INDIAN PHILOSOPHY Philosophy 2260

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Philosophy has for its function the ordering of live and the guidance of action. It sits at the helm and directs our course through the changes and chances of the world. When philosophy is alive, it cannot be remote from the life of the people. The Ideas of thinkers are evolved in the process of their life history. We must not ony to reverence them, but also to acquire their spirit. The names of Vasistha and Visvamitra, Yajnavalka and Gargi, Buddha and Mahavira, Gautama and Kanda, Kapila and Patanjali, Badarayana and Jaimini, Samkara and Ramanuja, are not merely themes for the historian but types of personality. With them philosophy is a world-view based on reflection and experience. Thought, when it thinks itself out to the end, becomes religion by being lived and tested by the supreme test of life. The discipline of philosophy is at the same time the fulfillment of a religious vocation. (S. Radhakrishnan) Philosophy 2260 INDIAN PHILOSOPHY Fall The course traces the early history and development of Indian philosophy. Philosophical themes common to six orthodox and three heterodox systems are investigated, and these include, the theory of reality, epistemology, ontology, metaphysics, self, perception, consciousness, creation, causality, and ethics. Additionally, the course looks at some of the modern developments in Indian thought. A number of prominent Indian thinkers and their attempts to relate Indian philosophy to western audience are examined. It is recommended that students who take this course have completed course work either in Introduction to Philosophy or World Religions. Prerequisite: Course requires Reading Placement Test Score-Category One. (3 lecture hours) Recommended for students who are interested in Asian Thought, especially in philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent.