Indian Philosophy and Yoga in Germany

Owen Ware is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. His previous books include Fichte’s Moral Philosophy (2020), Kant’s Justification of Ethics (2021), and Kant on Freedom (2023).

"Owen Ware's instructive and at times even entertaining study of the reception of Yoga philosophy in nineteenth century Germany is a valuable contribution to current attempts to look beyond overly narrow constructions of the philosophical canon. And the final chapter, which addresses the early twentieth century Calcutta philosophers is an important addition to the study of world philosophies."Robert Bernasconi, Penn State University, USA"The monolithic civilizational narrative of “Western philosophy” is undergoing serious critical reflection, and Owen Ware builds on existing scholarship and offers further revision in this study. Following “yoga” down its pathways in post-Enlightenment German philosophy, Ware offers an accessible account of the cross-cultural anxiety of influence that lingers in modern philosophy, and—even more importantly—an account of the South Asian intellectuals who came to know this narrative and answered in no uncertain terms."Bradley L. Herling, Marymount Manhattan College, USA"Indian Philosophy and Yoga in Germany is a compelling book because it demonstrates the point that much of nineteenth-century European philosophy was constructed on the back of Indian philosophy and because it discusses Modern Indian Philosophy, which is often ignored in Anglophone academia. This intellectual history therefore lends more evidence to important endeavours to globalise philosophy and to put yoga philosophy on the academic map.”Karen O’Brien-Kop, King’s College London, Journal of Religious History"Indian Philosophy and Yoga in Germany is an outstanding and highly recommended book, which engages both the history of philosophy and comparative philosophy...highly recommended for upper-level undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars."Rick Elmore, Appalachian State University, USA“Much of the material discussed in Indian Philosophy and Yoga in Germany was previously tucked away in obscure scholarly corners. By bringing to light a cross-cultural conversation spanning two centuries, Owen Ware’s indispensable study corrects, enriches and perhaps even transforms the familiar picture of our philosophical inheritance.”Clare Carlisle, The Times Literary Supplement“Owen Ware’s book provides a careful and deliberate analysis of one early period of cross-cultural philosophy, namely, the first reception of classical Indian philosophy by the early German Romantics … Ware has done a great service for anyone interested in ‘comparative’ or ‘global’ philosophy. The book is chock-full of wonderful discoveries and details seldom worked on … Ware’s book opens many doors that invite the curious philosopher to step through for new encounters.”Journal of the History of Philosophy“Indian Philosophy and Yoga in Germany is a book well worth reading for its well-researched discussion of German thinkers’ reactions to the Bhagavad Gı̄tā and yoga, and especially for its treatment of Schelling, a philosopher not often mentioned in discussions of the reception history of Indian philosophy.”The Journal of Religion

• Introduction Part 1: Indian Pantheism and the Threat of Nihilism 1. The Perils of Pantheism: Schlegel and Karoline von Günderrode 2. The Song of God: Humboldt’s Philosophical Poem 3. “Abstract Devotion”: Yoga in Hegel and Schelling Part 2: God, Morality, and Freedom 4. Yoga in the Late Nineteenth Century: Pal, Mitra, Vivekananda, and Müller 5. The Bengali Philosophers: Dasgupta, Radhakrishnan, and Bhattacharyya Conclusion. Yoga, the “True Proteus” Appendix. Images of India: Voltaire and Herder