Philosophy in Classical India

Classical Indian philosophy is one of the great philosophical traditions of the world. And yet, it is all but invisible in contemporary philosophy, let alone the humanities more generally. Debates between rival Indian philosophers on topics such as the sources of knowledge, the nature of persons, consciousness, the meaning of words and sentences, moral motivation, the goals of life, aesthetics, and poetic language inspired generations of their successors. Even in the twenty-first century, philosophers writing in classical Sanskrit (as well as modern South Asian languages) continue to debate these issues. In this course, we focus on some core areas of Indian philosophy and engage in the arguments that were of interest to philosophers who wrote in classical Sanskrit. We situate their arguments in their historical contexts and inquire into what we can learn from them today. Indirectly, we also consider what it takes to diversify our curriculum.