IndianZ Xpress NZ's first and only Hindi news website
Distinctive Feature: The workshop will provide a forum to discuss the relevance of Indian philosophy, including epistemology, philosophy of language, logic, and values, to Western philosophy so that Indian and Western philosophy can speak to each other and assist in solving shared problems.
There are several ways of introducing Indian philosophy and all of them are required at some stage or the other, although some of them may not appear to be useful to Western philosophers.
- To translate the texts from the original sources into English, or to write commentaries with translation.
- To compare Indian philosophy with some trends of Western philosophy, ancient or modern, such as the comparison of Advaita Vedānta with Hegel or Bradley, or existentialist’s conception of ‘angst’ (anxiety) with Buddhist conception of duḥkha (suffering).
Now the Western philosophers might ask, why should we study Indian philosophy if it is not useful for solving the problems of Western philosophy?
In order to answer this question, the workshop would focus on the following questions:
- How to reconcile some of the conflicting views in contemporary Western philosophy by using the techniques of the Nyāya tradition.
- How to suggest new or better solutions to some of the problems of contemporary philosophy.
- How to suggest solutions to some age old or unsolved problems of Western philosophy.
- How to add new dimensions to Western philosophy.
Topics: The workshop will introduce the following topics for discussion: Causation, including the views of Sāṃkhya, Bauddha, and Nyāya philosophers; Sources of knowledge, such as perception, inference, analogy, and testimony; Gettier and post-Gettier problems (counter-examples to the JTB thesis); analysis of belief-sentences, doubt, meanings of terms; including proper names, definite descriptions, indexicals and the word “all”; meanings of sentences as well as the understanding of their meanings, subject-predicate and related pairs, negation, number, self, concepts of harmony, including the philosophy of Swami Vivekananda.
The following topics may not require specialization in the field of philosophy, Eastern or Western: The nature of human beings-East and West, Freedom-East and West, Dharma and the law of karma in Indian culture, Concepts of harmony in Indian philosophy
Instructors: Dr. J L. Shaw
Recommended Texts: 1) The Collected Writings of Jaysankar Lal Shaw: Indian Analytic and Anglophone Philosophy, Bloomsbury, London, 2016; 2) The Nyāya on Meaning : A Commentary on Pandit Visvabandhu, Punthi Pustak, Kolkata, 2003; 3) Cognition of Cognition: A Commentary on Pandit Visvabandhu, The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata, reprinted 2022; 4) The Relevance of Indian Philosophy to Contemporary Western Philosophy, The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata, 2022
Venue: The High Commission of India, 72 Pipitea Street, Thorndon, Wellington 6011
Dates: From the 1st of July 2023 to the 31st of August 2023, discussion 12-16 hours a week
Time: From 2 pm to 6 pm (New Zealand Standard Time), with a break of 30 minutes
Participants: Some 20 scholars are to be selected from around the world for training in Indian and Comparative philosophy. Local scholars may also participate in this workshop.
Applications are invited from teachers or scholars of Indian or comparative philosophy as well as Swamijis or Brahmacharis of any order from around the world. Applicants are required to attach their CVs along with supporting documents, such as letters of referees.
Contact Details for correspondence:
Jay Shaw, email: jaysankar.shaw@gmail.com
Mobile: 0064226265210
The High Commission of India will organize this workshop on their premises for the participants but will not offer travel or living expenses. Moderate living expenses in Wellington for 2 months may not exceed $5000 NZD. If scholars are unable to get funds for living expenses, accommodation can be provided for up to five participants. There is no registration fee for the workshop.
Impact: Participants, including teachers or scholars, will introduce the techniques of Indian philosophers in their discussion of Western philosophy for better solutions. Thus, the workshop will add a new dimension to Western philosophy.