Skip to content
Coordinates of ThoughtHome of Philosophy
Join

Book corner · Beginner

Classical Indian Philosophy

Peter Adamson and Jonardon Ganeri · 2020 · Long (over 350 pages)

4.3 from 3 reviews · 29 views

Knowledge & beliefIndian
+ Add to my shelf

Be the first to put it on your shelf.

Discuss this book Review it

What it is

A volume of the History of Philosophy without any Gaps series, written by Adamson with the Indian philosophy specialist Jonardon Ganeri. In short chapters it moves from the Vedas and Upaniṣads through early Buddhism and Jainism, the epics and the Bhagavad Gītā, to the classical schools and their debates: Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya and Yoga, Mīmāṃsā, Vedānta, the Cārvāka materialists, and Buddhist philosophers such as Nāgārjuna, Vasubandhu, Dignāga and Dharmakīrti. Topics include the means of knowledge, scepticism, the self and no-self, causation, language and meaning, ethics and political thought. The authors present Indian thinkers as engaged in argument with one another rather than as representatives of a single 'Indian view', and pay attention to women and to lesser-known figures. The book grew out of the podcast series of the same project.

Why read it

It is the most approachable complete history of classical Indian philosophy in English, written to be read straight through.

Where to start

Read the opening chapters on the Upaniṣads and early Buddhism, then follow the schools in order.

Reviews

  1. Arvind Poojary

    Finally, a history that gives the Cārvākas their due while being careful about how little of their own writing survives and how much we know only through their opponents. I gave a copy to our rationalist association's library, and it is rarely on the shelf.

  2. Govinda Prasad Mishra

    The Mīmāṃsā chapters are better than I expected from a general history, and they explain Kumārila's arguments for the authorless Veda without mockery. A Sanskritist will find simplifications, but a beginner will find a clear and honest guide, and the bibliography points to the right translations.

  3. Arjun Iyer

    I have read Shankara for forty years and was braced for a superficial survey. It is not. The chapters are short but accurate, and the authors treat the Buddhists, Naiyāyikas and Cārvākas as real opponents of Vedānta, not footnotes. My only complaint is that Advaita gets less room than I would like, which is probably fair.