Problems and Perspectives in Religious Discourse

John A. Grimes is Assistant Professor at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. His publications include A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy, published by SUNY Press, Sapta Vidha Anupapatti: The Seven Great Untenables; and Quest for Certainty: A Comparative Study of Heidegger and Sankara.

"This is an important and original book. It is a fine exposition of the questions about religious language and the problem of talking about the transcendent. I know of no one better able to expound an Advaitin viewpoint than Dr. Grimes." — Ninian Smart, University of California, Santa Barbara"The author has illumined some very important problems in the philosophy of religion and the East-West Dialogue. Good examples are, what kind of meaning does religious discourse have? Is there a difference in the meaning of Advaita Vedanta statements from those in exoteric Judeo-Christian traditions and from those in esoteric traditions such as the mysticism of Meister Eckhart and Jacob Boehme? John Grimes does a masterful job of discussing such profound and difficult western scholars as Anthony Flew, John Hick, and A. J. Ayer as well as important Indian philosophers such as as Gaudand Sankara. Grimes's comments scintillate on every page."Even for a person totally skeptical of religious discourse, this book is significant comparative philosophy and religion. Grimes shows parallels between Wittgenstein and Sankara. His insights into Nagarjuna show fascinating parallels between Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta. This is one of the most important books that I have read dealing with the relationship of logical positivism and empiricism to Indian philosophy. Grimes's discussion of pragmatism in relation to Advaita Vedanta is very interesting indeed." — Judy D. Saltzman, California Polytechnic State University

• Preface Special Feature of the Work Reasons Theme was Chosen Contributions of the Work Acknowledgments I. IntroductionThe World of Advaita VedantaThe ProblemTwo AssertionsReligion and Language II. Advaita and Religious DiscourseCertaintyAdvaita vis-à-vis Religious DiscourseLogic of Religious DiscourseQualifications for Religious KnowledgeHow Religious Knowledge is ConveyedAdvaita vis-à-vis Other SystemsThe Nature of Religious DiscourseThree AssertionsConsequences III. Advaita Vedanta: A PerspectiveWhat is Advaita VedantaPerspectiveKey Concept IV. Advaita Vedanta ProspectusReligious Discourse The ProblemIndirect ApproachesThe GapReligious Discourse—Its 'Use'Peculiarities of Religious DiscourseThe Theme of Advaita VedantaSankara's SolutionAdvaita and Language V. Methods and PerspectivesIntroductionMethodMethodologyRelation to EpistemologyLanguage and KnowledgeBrahman—AtmanBrahman—The Objective VisionIs the Absolute Known or Not?Atman —TheSubjective VisionAtman is Brahman VI. East and WestIntroductionPart 1Part 2 VII. Advaita's SolutionIntroductionTwo Approaches to Religious DiscourseConsequences of the Two ApproachesTwo Levels of LanguageA Two-Level Theory of Religious DiscourseCan the Absolute Be Signified Directly?Second-Level ProblemsSatkaryavada and AsatkaryavadaOne Level Language—Absolute LanguageLanguage About the Absolute VIII. Retrospect of Results Comment Notes Bibliography Index