Course Guide
PHIL10133: Indian Philosophies of Mind and Language 2020/21
Course Organiser: Dr Paul Schweizer ([email protected]) Office Location: Dugald Stewart Building room 5.13
Course Secretary: Ann-Marie Cowe ([email protected])
Contents 1. (Course) Aims and Objectives 2. Intended Learning Outcomes 3. Seminar Times and Locations 4. Seminar Content 5. PPLS Undergraduate Student Handbook 6. Readings 7. Assessment Information
Department of Philosophy School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences University of Edinburgh 1. Course Aims and Objectives
The course begins with a general introduction to the Indian philosophical tradition, in order to supply students with some necessary background context. It then explores selected topics within this tradition, particularly issues in the Philosophy of Language and Philosophy of Mind. Related and contrasting views from the Western philosophical tradition will also be examined, in an attempt to provide mutual illumination and a wider global perspective on core philosophical themes.
2. Intended Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: 1. Understand basic concepts and presuppositions central to the Indian Philosophical Tradition; 2. Grasp and analyze key issues in Indian Philosophy of Language, particularly with respect to the context principle, linguistic reference, and non- denoting terms. 3. Grasp and analyze key issues in Indian Philosophy of Mind, particularly with respect to consciousness and the self, intentionality, and the mind-body problem. 4. Connect issues in the Indian tradition with related themes in Western Philosophy. 5. Improve core skills in philosophy, including the ability to interpret and engage with philosophical texts, evaluate arguments, and develop critical ideas in response.
3. Tutorial Times and Locations
To be determined
4. Course Content
● Topic 1: General introduction and overview of the Indian philosophical tradition. ● Topic 2: Issues in the Philosophy of Language from a comparative perspective, with particular focus on the Nyāya and Mīmāṃsā (Bhatta and Prābhākara branches) schools of Hinduism, and the Yogācāra-Sautrāntika school of Buddhism 2(i) Sentential Unity, Context Principle and Compositionality. 2(ii) Linguistic Reference and Non-denoting Terms 2(iii) Buddhist Apoha Semantics ● Topic 3: Issues in the Philosophy of Mind 3(i) Sankhya-Yoga Philosophy and the Mind/Body Problem 3(ii) Advaita Vedānta and the Philosophy of Consciousness without an Object 3(iii) Buddhist Analyses of the Self
5. PPLS Undergraduate Student Handbook The PPLS Undergraduate Student Handbook has more information on Student Support and academic guidance; late coursework and plagiarism; illness and disability adjustments, and useful sources of advice.
The Handbook can be found here: http://www.ppls.ed.ac.uk/students/undergraduate/documents/PPLS_Student_Handbook-Master_Copy.pdf
6. Readings All required readings will be available online via the University library, or will be available on Learn.
● Week 1: - pp. 1-20 of Perrett, R. An Introduction to Indian Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, 2016. - ch. 3 (pp. 42-74) of King, R., Indian Philosophy: An Introduction to Hindu and Buddhist Thought, Edinburgh University Press, 1999. ● Week 2: - ch. 4 (pp. 75-104) of King, Indian Philosophy. - pp. 111-120 of Perrett, An Introduction to Indian Philosophy. - Matilal, B.K. and P.K. Sen, The context principle and some Indian controversies over meaning, Mind 97 (1988), 73-97. ● Week 3: - ch. 2 (pp. 9-64) of Siderits, M., Indian Philosophy of Language, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991. ● Week 4: - pp. 125-139 of Perrett. - Dunne, J., Key features of Dharmakirti's apoha theory, in Siderits, M., T. Tillemans, A Chakrabarti, (eds.) Apoha: Buddhist Nominalism and Human Cognition, , Columbia University Press, 2011, pp. 84-108. ● Week 5: - ch. 4 (pp. 111-185) of Siderits, Indian Philosophy of Language. ● Week 6: - pp. 168-174 of Perrett, An Introduction to Indian Philosophy. - pp. 134-151 of Larson, G., Classical Samkhya, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1979. ● Week 7: - Schweizer, P., Mind/Consciousness Dualism in Sankhya-Yoga Philosophy, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 53: 845-859 (1993). ● Week 8: - pp. 1-57 of Indich, W., Consciousness in Advaita Vedānta, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Press, 2000. ● Week 9: - Mohanty, J.N. (1993) ‘Consciousness in Vedānta’, appearing in Essays on Indian Philosophy, P. Bilimoria (ed.) Oxford University Press. - Gurwitsch, A. (1982) ‘Husserl’s Theory of the Intentionality of Consciousness’, Husserl, Intentionality and Cognitive Science, H. Dreyfus and H. Hall (eds.), MIT . ● Week 10: - pp. 1-58 of Duerlinger, J., Indian Buddhist Theories of Persons: Vasubandhu's Refutation of a Theory of Self, Routledge, 2003.
● Week 11: - Deane, G., M.Miller and S. Wilkinson, Losing Ourselves: Active Inference, Depersonalization, and Meditation, Front. Psychol., 29 October 2020, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.539726 - Gopnik, A., How an 18th Century Philosopher Helped Solve My Midlife Crisis, The Atlantic, October 2015 issue. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/10/how-david-hume-helped- me-solve-my-midlife-crisis/403195/
Other potentially useful supplementary texts include:
- Radhakrishnan, S. and C. Moore (eds.) A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy, Princeton University Press, 5th edition 1973. - Raju, P.T., Structural Depths of Indian Thought, State University of New York Press, 1985. - Raja, K., Indian Theories of Meaning, Adyar Library and Research Cnetre, 1963. - Potter, K, (general editor) Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, various volumes.
7. Assessment Information
Midterm Essay 1500 words (40%) Final Essay 2500 words (55%) Participation (5%)
Please note - Regulation 14 Assessment deadlines: Student responsibilities
It is a student’s responsibility to ascertain and meet his or her assessment deadlines, including examination times and locations.