History of Philosophy: India, Africana, China

The podcast discusses the theory of evolution and its interpretation in Indian philosophy. It explores the origins, development, and criticism of the Samkhya school of thought. The concepts of Purusha and Pracrichi are explored, as well as the three forces of change in Samkhya philosophy. The podcast also delves into the dualism in Ishvarakrishna's Samkhya philosophy and its unique aspects.

Professor Francis Clooney discusses the differences between Mimamsa and Vedanta in Indian philosophy and their use of Sutra texts. The podcast explores the relationship between Vedic and Upanishad texts, the transformative philosophy of Vedanta, the metaphysical nature of Brahma, and the significance of ritual practice in preparing for higher knowledge.

The grammarian Bhartṛhari argues that the study of language is the path to liberation, because the undivided reality underlying language is brahman.

Śaṅkara and his “non-dual” (Advaita) Vedānta, which teaches that only brahman is real, and the world of experience and individual self are mere illusion.

How to fill the month of August while the podcast is on summer break. Buy the book versions of the podcast at Oxford University Press.

The founding text of the Vedānta school, the Vedānta- or Brahma-Sūtra, interprets the Upaniṣads as teaching that all things derive from brahman.

Mīmāṃsā expert Elisa Freschi speaks to Peter about philosophical issues arising from the interpretation of the Veda.

The Mīmāṃsā school put their faith in sense experience, and argue that the Veda, and hence language itself, had no beginning.

In the Mīmāṃsā school’s founding text, Jaimini systematizes Vedic ritual and explores its theoretical basis.

Skeptical tendences in Indian thought and responses to skepticism from the Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta schools.