This module is not currently running in 2024 to 2025.
This module will explore classic philosophical debates and texts (in translation) of the main currents of classical Indian philosophical thought, focusing on Hindu and Buddhist thought but with some reference to traditions such as Jainism. The module explores classic Indian approaches to key philosophical themes such as the nature of truth, the relationship of language and reality, cosmology and theories of causality, the nature of perception, karma and rebirth, debates about the self, the relationship of consciousness and the body, the nature of liberation and valid sources of knowledge.
100% Coursework:
Essay 1 (2,500 words) – 50%
Essay 2 (2,500 words) – 50%
Indicative reading:
Bartley, C, (2011) An Introduction to Indian Philosophy, London: Continuum
Hamilton, S, (2001) Indian Philosophy. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks
King, R, (2000) Indian Philosophy. An Introduction to Hindu and Buddhist Thought, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
King, R, (1995) Early Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism. The Mahayana Context of the Gaudapadiya-karika, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press
Larson, G. and Deutsch, E., (1988) Interpreting Across Boundaries. New Essays in Comparative Philosophy, Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press
Sarma, D, (2011) Classical Indian Philosophy. A Reader, New York: Columbia University Press
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
On successfully completing the module Level 6 students will be able to:
- Outline the historical development of key philosophical themes within the various Hindu and Buddhist schools of Indian thought, and use critical techniques to analyse the philosophical development of key debates.
- Construct a coherent picture of the intellectual context with reference to the mutual influence of various schools, assessing their impact with regard to both philosophical and historical factors.
- Critically assess claims made in the classical Indian intellectual context regarding key philosophical questions on the nature of the self, truth, cosmology, ontology and epistemology, bringing knowledge of primary texts and critical tools to bear on the material in constructing arguments.
- Engage current and global scholarship on the history of philosophy in assessing the contribution of Hindu and Buddhist as a global enterprise.
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