Jonathan B. Edelmann, Hindu Theology, Section Editor
CALL FOR PAPERS
Issue Theme – Tradition and Innovation
How
are innovative and original ideas justified in the Hindu traditions?
There is a wide-ranging body of quality historical literature on the
manner in which Hindu thinkers have reflected on the apparent tensions
between scriptural sources of knowledge (e.g., the Veda, Upaniṣads,
Sūtra texts, etc.), and how they have gone about generating new
interpretations of them. Some have argued there was a general wariness
of new-ness, and this was compounded by the fact that even original
thinkers attempt to demonstrate that their views were rooted in ancient
traditions rather than being their own creative output. Jayanta Bhaṭṭa
(fl 850-910 ad), for instance, famously said in his Nyāyamañjarī: “How
can we discover any new fact or truth? One should consider novelty only
in rephrasing the older truths of the ancients in modern terminology.”
Nevertheless Hindu theologians and Indian philosophers more broadly
produced a wide variety of innovations, even in the context of
commentaries on their predecessors. This issue of the International
Journal of Hindu Studies will explore some of the means by which Hindu
thinkers presented new and original ideas. It facilitates arguments as
to how constructive theology and philosophy might be done in the
future. This issue also asks whether and to what extent historical
examples of innovation set a precedent for contemporary constructive
philosophical and theological discourse.
-- Jonathan B. Edelmann, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of Religion
Mississippi State UniversityDepartment of Philosophy and Religion