On the Nature of the Consciousness

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The distinguished contributors to this volume explore such topics as nature, content and structure of consciousness from both eastern and western perspectives. Both the schools -phenomenology and Vedanta have received greater attention while discussing the "hard and easy problems of consciousness in this work. The book sets a new agenda for doing consciousness studies in Indian context. This is to present western philosophical theories in the language of Vedanta or Nyaya. The methodology is to deviate from doing comparative studies of eastern and western philosophies, and to take up basic or fundamental questions raised by the Indian tradition over the ages, and address them by showing adequacies/in-adequacies in the theories from the western world. This book is an example of creatively interpreting and appropriating western philosophy from Indian philosophical perspective.

Dr. Adarasupally Nataraju is a Professor of Philosophy at Assam Central University, Silchar, India. His research interests include areas such as-Consciousness Studies, Vedanta Philosophy, Cognitive Phenomenology, Philosophy of Education, Philosophies of M.K. Gandhi and J. Krishnamurti. Prof. Nataraju's book publications include, (2011), Philosophy of J. Krishnamurti (2018).

Doing philosophy in India without being obsessed with westem philosophies, and following the three thousand-year-old great Indian tradition is a genuine concern for all those presently working in different areas of Indian philosophy Generally, Indian theories of knowledge or theories of reality are presented in the language of a Husserl or a Kant or a Heidegger (Mohanty, 2011). The methodologies are, needless to say, western. The inadequacies in Indian epistemological, metaphysical or moral theories are presented in the language of dominant western theories. This model of doing philosophy is acceptable to academia in India. Hardly do they realize the perils of such an approach.

This book sets an agenda of reversing this model. The need of the hour is to present western philosophical theories in the language of Vedanta or any other Indian school of thought. In the process, we appropriate and improvise the theories of Husserl, Kant or Hegel, there by improvising the domain of knowledge. In contemporary times, it is observed that academia in India is so overwhelmed by western models of doing philosophy that they pay scant respect for the Indian schools. The schools of Indian philosophy are frozen molds dead only to be buried. This book attempts to set things in proper perspective. Advaita dróti or Nyaya drsti or some other is adopted to look closely at different western theories. This requires that we read the great western philosophies such as Kant's, but understand him in the conceptual framework handed down by the Indian traditions' (Mohanty, 2011). This method is not new, this has been practiced by the likes of K.C. Bhattacharya when he clearly spelt the scheme of things in his hitherto famous article 'Swaraj in Ideas'. This was followed up by academicians such as J.N. Mohanty, B.K. Motilal and R. Balasubramanian (This list is not exhaustive).

Ideas over the centuries are developed in India through schools by writing commentaries and sub-commentaries on the original texts. (Bhasyas, Vrttis, Vārtikas, Tikas, Kärikas, etc.) A commentary does not just elucidate a point made in the original text, but improvises the idea and thereby extends the domain of knowledge. Every commentary or sub-commentary throws new light on the layered meanings of the text.

**Contents and Sample Pages**