Eastern Philosophy

by Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad

A magisterial overview of the philosophies of the East.'The time has come for global philosophy to move beyond the model where the West is at the centre of radiating spokes of comparison.' Challenging the notion that Western philosophy is the best or only yardstick against which to judge the so-called 'non-Western' philosophies, Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad sets up a lively debate in which the great thought systems of the East are engaged very much in their own terms. The author's impressive sweep takes him through South Asia east to China and Japan, encompassing 3000 years of philosophy and including the ancient philosophies of India, Jainism, Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism. At the same time, Ram-Prasad dispels the romantic illusion that there is some common mystical 'wisdom tradition' that binds together the cultures of the East. His aim is to give a sense of the diversity and depth of these philosophical cultures, as well as their sophistication and originality; and to make comparisons between them to illuminate their varied yet potentially universal appeal.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Amith · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
I picked up this book primarily to get a taste of the different schools of thought in Indian Philosophy, about which I knew barely anything. The book is divided into seven chapters- the ultimate questions, the self, Outward & Inward good, knowledge, logic and language. The author explains the take of different schools (Indian and Chinese) on these topics and compares them in some places.

This was not an easy book to read. I think it mainly boils down to the complexity of the ideas conveyed. The author does provide pretty good examples in the form of analogies to explain them. But he could have done more in the form of some diagrams to help keep track of the many people he talks about and the positions of different schools. The book is full of text for 242 pages and just ends abruptly with the last chapter. The author focuses on the ideological debates that arose between different schools, like the Buddhist vs Hindu debate over the existence of self, which were great to read.

This book helped me put into perspective the evolution of different Hindu and heterodox schools of thought like Jainism and Buddhism and appreciate them for their original ideas. Hence as an introduction to Eastern Philosophy, the book does meet its objectives but it could be better.

[Sumit · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent analysis of Indian, Buddhist, Japanese and Chinese philosophy on topics like self, inward and outward good, language, logic, knowledge.

[Ong Kuan Yang · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of Eastern philosophy and comparisons amongst them.

[Fahad Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a beginner when it comes to Eastern Philosophy so I can't say if this book gives a good enough introduction to the two main traditions that it covers, the Indian and the Chinese (from his bio the author seems to be primarily a scholar of Indian Philosophy). But it was well written, engaging and gave me a lot to follow up on. The author could have skipped on the last chapter on Logic, however, as it doesn't really seem to have the centrality that it does in the Western tradition.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes fascinating comparison between Indian and Chinese (historical, religious) philosophies

[Shivaji Das · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unstructured and hard to follow. Perhaps there is nothing called Eastern Philosophy as an unified theory as the author rightly claims in the beginning.