The India Centre, FLAME University, is delighted to invite you to the webinar on Nov 20th, 6pm IST:
Zoom Link:
https://flameuniversity.zoom.us/j/91943275813
Passcode:986327
Abstract: Several Indian religious traditions associated with Vedānta offer conflicting descriptions of the ultimate reality, Brahman. A prominent example is found in the Bhedābheda Vedānta tradition, which posits that Brahman is both different (bheda) and non-different (abheda) from the world and individual selves. At first glance, this appears to be a contradictory statement. However, most Bhedābheda Vedānta thinkers, such as Bhaskara (8th-9th Century), Nimbārka (13th Century?), and Vijñānabhikṣu (16th Century), attempt to reconcile the contradiction, asserting, for example, that Brahman is different from the world and individual selves in one sense, yet non-different in another, distinct sense of “difference.” A notable exception is Jīva Gosvāmī, a leading theologian of the Caitanya Vaiṣṇava school (15th century). According to a widely accepted interpretation, Jīva accepts the contradiction directly, adding that it is inconceivable (acintya). He termed his school Acintya Bhedābheda. Despite textual evidence supporting this view, other evidence from Jīva’s writings and subsequent commentaries suggests that his theology might be reconstructed using a more traditional, contradiction-avoiding approach. This raises fascinating theological issues. The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrated interpretation of Jīva’s Bhedābheda Vedānta, one that synthesizes both interpretations while remaining faithful to the key elements of his ontology. This will be based on a version of Graham Priest’s Logic of Paradox (LP), which I refer to as (a) Logic of Partial Truth (LPT). The result is a paraconsistent and (weakly) dialetheic account of Jīva’s Bhedābheda Vedānta theology.
Bio: Ricardo Silvestre is a full professor at the Federal University of Campina Grande, a senior researcher at the University of Brasília, and a member of the Philosophy graduate program at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (all located in Brazil). I have been a visiting scholar at the University of Oxford (UK), the University of Notre Dame (USA), the Oxford Center for Hindu Studies (UK), and the Center for Comparative Philosophy at San José State University (USA). He received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Montreal (Canada). His research interests include Philosophy of Religion, Philosophical Logic, Indian Philosophy, and Philosophy of Mind. He is particularly drawn to the logical and philosophical aspects of concepts of God, with a focus on underrepresented religious traditions, those from India. A specific area of interest is the Bhedābheda Vedānta tradition of Jīva Gosvāmī (16th century). The interest in concepts of God also encompasses panentheism and its relationship to panpsychism, as well as contradictory concepts of God and the logical dimensions involved, which include paraconsistency. He is currently the leader of a project funded by the John Templeton Foundation titled Concepts of God and the Variety of Theisms in Indian Traditions: Towards a Theistic Theory of Consciousness.
