PHILOSOPHY IN INDIA; Traditions, Teachings and Research

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This is a survey of philosophical thinking in India from antiquity to the mid-eighties of this century, which proceeds in the following sequence:

(a) elucidation of the classical conceptions of philosophy and the views of Indian thinkers on the problems of philosophical diversity; (b) brief sketches of the rise and development of philosophical ideas and of various Hindu, Jaina Lokayata and Buddhist schools and systems from the earliest period till the eighteenth century A. D.; (c) short accounts of philosophical insight and ideas in the religio-philosophical literatures of Indian languages, including those of the Sikh Gurus and the Shaiks and Ulemas of India; (d) summaries of select modern Indian thinkers- Hindu and non-Hindu, academic and non-academic-ending with characterization and classification of modern Indian Philosophy; (e) discussion of the present philosophical situation in India; (f) an attempt to focus on the problems of professional philosophers, rectification of Indian philosophy and ideological autonomy; and (g) an analysis and examination of the issues involved in philosophical teaching and research.

In the discussion of Buddhism more space is devoted to Early Buddhist Schools and the Mahayana Sutras, and in that of Hindu schools to Sabdadvaita and Isvaradvayavada. The appendix to chapter 2 provides a critique of the histories of Indian philosophy, while modern philosophical writings in Indian languages are dealt with in the appendix to chapter 4. It is a quite a comprehensive monograph on the traditions, teachings and research in philosophy in India, based on the author's thinking and experience in this field for about four decades, initially inspired by an Unesco request.

From the Back of the Book

"The present work from the pen of one of our most eminent philosophers and educationists is a veritable gem. Within a short compass it succeeds not only in lucidly presenting Indian philosophy, past and present, but also discusses at the same time some of the urgent problems agitating Indian philosophers today. It is brief, unambiguous, quintessential, and comprehensive, a tribute to the author's vast and accurate scholarship, critical judgement and catholic taste".

Journal of I.C.P.R., New Delhi

"Treatment of the subject is objective and fairly comprehensive…… Brilliant Book".

Adyar Library Bulletin, Madras

"This book becomes a Novum in the field of Indian Philosophical history writings as it connects the beginnings of philosophy with the most recent times….. It is amazing how Murty succeeded in giving a compact but well-understandable picture of the long and certainly many-faceted and complicated philosophical history of India in just 250 pages".

Asien, Afrika, lateinamerika, Berlin

"One of India's foremost philosophers, Prof. Murty….. it is the first ever attempt, substantial and in many respect successful, to present a panorama of Indian philosophy from time immemorial to this day."

Voprosi Filosofii, Moscow

"The best introductory textbook….it covers in a magisterial way the role of philosophy in Indian culture, the history of philosophical thinking…. The author is well qualified for the task, being one of India's most eminent thinkers, whose vision of philosophy is both rigorous and synoptic."

Religious Studies Review, USA.

"Offers a useful survey of Indian Philosophical thought and realistic suggestions for improving the teaching and research of philosophy of India".

Journal of the American Oriental Society.

About the Author

Prof. K. Satchibananda Murty (b. 1924) taught philosophy for 35 years; lectured in several universities of the East and West; and was Visiting Prof. in India and abroad. He was General President of Akhila Bharatiya Darsan Parishad in 1963, and of Indian Philosophical Congress in 1968, and has been chairman of the latter since 1980. Currently he is Honorary Prof. of Andhra University, Waltair, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and Peoples' University of China, Beijing; Chariman, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Saranath; and Member, Comit Directeur, Federation Internationale Des Societes de Philosophie.

He is a recipient of the Dr. B.C. Roy National Award, and the Padma Bhushan from the President of India. A number of Indian Universities have conferred on him the honorary degrees of D. Litt. Vachaspati and Kalaprapurna. He is an honorary Dr. Phil. Of the Soviet Academy of Sciencesand the University Halle-Wittenberg of Germany; and an honorary Dr. sc. of Sofia University, Bulgaria. Sri Sringeri-Sarada-Ptha Conferred on him the title of Vidyasagara.

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