of analytic philosophy which claims that to be meaningful, language must accurately represent the fact. He questioned, ‘How language could be able to represent facts while talking about the notions of God, soul, just, good or beautiful? And without the existence of such facts, ‘How philosophy was able to speak meaningfully about the notions of ethics, metaphysics, religion, aesthetics, and justice? In this paper, our aim would be to analyze the notion of representationalism with reference to the works of Richard Rorty and to explain whether or not Rorty’s claims are substantial.
Keywords: Mind, Analytic Philosophy, Representationalism, Mind as Mirror, Richard Rorty, Descartes.
Research Interests:
The pluralistic Sa khyaSchool holds on to the thesis that primordial matter (prakrti) with the presence of consciousness (puruśa) evolves the products of the world. This theory of creation holds that the world of objects is created out of... more
The pluralistic Sa khyaSchool holds on to the thesis that primordial matter (prakrti) with the presence of consciousness (puruśa) evolves the products of the world. This theory of creation holds that the world of objects is created out of a material cause (
It has been said by an author of a Purāña, "Do not bring those things within the range of argumentation which are beyond thought. The nature of a thing beyond thought consists in its being other than the things within nature". Therefore,... more
It has been said by an author of a Purāña, "Do not bring those things within the range of argumentation which are beyond thought. The nature of a thing beyond thought consists in its being other than the things within nature". Therefore, concludes Śankara, a super sensuous thing (Brahman or Ātman) is known only from the Vedic source alone. Since the Self is not a
Research Interests:
What are the factors that cause the conditioning of human consciousness? What does the Buddhist literature say on the characteristics of Bodhicitta? What is the relation between Dharmakaya and Bodhicitta? Is ‘Bodhicitta’ a... more
What are the factors that cause the conditioning of human consciousness? What does the Buddhist literature say on the characteristics of Bodhicitta? What is the relation between Dharmakaya and Bodhicitta? Is ‘Bodhicitta’ a transcendental notion? How come metaphysical questions have crept in to the existential philosophy of the Buddhists? What is Nagarjuna’s and Sthiramati’s understanding of Bodhicitta vis a vis its relation to peace? Is Bodhicitta a preparatory stage for becoming Bodhisattva (avalokiteshwara)? These are some of the questions that I would like to critically examine in this paper. Though I belong to the school of Advaita Vedanta philosophy (one of the schools of Indian Philosophy), the similarities and dissimilarities between Vijnanavada school of Buddhism and Vedanta philosophy have always attracted the attention of scholars working in either of the fields of research. Hence, my attraction to Buddhist philosophy is but natural.