An Introduction to Indian Philosophy offers a profound yet accessible
survey of the development of India's philosophical tradition. Beginning
with the formation of Brāhmaṇical, Jaina, Materialist, and Buddhist
traditions, Bina Gupta guides the reader through the classical schools
of Indian thought, culminating in a look at how these traditions inform
Indian philosophy and society in modern times. Offering translations
from source texts and clear explanations of philosophical terms, this
text provides a rigorous overview of Indian philosophical contributions
to epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of language, and ethics. This
is a must-read for anyone seeking a reliable and illuminating
introduction to Indian philosophy.
Key Updates in the Second Edition
- Reorganized into seven parts and fifteen chapters, making it easier
for instructors to assign chapters for a semester-long course.
- Continues to introduce systems historically, but focuses on new key
questions and issues within each system.
- Details new arguments, counter-arguments, objections, and their
reformulations in the nine schools of Indian philosophy.
- Offers expanded discussion of how various schools of Indian philosophy
are engaged with each other.
- Highlights key concepts and adds new grey boxes to explain selected
key concepts.
- Includes a new section that problematizes the Western notion of
"philosophy."
- New Suggested Readings sections are placed at the end of each chapter,
which include recommended translations, a bibliography of important
works, and pertinent recent scholarship for each school.
- Adds a new part (Part III) that explains the difficulties involved in
translating from Sanskrit into English, discusses fundamental concepts
and conceptual distinctions often used to present Indian philosophy to
Western students, and reviews important features and maxims that most
darśanas follow.
- Provides new examples of applications to illustrate more obscure
concepts and principles.
