APA NEWSLETTER on Asian and Asian-American Philosophers and Philosophies
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NEWSLETTER | The American Philosophical Association Asian and Asian-American Philosophers and Philosophies FALL 2017 VOLUME 17 | NUMBER 1 Nirmalya Narayan Chakraborty FROM THE EDITORS A Cautionary Note on Matilal’s Way of Ethan Mills and Prasanta Bandyopadhyay Doing Indian Philosophy SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND INFORMATION Ethan Mills Whither the Matilal Strategy? ARTICLES Kisor K. Chakrabarti Jonardon Ganeri Nyāya Ethical Theory An Exemplary Indian Intellectual: Bimal Krishna Matilal Anand Jayprakash Vaidya Bimal Krishna Matilal and the Enduring Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad Significance of the Constructive Philosophy, Indian and Western: Some Engagement Between Contemporary Thoughts from Bimal Matilal Analytic and Classical Indian Philosophy Richard Hayes Neil Sims Bimal Krishna Matilal’s Style of Doing Expanding Matilal’s Project through First- Philosophy Person Research Purushottama Bilimoria Three Dogmas of Matilal: Direct Realism, Lingophilia, and Dharma Ethics VOLUME 17 | NUMBER 1 FALL 2017 © 2017 BY THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL ASSOCIATION ISSN 2155-9708 APA NEWSLETTER ON Asian and Asian-American Philosophers and Philosophies ETHAN MILLS AND PRASANTA BANDYOPADHYAY, CO-EDITORS VOLUME 17 | NUMBER 1 | FALL 2017 to honor the life and work of B. K. Matilal by continuing FROM THE EDITORS conversations—both complimentary and critical— concerning his extraordinary influence on the direction of B. K. Matilal: The Past and Future of the the study of Indian philosophy both during his lifetime and in the quarter century since his death. A recent issue of the Study of Indian Philosophy journal Sophia has a similar theme (see volume 55, issue 4), and we direct readers to that issue as well. We hope this Ethan Mills issue of the newsletter will complement the Sophia issue. UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE AT CHATTANOOGA Our first contribution, by Jonardon Ganeri, begins with Prasanta S. Badyopadhyay Matilal’s biography and how this shaped his thought MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY on issues from logic to cross-cultural understanding, all of which made him “an exemplary Indian intellectual.” To readers familiar with the contemporary study of Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad’s contribution explores some of Indian philosophy, B. K. Matilal (1935–1991) needs the deeper cultural issues involved in Matilal’s work and little introduction. Through his tireless promotion of the their continuing relevance today, especially with regard to philosophical riches of classical India, which was rooted in the relationship between Indian and Western philosophy classical texts and traditions while at the same time forging and the place of Indian philosophy in the Western academy. connections to contemporary (primarily Anglo-American) The contribution from Richard Hayes is a warm, personal philosophy, he became one of the most influential scholars reflection on what Matilal was like as a philosopher and of Indian philosophy of the late twentieth century (along as a human being. Purushottama Bilimoria’s contribution with a handful of others such as J. N. Mohanty and Karl focuses on what he calls “three dogmas” of Matilal: direct Potter). realism, lingophilia, and dharma ethics (although Bilimoria’s intentions are more expository than deeply critical). Matilal was also a creative thinker in his own right, as exemplified by his intricate defense of direct realism in Slightly more critical contributions are provided by the context of a sympathetic treatment of philosophical Nirmalya Narayan Chakraborty, Ethan Mills, and Kisor K. skepticism, his nuanced understanding of ethics informed Chakrabarti. Chakraborty wonders whether Matilal’s efforts by careful readings of literature, and his articulation of unfairly use Western thought as the standard by which a culturally informed ethical pluralism as a response to we should understand Indian philosophy, while Mills relativism (to give just a few examples). He continues to questions whether we might consider approaches beyond inspire philosophers who feel that a background in what he Matilal’s typical classical Indian-contemporary analytic called “history of philosophy in the global sense” can be a comparisons. Chakrabarti looks into whether Matilal has vital resource for original philosophical work.1 slightly overlooked the contributions to ethics in the Nyāya school through a detailed discussion of classical Nyāya Matilal’s education was, like his later work, a mixture of texts. Western and Indian elements. He studied Navya Nyāya (“New Logic”) with several pandits (scholars trained in The contribution from Anand Jayprakash Vaidya defends traditional Indian philosophical systems) while completing Matilal’s approach from criticism by noting that “analytic” his M.A. from Calcutta University. He eventually moved can refer to a methodology, which is quite readily found to Harvard, where he studied with Daniel Ingalls and W. within classical Indian philosophy. Lastly, the contribution V. O. Quine, earning his Ph.D. in 1965. After teaching at from Neil Sims considers one way in which we might expand the University of Toronto in the early 1970s, Matilal was Matilal’s project to include first-person, phenomenological appointed Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and methods such as those provided by the Yoga school, Ethics at the University of Oxford and Fellow of All Souls methods that Sims argues should not be seen as irrational. College in 1976, a post he held until his untimely death from cancer in 1991. (Further biographical details can be We hope this issue will continue the kinds of conversations found in the articles below, especially those by Ganeri, Matilal wanted to have about deep philosophical issues Hayes, Ram-Prasad, and Bilimoria). in logic, epistemology, and ethics, but also about cultural issues surrounding relations between East and West in our The purpose of the present issue of the APA Newsletter on contemporary, postcolonial world. We hope that the essays Asian and Asian-American Philosophers and Philosophies is in this volume will encourage members of our discipline APA NEWSLETTER | ASIAN AND ASIAN-AMERICAN PHILOSOPHERS AND PHILOSOPHIES to develop an appreciation of India’s rich and vast and Philosophies. One way the dissemination of philosophical heritage. The proper representation of Indian knowledge of the relevant areas occurs is by holding and other non-Western traditions within the discipline highly visible, interactive sessions on Asian philosophy would be the best way to honor the life and legacy of B. at the American Philosophical Association’s three K. Matilal. annual divisional meetings. Potential authors should follow the submission guidelines below: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The editors wish to thank Erin Shepherd, all of our contributors, and our i) Please submit essays electronically to the editor(s). anonymous reviewer for helping to make this issue possible. Articles submitted to the newsletter should be limited to ten double-spaced pages and must NOTES follow the APA submission guidelines. 1. Mind, Language, and World: The Collected Essays of Bimal Krishna Matilal, edited by Jonardon Ganeri (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002), 356. ii) All manuscripts should be prepared for anonymous review. Each submission shall be sent to two referees. Reports will be shared with authors. References should follow The Chicago Manual Style. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND iii) If the paper is accepted, each author is required to sign a copyright transfer form, available on the APA INFORMATION website, prior to publication. GOAL OF THE NEWSLETTER ON ASIAN AND 2) Book reviews and reviewers: If you have published a ASIAN-AMERICAN PHILOSOPHERS book that you consider appropriate for review in the newsletter, please ask your publisher to send the The APA Newsletter on Asian and Asian-American editor(s) a copy of your book. Each call for papers Philosophers and Philosophies is sponsored by the APA may also include a list of books for possible review. Committee on Asian and Asian-American Philosophers and To volunteer to review books (or some specific book), Philosophies to report on the philosophical work of Asian kindly send the editor(s) a CV and letter of interest and Asian-American philosophy, to report on new work in mentioning your areas of research and teaching. Asian philosophy, and to provide a forum for the discussion of topics of importance to Asian and Asian-American 3) Where to send papers/reviews: Please send all articles, philosophers and those engaged with Asian and Asian- comments, reviews, suggestions, books, and other American philosophy. We encourage a diversity of views communications to the editor: Prasanta Bandyopadhyay and topics within this broad rubric. None of the varied ([email protected]). philosophical views provided by authors of newsletter articles necessarily represents the views of any or all the 4) Submission deadlines: Submissions for spring issues members of the Committee on Asian and Asian-American are due by the preceding November 1, and submissions Philosophers and Philosophies, including the editor(s) for fall issues are due by the preceding February 1. of the newsletter. The committee and the newsletter are committed to advancing Asian and Asian-American 5) Guest editorship: It is possible that one or more philosophical scholarships and bringing this work and this members of the Committee on Asian and Asian community to the attention of the larger philosophical American Philosophers and Philosophies could act as community; we do not endorse any particular approach to guest editors for one of the