Papers by Sharad Deshpande
The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, 2024
Unlike the metaphysical systems of Indian philosophy like Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya-Yoga, Buddhism... more Unlike the metaphysical systems of Indian philosophy like Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya-Yoga, Buddhism, and Vedānta, the Indian aesthetic theory; particularly that of Nātyaśāstra (herein after NŚ) tradition originating from the sage Bharata, does not assess emotions negatively i.e., as impediments in self-realization or liberation. On the contrary, the NŚ tradition recognises emotions of all and every conceivable type as part and parcel of human psyche without subjecting them to moral evaluation or as inferior to cognition.
Unmilan, 2023
Hegel's influence on reformulation and representation of Indian philosophy to the West during col... more Hegel's influence on reformulation and representation of Indian philosophy to the West during colonial period in India.
Pratiman (प्रतिमान) , 2023
Tagore's play Raja in Bangla and translated as The King of the Dark Chamber uses a powerful metap... more Tagore's play Raja in Bangla and translated as The King of the Dark Chamber uses a powerful metaphor of the invisible King to illustrate that the ultimate truth is within oneself and not outside.
Pratiman (प्रतिमान), 2023
Tagore's metaphorical play "Raja" (The King of the Dark Chamber) is a powerful metaphor to illust... more Tagore's metaphorical play "Raja" (The King of the Dark Chamber) is a powerful metaphor to illustrate that the ultimate truth lies within the self and not out side.
Indian Philosophical Quarterly, 1979
The text of Gauḍapāda-Kārikā is acknowledged to be a commentary on Māndūkya Upaniṣad. However, Ga... more The text of Gauḍapāda-Kārikā is acknowledged to be a commentary on Māndūkya Upaniṣad. However, Gauḍapāda is not just a commentator in the ordinary sense, he is presenting his own thesis in epistemology in the form of a commentary. It would be interesting to work out a conceptual layout of Gauḍapāda Kārikā to fully understand the thought kernel of his epistemological thesis. However, this conceptual layout is not a deductive system of propositions.
Emotions in Indian Thought-Systems, 2020
Humanities and social sciences, 2015
We all know that oxymorons like the ones in the title of this essay are a literary device to ente... more We all know that oxymorons like the ones in the title of this essay are a literary device to enter into the realm of the ìnon-literalî by juxtaposing contradictory terms. But we hardly realize that what is taken to be just a literary devise could actually be an invitation to ìsee throughî the union of contradictory terms and to engage with the enigma or the mystery that the alleged union generates. Instead of a reasoned resolution of the enigmatic experience using the tools of logic, one may as well try to engage with an enigma by way of preserving and respecting its beauty. There is indeed something beautiful about what the enigmatic experience generates. Therefore, we will try to respond to the oxymora in the title of this essay i.e., ìhearing silenceî and ìspeaking anirvacaniyaî, (ìspeaking the unspeakableî) not by theorizing on oxymorons, i.e., figures of speech but by engaging phenomenologically with the spaces they open up. Let us ask: How do we encounter silence; given that it is not experienced the way we normally experience colours, sounds, tastes, and touch with our sense organs? Silence is neither imagined nor inferred using our faculties of imagination and reason and yet we ëexperienceí it directly, authentically and genuinely. We ëhearí the silence. This paradox, or better, a mystery; an enigma, calls for creative engagement with paradox rather than its dissolution. Living with a paradox or an enigma or a mystery need not be all that uncomfortable. In fact, the mystery of silence is due precisely because we take silence 2 as just the absence 3 of sound 4 a kind of void, a sheer passivity and then wonder how we experience it. 5 Using Nyåya terminology of abhåva (non-existence) we may describe the absence of sound as dhvnyabhåva (i.e. abhåva of dhvani). To the question ìwhat is silence?í the natural answer seems to be that ìsilence is absence of soundî. Put in this way, the problem of experiencing
Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures, 2015
The issue of colonialism and the emergence of new identities in traditional Indian society have e... more The issue of colonialism and the emergence of new identities in traditional Indian society have engaged the critical attention of scholars from diverse fields of inquiry such as history, sociology, politics, as well as religious and subaltern studies .
Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures, 2015
Chapter 1. Modern Indian Philosophy: from colonialism to cosmopolitanism.- Chapter 2: Thought and... more Chapter 1. Modern Indian Philosophy: from colonialism to cosmopolitanism.- Chapter 2: Thought and Context: Philosophy on the eve of Colonialism.- Chapter 3: Philosophy in Colonial India: The Science Question.- Chapter 4: The Self and its Knowledge: The Legacy of Rasvihary Das.- Chapter 5: Brajendranath Seal: A Disenchanted Hegelian.- Chapter 6: The Notion of Absolute: Hegel and Hiralal Haldar.- Chapter 7: G.R.Malkani: Reinventing Classical Advaita Vedanta.- Chapter 8: K.C. Bhattacharyya and Spivak on Kant: Colonial and Postcolonial Perspectives, Lessons and Prospects .- Chapter 9: The Road Not Taken: G.N.Mathrani's Wittgensteinian Transformation of Philosophy.- Chapter 10: Radical Translation: S.R. Rajwade's Encounter with F.W. Nietzsche.- Chapter 11: Tagore's Perception of the West.- Chapter 12: Bankim Chandra on Morality.- Chapter 13: Colonialism and Traditional Forms of Knowledge: Then and now.
Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures, 2015
This essay explores G.R. Malkani’s reinvention of Advaita Vedānta in the context of neo-Vedānta i... more This essay explores G.R. Malkani’s reinvention of Advaita Vedānta in the context of neo-Vedānta in Indian academia during the colonial period. The first section examines why Advaita Vedānta received more attention than Buddhism despite unintelligibility of its central doctrine of the reality of Brahman and the unreality of the world of every day experience and why various forms of Vedānta continued to be vitally relevant to Indian society in its task of reforming itself into a vibrant modern society. The subsequent sections give a detailed account of Malkani’s presentation of some key concepts and issues in Advaita Vedānta and the Hegelian influence on his ‘free rendering’ of classical Advaita Vedānta.
Indian Journal of History of Science, 2015
Indian Journal of Medical Ethics
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed several challenges to the Indian healthcare system. Here, we exam... more The COVID-19 pandemic has posed several challenges to the Indian healthcare system. Here, we examine the situation in India considering the moral and ethical imperatives of decision making for public health. Currently, in the absence of proven therapies, empirical evidence is being used for treatment of Covid-19 disease. We find a dual standard of practice. Currently, only modern medicine therapies are used on an empirical basis, however, the same principle is not considered for the use of AYUSH systems. Appropriate use of evidence is required. In the ethics context and in the interest of the larger public good, we suggest the inclusion of simple and safe measures from AYUSH systems in the integrative protocols for prophylaxis and treatment of Covid-19. Keywords: AYUSH systems, Covid-19, pandemic, prophylaxis, evidence, empirical evidence, priority setting, public health decision making, global health emergencies,complementary medicine, integrative healthcare.
The notions of "Simple", "Clear", and the "Distinct" are pivotal in Descartes and Wittgenstein as... more The notions of "Simple", "Clear", and the "Distinct" are pivotal in Descartes and Wittgenstein as far as the nature of self, language and reality is concerned. This paper explores how and why these notions are important in these two philosophers.
The history of medicine dates back to the very beginning of human existence. Most of the great ci... more The history of medicine dates back to the very beginning of human existence. Most of the great civilizations had their own systems of medicine. With the help of historical and philosophical underpinnings the authors recognize the influence of Indic civilization, and various Vedic darśanas, including the non-Vedic Buddhist, on the evolution of Indian medicine. This article discusses common threads and differences between Western and Eastern approaches related to science and medicine. The article analyzes possible reasons as to why the roots of holistic approaches embedded in Indian medicine were subjected to the reductionist approach of modern science, and modern medicine. Finally, the authors discuss possible approaches to rediscover the roots, and restore the growth, development, and vitality of Indian medicine, especially of Āyurveda and Yoga.
Causation, Explanation and Understanding are different level concepts with metaphysical underpinn... more Causation, Explanation and Understanding are different level concepts with metaphysical underpinnings which have bearing on certain aspects of philosophy of science and action theories. In this paper I take P.F.Strawson's 1959 classic "Individuals" as a basis to explore the metaphysics of Causation and Explanation.
This essay explores G.R. Malkani's reinvention of Advaita Veda ¯nta in the context of neo-Veda ¯n... more This essay explores G.R. Malkani's reinvention of Advaita Veda ¯nta in the context of neo-Veda ¯nta in Indian academia during the colonial period. The first section examines why Advaita Veda ¯nta received more attention than Buddhism despite unintelligibility of its central doctrine of the reality of Brahman and the unreality of the world of every day experience and why various forms of Veda ¯nta continued to be vitally relevant to Indian society in its task of reforming itself into a vibrant modern society. The subsequent sections give a detailed account of Malkani's presentation of some key concepts and issues in Advaita Veda ¯nta and the Hegelian influence on his 'free rendering' of classical Advaita Veda ¯nta. Keywords Neo-Veda ¯nta · Advaita Vedānta · Ajña ¯na · Hegel · Absolute · Absolute spirit · Reason · Faith · Intuition · Intellect · Revelation · Monism · Ontology · God 7.1 Advaita Vedānta and Modern Indian Philosophers Modern Indian philosophers' engagement with Advaita Veda ¯nta during the colonial period is a phenomenon in itself. As compared to other schools of classical Indian philosophy, especially Buddhism for its appeal to the masses, Advaita Veda ¯nta received more attention despite the fact that it's central doctrine propagates that Brahman alone is real and the world of everyday experience is mithya ¯: an illusion. Such a doctrine could not have been intelligible to the modern Indian intellectuals whose outlook towards the world around them was being shaped by positivist, empiricist and realist philosophies of the late 18th and the early 19th century European philosophers. But despite this unintelligibility, the philosophy of S. Deshpande (*)
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Papers by Sharad Deshpande