The Problem of Evil and Indian Thought PDF Download

Author: Arthur L. Herman
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
ISBN: 9788120807532
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Beginning with the problem of evil in the west professor A.L. Herman traces the history of one of the most fascinating of all perennial philosophical puzzles. The author identifies some twenty one historical solutions to the problem which are then reduced to eight quite distinct solutions. Prof. Herman then turns in the second part of the book to the history of the problem of evil in Indian thought.The author then joins the analysis of the problem of evil (taken from the first part of the book) to the Indian doctrine of rebirth in order to attempt a solution to the problem. By careful analysis the author shows that the doctrine of rebirth can satisfy the conditions already set forth as adequate for a solution to the problem of evil.1

Author: A. L. Herman
Publisher: Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
Discussion of the concept of evil in Indian philosophy.

Author: Nick Trakakis
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019882162X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
One of those rare questions in philosophy that is not only technically recalcitrant but also engages the hearts and minds of the broad community is the so-called 'problem of evil': how can the existence of an absolutely perfect God be reconciled with the existence of suffering and evil? This problem has exercised the finest minds across the centuries, from ancient to modern times. In contemporary philosophy, however, the debate has petrified into a select number of entrenched and defensive strategies. This volume opens the way for a wholesale reconsideration of the problem of evil. Eight prominent philosophers of religion have been invited to engage in critical but friendly dialogue, and to develop and contest both traditional and relatively unorthodox approaches. What emerges from these exchanges is a diversity of fruitful and innovative ways of thinking about God and evil, proving that the problem of evil is far from exhausted.

Author: Tim Bayne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198754965
Category : PHILOSOPHY
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
What is the philosophy of religion? How can we distinguish it from theology on the one hand and the psychology/sociology of religious belief on the other? What does it mean to describe God as eternal? And should religious people want there to be good arguments for the existence of God, or is religious belief only authentic in the absence of these good arguments? In this Very Short Introduction Tim Bayne introduces the field of philosophy of religion, and engages with some of the most burning questions that philosophers discuss. Considering how religion should be defined, and whether we even need to be able to define it in order to engage in the philosophy of religion, he goes on to discuss whether the existence of God matters. Exploring the problem of evil, Bayne also debates the connection between faith and reason, and the related question of what role reason should play in religious contexts. Shedding light on the relationship between science and religion, Bayne finishes by considering the topics of reincarnation and the afterlife. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author: Wendy Doniger
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
ISBN: 9788120803862
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 438

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Book Description
This work deals at length with various theories about relgion prevalent at the time when Megasthenes visited India very interesting and scholarly views have been put forth regarding investigations of Megasthenes their reliability and the reliability of his reporters.

Author: Jitendra Nath Mohanty
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780847689330
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
In this comprehensive textbook, renowned philosopher J. N. Mohanty examines the range of Indian philosophy from the Sutra period through the 17th century Navya Nyaya. Classical Indian Philosophy is divided into three parts that cover epistemology, metaphysics, and the attempt to transcend the distinction between subject and object. Instead of concentrating on the different systems, Mohanty focuses on the major concepts and problems dealt with in Indian philosophy. The book includes discussions of Indian ethics and social philosophy, as well as of Indian law and aesthetics. Classical Indian Philosophy is essential reading for students of Indian philosophy at every level.

Author: Ayon Maharaj
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190868244
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Sri Ramakrishna is widely known as a nineteenth-century Indian mystic who affirmed the harmony of all religions on the basis of his richly varied spiritual experiences and eclectic religious practices, both Hindu and non-Hindu. In Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality, Ayon Maharaj argues that Sri Ramakrishna was also a sophisticated philosopher of great contemporary relevance. Through a careful study of Sri Ramakrishna's recorded oral teachings in the original Bengali, Maharaj reconstructs his philosophical positions and analyzes them from a cross-cultural perspective. Sri Ramakrishna's spiritual journey culminated in the exalted state of "vijñana," his term for the "intimate knowledge" of God as the Infinite Reality that is both personal and impersonal, with and without form, immanent in the universe and beyond it. This expansive spiritual standpoint of vijñana, Maharaj contends, opens up a new paradigm for addressing central issues in cross-cultural philosophy of religion, including divine infinitude, religious pluralism, mystical experience, and the problem of evil. Sri Ramakrishna's vijñana-based religious pluralism--when grasped in all its subtlety--proves to have major philosophical advantages over dominant Western models. Moreover, his mystical testimony and teachings not only cut across long-standing debates about the nature of mystical experience but also bolster recent defenses of its epistemic value. Maharaj further demonstrates that Sri Ramakrishna's unique response to the problem of evil resonates strongly with Western "soul-making" theodicies and contemporary theories of skeptical theism. A pioneering interdisciplinary study of one of India's most important philosopher-mystics, Maharaj's book is essential reading for scholars and students in philosophy of religion, theology, religious studies, and Hindu studies.

Author: Purushottama Bilimoria
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351928066
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
Indian ethics is one of the great traditions of moral thought in world philosophy whose insights have influenced thinkers in early Greece, Europe, Asia, and the New World. This is the first such systematic study of the spectrum of moral reflections from India, engaging a critical cross-cultural perspective and attending to modern secular sensibilities. The volume explores the scope and limits of Indian ethical thinking, reflecting on the interpretation and application of its teachings and practices in the comparative and contemporary contexts. The chapters chart orthodox and heterodox debates, from early classical Hindu texts to Buddhist, Jaina, Yoga, and Gandhian ethics. The range of issues includes: life-values and virtues, karma and dharma, evil and suffering, renunciation and enlightenment; and extends to questions of human rights and justice, ecology and animal ethics, nonviolence and democracy. Ramifications for rethinking ethics in a postmodern and global era are also explored. Indian Ethics offers an invaluable resource for students of philosophy, religion, human sciences and cultural studies, and to those interested in South Asian responses to moral dilemmas in the postcolonial era.

Author: Susan Neiman
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691168504
Category : Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
Whether expressed in theological or secular terms, evil poses a problem about the world's intelligibility. It confronts philosophy with fundamental questions: Can there be meaning in a world where innocents suffer? Can belief in divine power or human progress survive a cataloging of evil? Is evil profound or banal? Neiman argues that these questions impelled modern philosophy. Traditional philosophers from Leibniz to Hegel sought to defend the Creator of a world containing evil. Inevitably, their efforts--combined with those of more literary figures like Pope, Voltaire, and the Marquis de Sade--eroded belief in God's benevolence, power, and relevance, until Nietzsche claimed He had been murdered. They also yielded the distinction between natural and moral evil that we now take for granted. Neiman turns to consider philosophy's response to the Holocaust as a final moral evil, concluding that two basic stances run through modern thought. One, from Rousseau to Arendt, insists that morality demands we make evil intelligible. The other, from Voltaire to Adorno, insists that morality demands that we don't.

Author: Raja Ram Dravid
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publishe
ISBN: 9788120808324
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 502

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Book Description
The author gives a critical and comprehensive study of the fundamental problem of universals in Indian Philosophy. The centre of the study is the controversy between the Nyaya-Vaisesika and the Mimamsa realists on the one hand and the Buddhist nominalists on the other. The author discusses not only the epistemological and metaphysical approach to the problem of universals but also the semantic approach made by the various systems of Indian Philosophy. In this context the view of the Grammarions with special reference to Bhartrhari has been discussed in some detail. A brief but critical analysis of some of the main trends of thought on universals in Western Philosophy--beginning from Pluto to the contemporary philosophers--has also been given. Besides his scholarly and eminently readable treatment of fundamental problem of universals, the author has attempted to give his own solution of the problem. It is based on the recurrent identities and similarities which are the principles of grouping and which form the foundation of our thought and speech.