Hindu Philosophy Unit and Jain Studies Unit and Philosophy of Religion Unit

Sunday, November 21, 12:30 PM-2:30 PM (Virtual)

Michael Allen, University of Virginia, Presiding

This panel is conceived as an opportunity to assess the contemporary relevance of studying the Jain theories of perspectives, especially in the field of philosophy of religion. The theory of viewpoints allows Jain authors to classify the metaphysics of their contemporaries in relation to their own position through a unique method of categorization. In this categorization, ones decision for a certain kind of metaphysics directly informs ones liberating practices as well as this-worldly oriented religious activities. Such a comprehensive type of classification might aid the formation of a more inclusive philosophy of religion, inasmuch as it is meaningful for both theist and atheist as well as philosophical and religious traditions.

Ana Bajzelj, University of California, Riverside

Being in Time: The Tattvārthasūtra and Its Commentaries on Non-One-Sidedness and Temporality

Anil Mundra, University of Chicago

Contradiction and Common Sense in Haribhadrasūri’s Victory-Flag of Non-One-Sidedness

Marie-Helene Gorisse, Ghent University

Is Rāvaṇa the Universal Emperor? Questions of Reference in Prabhācandra’s Semantic Viewpoint

Lynna Dhanani, University of California, Davis

The Anekāntatā of Anekāntavāda: Dialetic of Non-One-Sidedness in Hemacandra’s Philosophical Hymns

Responding

Parimal G. Patil, Harvard University

Hindu Philosophy Unit

Sunday, November 21, 5:00 PM-6:30 PM (Virtual)

Elaine Fisher, Stanford University, Presiding

Advaita Vedānta is probably the best-known tradition of Hindu philosophy, yet there remain significant gaps in our knowledge of its history. The three papers in this session offer new approaches to the study of the tradition in the second millennium. The first two papers draw attention to vernacular works of Advaita Vedānta, from 12th-century Maharashtra to 17th-century Rajasthan. The third paper focuses on the 18th-century Tantric intellectual Bhāskararāya and his creative, critical engagement with Advaita Vedānta.

Tyler Williams, University of Chicago

“The Shastras Are Well Water”: Re-writing Shastric Conventions for Advaita and Yoga

Jason Schwartz, University of California, Santa Barbara

An Elephant Let Loose in the City of the Gandharvas: The Vernacularization of Scholastic Philosophy in Early Medieval Maharashtra.

   

Tarinee Awasthi, Cornell University

More Advaitin than the Advaita Vedāntin: Bhāskararāya’s References to the Yogavāsiṣṭha

 

Buddhist Philosophy Unit and Hindu Philosophy Unit and Religion in South Asia Unit

Monday, November 22, 12:30 PM-2:30 PM (Virtual)

Leah Kalmanson, University of North Texas, Presiding

The few hundreds of years bookending the turn of the second millennium CE saw a golden age of Indian dialectics. A period of highly intertextual philosophical exchange and debate, this era was incredibly intellectually productive. Not only were there intense debates raging between philosophical schools, but within them as well. It was the friction of these exchanges that defined a forging crucible, helping to further solidify the Indian darśanasand Buddhism in contradistinction to each other. Indeed, it would be the last formative event of Indian Buddhism until it all put disappeared from the sub-continent shortly thereafter. The proposed panel examines the exchange between Buddhist and Hindu philosophical schools of this era through the lens of their productivity. That is, each paper examines the manner in which these confrontations lead to a more nuanced articulation of both Buddhist and Hindu philosophy.

Nilanjan Das, University College London

A Reappraisal of Uddyotakara and Buddhists on Universals

John Taber, University of New Mexico

Apoha for Beginners: Dignāga and Kumārila

Jed Forman, University of California, Berkeley

Effable or Ineffable? Ratnakīrti’s Differing Rebuttals to Mīmāmṣakas and Naiyāyikas

Alex Watson, Ashoka University

Is Recognition Capable of Refuting Momentariness? Jayanta’s Critique

Amit Chaturvedi, University of Hong Kong

Tracing the Evolution of Buddhist and Nyāya Views on Non-conceptual Perception

Hindu Philosophy Unit

Monday, November 22, 3:00 PM-4:30 PM (Virtual)

Parimal G. Patil, Harvard University, Presiding

The philosopher Udayana (10th/11th c.) was a leading representative of the Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika tradition and a fierce critic of Buddhism. This session brings together several scholars to discuss and debate Udayana’s arguments against idealism, as presented in the Ātma-tattva-viveka, section 2 (“On the [Buddhist] Refutation of External Objects”). The goal is to create a space for lively and rigorous discussion among the panelists and with the audience. A handout with the original Sanskrit and an English translation of selections from Udayana’s text will be provided.

Panelists

Nilanjan Das, University College London

Davey Tomlinson, Villanova University

Responding

Catherine Prueitt, University of British Columbia

Jed Forman, University of California, Berkeley

Business Meeting

Michael Allen, University of Virginia, Presiding