Bringing the analytical approach of modern philosophy to bear upon the literature of ancient and classical India, this work explains and explores the central methods, concepts and devices of the Indian philosophical tradition. It focuses on the rational principles of Indian philosophical theory, rather than the mysticism more usually associated with it. Ganeri asks what are the philosophical projects of a number of major Indian philosophers and what are the methods of rational inquiry deployed in pursuit of those projects. In so doing, he illuminates a network of mutual reference and...

Bringing the analytical approach of modern philosophy to bear upon the literature of ancient and classical India, this work explains and explores the central methods, concepts and devices of the Indian philosophical tradition. It focuses on the rational principles of Indian philosophical theory, rather than the mysticism more usually associated with it. Ganeri asks what are the philosophical projects of a number of major Indian philosophers and what are the methods of rational inquiry deployed in pursuit of those projects. In so doing, he illuminates a network of mutual reference and...

Jonardon Ganeri gives an account of language as essentially a means for the reception of knowledge. The semantic power of a word and its ability to stand for a thing derives from the capacity of understanders to acquire knowledge simply by understanding what is said. Ganeri finds this account in the work of certain Indian philosophers of language, and shows how their analysis can inform and be informed by contemporary philosophical theory.

What is it to occupy a first-person stance? Is the first-personal idea one has of oneself in conflict with the idea of oneself as a physical being? How, if there is a conflict, is it to be resolved? The Self recommends a new way to approach those questions, finding inspiration in theories about consciousness and mind in first millennial India. These philosophers do not regard the first-person stance as in conflict with the natural--their idea of nature is not that of scientific naturalism, but rather a liberal naturalism non-exclusive of the normative.
Jonardon Ganeri explores a wide...

The Lost Age of Reason deals with a fascinating and rich episode in the history of philosophy, one from which those who are interested in the nature of modernity and its global origins have a great deal to learn. Early modernity in India consists in the formation of a new philosophical self, one which makes it possible meaningfully to conceive of oneself as engaging the ancient and the alien in conversation. The ancient texts are now not thought of as authorities to which one must defer, but regarded as the source of insight in the company of which one pursues the quest for truth. This new...