Description
Book Specification
| Item Code: | NAI385 |
| Author: | R. Baine Harris |
| Publisher: | Sri Satguru Publications |
| Language: | English |
| Edition: | 1992 |
| ISBN: | 8170303214 |
| Pages: | 370 |
| Cover: | Hardcover |
| Other Details | 9 inch X 6 inch |
| Weight | 530 gm |
Book Description
About the Book
The nineteen essays that form this pioneering comparative philosophy represent an exchange of ideas among specialists in Neoplatonism and specialists in Indian thought. These scholars have examined concepts and assertions that appear to be common to both philosophical tradition, as well as the possible historical influence of Indian sources upon late Greek philosophy, and specifically upon the Alexandrine Platonists. While most of the essays refer to Hinduism, several of them contain general surveys. The essays included are-John J.O. Meara, Indian Wisdom and Porphyrys search for a Universal Way; Lawrence J. Hatab, Plotinus and the Upanisads; Laurence J Rosan Proclus and the Tejobindu Upanisad; A.H. Armstrong and RR Ravindra, Buddhi in the Bhagvad gita and Psyche in Plotinus; I.C. Sharma, The Plotinian One and the Concept of Paramapurusa in the Bhagvadgita; Richard T. Wallis, Phraseology and Imagery in Plotinus and Indian Thought; David F.T. Rodier, Meditative State in the Abhidharma and in Pseudo-Dionysisus; John Borelli, Matter and Exemplar: Difference-in-Identity in Vijnanabhiksu and Bonventure; Paul Hacker, Cit and Nous; Francisco Garcia Bazan, Matter in Plotinus and Samkara; RusseIl Hatton, Samkara and Eriugena on Causality; Mohammad Noor Nabi, Union with God in Plotinus and Bayazid; RK. Tripathi, Advaita Vedanta and Neoplatonism; Ramakant Sinari, The Concept of Human Estrangement in Plotinism and Samkara Vedanta; Pritibhusan Chatterji, Plotinus and Sri Aurobindo : A Comparative Study; C.L. Tripathi, The Influence of Indian Philosophy on Neoplatonism ; Albert M. Wolters, A Survey of Modem Scholarly opinion on Plotinus and Indian Thought, John R A. Mayer, Neoplatonism, Indian Thought and General Systems Theory ; I.C. Sharma, Some Critical Conclusions.
Preface
All of the papers in this volume were presented or prepared for presentation at an international conference on Neoplatonism and Indian Thought held at Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada in October, 1976. The conference was sponsored jointly by the International Society for Neoplatonic Studies and Brock University, and was largely the product of the efforts of Professor John R. A. Mayer of Brock University, who arranged primary funding through the Canada Council, served as eo-chairman of the planning committee, and handled all local arrangements. President Alan Earp of Brock University also gave the project his full moral and financial support. Some one hundred scholars, representing eight nations, participated in the sessions and the conference was judged to be a success by its planners, sponsors, and participants. It stimulated interest in the study of Neoplatonism, a major objective of I. S. N. S., and it continued the long-standing involvement in comparative studies of Brocks philosophy department.
The conference itself, being the first ever held in any country on the subject, was a pioneering venture. Relatively few books and articles comparing the two intellectual traditions have been written. Although a few first rate specialized studies, such as Emile Brehiers chapter on Lorientalisme de Plotin in his La philosophie de Plotin (Paris, 1928) and J. F. Staals Advaita and Neoplatonism (Madras, 1961) are avail- able, no major work dealing with the conference theme in a comprehensive way has yet been produced. Faced with the fact of the scarcity 0: scholars who are experts in both Neoplatonism and Indian thought, the planning committee decided to have a conference that would allow for an inter change of ideas between specialists in Neoplatonism and specialists in Indian thought. The end result was that most of the papers accepted for the conference were written by experts in the one who were willing to explore some aspect of its connection with the other, and mainly by Western philosophers and classicists willing to investigate Indian thought and Indian philosophers and Western Indologists willing to investigate Neoplatonism. Discussions after the papers were exceptionally lively, and most participants agreed that the sessions were a challenging and creative experience.
Two specific objectives were predominant in the minds of the conference planners. The first and primary one was a careful consideration of certain concepts and assertions that appear to be common to both philosophical traditions. Most of the conference papers relate to this objective. The second and lesser one was an investigation of the possible historical influence of Indian sources upon late Greek philosophy, and specifically upon the Alexandrine Platonists. Although it was our intention to consider all aspects of Indian thought, most of the papers refer only to Hinduism. The conference gave only minor consideration to Indian Buddhism and the Islamic Indian tradition and no consideration to numerous lesser Indian traditions.
The papers in this volume are presented for what they are, namely, the papers of a conference designed as a serious, but preliminary investigation of the topic. They do not provide an adequate, balanced, or definitive treatment of the subject, an achievement that must await considerable further investigation and reflection that hopefully will yet be done in India, Japan, the United States, Canada, and Europe. They vary in their degree of scholarship and level of understanding of the various intellectual traditions, as might be expected. They are, nevertheless, generally quite provocative and informative. They should be particularly useful to those students who have a limited knowledge of either Neoplatonism or the various Indian traditions and who would benefit from a selective reading of essays which present them on various levels of sophistication.
It is the hope .of the editor that this volume will succeed in stimulating further interest in the study of the affinities of Neoplatonism and Indian thought and will lea
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