A History of Indian Philosophy (5 volume set)

Rating:
Summary: Still the Greatest General History of Indian Philosophy
Review: Last year (for reasons I will not go into) I was crazy enough to agree to teach a course on Indian Philosophy. This was crazy because I am not a specialist on Indian Philosophy (my dissertation was on the thought of Francis Suarez, a late medieval Roman Catholic thinker), I never even took a course in Indian Philosophy, and Indian philosophy is extremely complex and sophisticated. But I knew that there was one work out there which would give me a solid grounding in the entire history of Indian Philosophy, Dasgupta's classic five volume A History of Indian Philosophy. While teaching the Indian Philosophy course last spring, I read parts of this magistrial work every day, and at least one volume of it was always by my bedstand every night.

This work cannot, of course, by itself give one a complete understanding of all the complexities of Indian Philosophy. But what is amazing about it is that it is more than just an introduction; Dasgupta often goes into great detail about the incredibly intricate debates which raged between various schools of Indian thought over the centuries. In volume 4 of his work, for example, he devotes a hundred and fifteen pages to describing the arguments and conter-arguments of the monists (Advaita Vedantins) and the dualists (Dvaita Vedantins). Much of this part of his work deals with very complicated and abstruse arguments, and I was never able to completely digest it. But I have found that, by reading other works on Indian philosophy, I am able to understand more and more of Dasgupta's great work, and so, after being away from it for a while, I periodically return to it, as if to discourse again with a great master about the most profound topics raised by the gurus of old.

This treatise is, in short, a gem. Not only is there no other comparable work on Indian philosophy as a whole (Radakrishnan's Indian Philosophy being a pale second to Dasgupta's work), there is nothing comparable to it on Western Philosophy. Scholars of Indian thought, as well as any one who wishes to risk attempting to begin to seriously study this great and ancient tradition, must be eternally grateful to Motilal Banarsidass Publishers for reprinting this magisterial work at such a bargin price.

Rating:
Summary: Still the Greatest General History of Indian Philosophy
Review: Last year (for reasons I will not go into) I was crazy enough to agree to teach a course on Indian Philosophy. This was crazy because I am not a specialist on Indian Philosophy (my dissertation was on the thought of Francis Suarez, a late medieval Roman Catholic thinker), I never even took a course in Indian Philosophy, and Indian philosophy is extremely complex and sophisticated. But I knew that there was one work out there which would give me a solid grounding in the entire history of Indian Philosophy, Dasgupta's classic five volume A History of Indian Philosophy. While teaching the Indian Philosophy course last spring, I read parts of this magistrial work every day, and at least one volume of it was always by my bedstand every night.

This work cannot, of course, by itself give one a complete understanding of all the complexities of Indian Philosophy. But what is amazing about it is that it is more than just an introduction; Dasgupta often goes into great detail about the incredibly intricate debates which raged between various schools of Indian thought over the centuries. In volume 4 of his work, for example, he devotes a hundred and fifteen pages to describing the arguments and conter-arguments of the monists (Advaita Vedantins) and the dualists (Dvaita Vedantins). Much of this part of his work deals with very complicated and abstruse arguments, and I was never able to completely digest it. But I have found that, by reading other works on Indian philosophy, I am able to understand more and more of Dasgupta's great work, and so, after being away from it for a while, I periodically return to it, as if to discourse again with a great master about the most profound topics raised by the gurus of old.

This treatise is, in short, a gem. Not only is there no other comparable work on Indian philosophy as a whole (Radakrishnan's Indian Philosophy being a pale second to Dasgupta's work), there is nothing comparable to it on Western Philosophy. Scholars of Indian thought, as well as any one who wishes to risk attempting to begin to seriously study this great and ancient tradition, must be eternally grateful to Motilal Banarsidass Publishers for reprinting this magisterial work at such a bargin price.