Global Philosophy – serie

Psychology today pathologizes all aspects of the human condition without ever examining its own ills, which have caused it to become fragmented. People from non-Western backgrounds are often adversely affected by the limitations of the discipline, and often avoid treatment altogether. By contrast, a true “science of the soul” has existed for millennia in all the world’s diverse spiritual cultures. Although a plethora of modern therapies are now available, they are hindered in their efficacy by having become entirely divorced from sacred reality. This work argues that it is necessary to restore this “science of the soul” by drawing on the perspective of non-Western wisdom traditions as understood since time immemorial. Examples are given of the fundamental differences that are found between modern psychology and the traditional psychologies of various religions, which also existed in the West prior to the Enlightenment era. Furthermore, this book will show how non-Western philosophy can help rehabilitate an authentically healing psychology in support of promoting sound mental health in our afflicted modern culture. Sacred psychologies, therefore, afford us the best opportunity to tackle the innumerable challenges that confront human beings today, such as trauma, mental illness, addiction, death, and the meaning of our lives.

This introductory text points to some of the diverse tapestries of Hindu worldviews where scriptural revelation, logical argumentation, embodied affectivity, moral reasoning, and aesthetic cultivation constitute densely interwoven conceptual threads. It begins with an exploration of some classical iterations of the quest for a fundamental ontology amidst the diversities of the everyday world. This quest is often embedded in both a diagnosis of the human condition as structured by suffering and a therapy for recovery from worldly fragmentation. A crucial aspect of this therapeutic structure is the analysis of the means of knowledge and the categories of reality, since in order to know the nature of the world one must proceed along truth-tracking routes. Such dynamic mind-world encounters are mediated through language, and Hindu philosophical texts extensively discuss the motif of whether or not deep reality can be comprehended through linguistic structures. These philosophical exercises also shape reflections on themes such as aesthetics, social organization, the meaning of life, and so on. As Hinduism increasingly migrates to western locations through practices of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness, and along with sensibilities relating to vegetarianism, ecology, and pacifism, we encounter multiple translations of these classical motifs relating to the self, language, and consciousness.

This introductory text points to some of the diverse tapestries of Hindu worldviews where scriptural revelation, logical argumentation, embodied affectivity, moral reasoning, and aesthetic cultivation constitute densely interwoven conceptual threads. It begins with an exploration of some classical iterations of the quest for a fundamental ontology amidst the diversities of the everyday world. This quest is often embedded in both a diagnosis of the human condition as structured by suffering and a therapy for recovery from worldly fragmentation. A crucial aspect of this therapeutic structure is the analysis of the means of knowledge and the categories of reality, since in order to know the nature of the world one must proceed along truth-tracking routes. Such dynamic mind-world encounters are mediated through language, and Hindu philosophical texts extensively discuss the motif of whether or not deep reality can be comprehended through linguistic structures. These philosophical exercises also shape reflections on themes such as aesthetics, social organization, the meaning of life, and so on. As Hinduism increasingly migrates to western locations through practices of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness, and along with sensibilities relating to vegetarianism, ecology, and pacifism, we encounter multiple translations of these classical motifs relating to the self, language, and consciousness.

This first of its kind sourcebook brings together over fifty leading contemporary philosophers and translators in order to highlight the depth, diversity, and creativity of non-Western philosophical traditions. It does so by featuring the major ideas, themes, and arguments of Africana, Buddhist, Confucian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain, Jewish, Latin American, Mesoamerican, Native American, and Taoist philosophy through translations of nearly one hundred philosophical texts from sixteen different languages (namely, Arabic, Aramaic, Chinese, Mayan, French, Hebrew, Japanese, Judeo-Arabic, Korean, Maasai, Persian, Sanskrit, Spanish, Tibetan, Turkish, and Urdu). The volume also contains several key works of global philosophy originally written in English. Topics covered include metaphysics, cosmology, epistemology, philosophy of language, logic, ethics, storytelling, philosophy of religion, selfhood, death, and freedom. A Sourcebook in Global Philosophy will prove to be indispensable to all students and teachers of philosophy, religion, and comparative literature.

This first of its kind sourcebook brings together over fifty leading contemporary philosophers and translators in order to highlight the depth, diversity, and creativity of non-Western philosophical traditions. It does so by featuring the major ideas, themes, and arguments of Africana, Buddhist, Confucian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain, Jewish, Latin American, Mesoamerican, Native American, and Taoist philosophy through translations of nearly one hundred philosophical texts from sixteen different languages (namely, Arabic, Aramaic, Chinese, Mayan, French, Hebrew, Japanese, Judeo-Arabic, Korean, Maasai, Persian, Sanskrit, Spanish, Tibetan, Turkish, and Urdu). The volume also contains several key works of global philosophy originally written in English. Topics covered include metaphysics, cosmology, epistemology, philosophy of language, logic, ethics, storytelling, philosophy of religion, selfhood, death, and freedom. A Sourcebook in Global Philosophy will prove to be indispensable to all students and teachers of philosophy, religion, and comparative literature.

Psychology today pathologizes all aspects of the human condition without ever examining its own ills, which have caused it to become fragmented. People from non-Western backgrounds are often adversely affected by the limitations of the discipline, and often avoid treatment altogether. By contrast, a true “science of the soul” has existed for millennia in all the world’s diverse spiritual cultures. Although a plethora of modern therapies are now available, they are hindered in their efficacy by having become entirely divorced from sacred reality. This work argues that it is necessary to restore this “science of the soul” by drawing on the perspective of non-Western wisdom traditions as understood since time immemorial. Examples are given of the fundamental differences that are found between modern psychology and the traditional psychologies of various religions, which also existed in the West prior to the Enlightenment era. Furthermore, this book will show how non-Western philosophy can help rehabilitate an authentically healing psychology in support of promoting sound mental health in our afflicted modern culture. Sacred psychologies, therefore, afford us the best opportunity to tackle the innumerable challenges that confront human beings today, such as trauma, mental illness, addiction, death, and the meaning of our lives.

What Is Metaphysics? offers an exposition, informed primarily by the Islamic metaphysical tradition, of principial and divine knowledge as distinct from information or merely factual knowledge. Advancing an argument in favor of integrating metaphysics at every level of one’s being, the book also delves into various applications of metaphysics pertaining to the domains of religion, education, philosophy, art, ecology, and science.

What Is Metaphysics? offers an exposition, informed primarily by the Islamic metaphysical tradition, of principial and divine knowledge as distinct from information or merely factual knowledge. Advancing an argument in favor of integrating metaphysics at every level of one’s being, the book also delves into various applications of metaphysics pertaining to the domains of religion, education, philosophy, art, ecology, and science.

Exploring Islamic Philosophy presents a lively introduction to the Islamic philosophical tradition by focusing on over one thousand years of Islamic philosophical theory and praxis, from Spain to Iran. The book begins with some basic definitions of the subject matter and then moves into a careful presentation of the most important Islamic philosophers’ expositions of being, God, knowledge, psychology, political theory, virtue, death and the afterlife. The volume ends by suggesting ways in which Islamic philosophical ideas can inform and invigorate contemporary discussions on ethics, gender, and ecology.