Dear friends, 


It is with a heavy heart that I share the passing of Prof. J. L. Shaw (Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand). At 5:28 AM on Friday, 29 August 2025, he peacefully passed away in his sleep, surrounded by his family as they prayed over him. His journey with cancer, which began some time ago, defied initial expectations, and we were grateful for the additional time he gave us. However, in recent weeks, his health deteriorated rapidly. 


Prof. J. L. Shaw was an esteemed scholar and academic. He was a Fulbright PhD recipient from Rice University, Texas, and had been a faculty member at Victoria University of Wellington since 1970 until his retirement in 2015. His contributions to the field of Indian and Western Philosophy will forever resonate with those who had the privilege of working with him. He has written & edited 15 books and presented around 200 papers at conferences or seminars in several countries. He has also received around 130 funded invitations from institutions or universities around the world and directed orientation courses on comparative philosophy. In 1993, he represented New Zealand at the World Parliament of Religions in Calcutta. Dr Shaw is also the founding member of several societies, including the Society for Philosophy and Culture, a society dedicated to cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary debate and discussion at Victoria University, which has now been running for 20 years, with branches in three countries. Through the profits from Dr Shaw’s books, the Society has provided scholarships to Master’s students at the University. Two international conferences have been organised on Dr Shaw’s philosophy, held in Kolkata, India, in 2001 and 2008. Dr Shaw is the recipient of two Festschrifts. He is the first New Zealand-based philosopher to be honoured with the Festschrift Contemporary Philosophy and J.L. Shaw (2006). He is also one of only two New Zealand-based scholars honoured with a Festschrift, with Comparative Philosophy and J.L. Shaw (2015), published by Springer. I was fortunate to study with him in 2023 as part of a two-month residential workshop in New Zealand on the theme 'The Relevance of Indian Philosophy to Contemporary Western Philosophy', followed by another seven-day workshop in 2024 at the Center for Indological Studies and Research, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. I could continue my studies and research with Dr. Shaw till his last breath. Dr. Shaw's absence is deeply felt.


Books by Prof. J.L. Shaw (PS: Research papers are not included.)


  1. Mind, Body and Self, co-edited volume, Springer (2024).

  2. The Collected Writings of Jaysankar Lal Shaw: Indian Analytic and Anglophone Philosophy, Bloomsbury, London, 2016.

  3. The Relevance of Indian Philosophy to Contemporary Western Philosophy, The R.

K. Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata, 2022.

  1. Logic and Metaphysics, J. L. Shaw, edited by D. L. Oxtoby, McMaster University, Canada, E-book, Amazon, 2014.

  2. Meaning and Identity: An Interdisciplinary Perspective, co-edited volume, Punthi

Pustak, Kolkata, 2014.

  1. Human Beings and Freedom: An Interdisciplinary Approach, co-edited volume,

Punthi Pustak, Kolkata, 2011.

  1. Knowledge, Belief and Doubt: Some Contemporary Problems and their Solutions

from the Nyāya Perspective, Asian Studies Institute, Victoria University of

Wellington, New Zealand, 2007.

  1. Causality and Its Application: Sāṃkhya, Bauddha and Nyāya, Punthi Pustak,

Calcutta, 2005.

  1. Swami Vivekananda as a Philosopher, The R. K. Mission Institute of Culture,

Calcutta, 2004.

  1. Some Logical Problems Concerning Existence, Punthi Pustak, Calcutta, 2003.

  2. The Nyāya on Meaning: A Commentary on Pandit Visvabandhu, Punthi Pustak,

Calcutta, 2003.

  1. Cognition of Cognition: A Commentary on Pandit Visvabandhu, The R. K. Mission

Institute of Culture, 1998.

  1. Concepts of Knowledge: East and West, co-edited volume, The R. K. Mission

Institute of Culture, 2000.

  1. Vedānta: Concepts and Application, co-edited volume, The R. K. Mission Institute

of Culture, 2000.

  1. Analytical Philosophy in Comparative Perspective, edited by J L Shaw and B. K.

Matilal, D. Reidel Publishing Company, Holland, 1985..




Omkar Supekar

Research Scholar (Philosophy)

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay