PHIL 236 - Indian Philosophies

Cross-Listed as ASIA 236

An introductory study of some of the great philosophers and philosophical problems of the Indian philosophical tradition focusing on Buddhist and Hindu philosophical debate from the time of the Buddha to around 1000 CE. Topics will include the role of philosophy in the Indian intellectual and religious tradition; Indian logic; the relationship between philosophy and practice (yoga, meditation); what counts as knowledge (pramana theory); ultimate truth versus conventional truth; Buddhist/Hindu debate on the nature of persons, rebirth and karma; competing theories of reality (momentariness, emptiness, non-dualism, realism) and methodologies of cross-cultural philosophy. Students will learn the basic Sanskrit terminology of Indian philosophy and will work with primary source material in translation. Every year. (4 Credits)