History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization: Developments in Indian Philosophy from Eighteenth Century Onwards: Classical and Western (Volume X, Part I)

The volumes of the Project on the History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization aim at discovering the main aspects of India’s heritage and present them in an interrelated way. These volumes, in spite of their unitary look, recognise the difference between the areas of material civilization and those of ideational culture. The project is not being executed by a single group of thinkers and writers who are methodologically uniform or ideologically identical in their commitments. In fact contributions are made by different scholars with different ideological persuasions and methodological approaches. The project is marked by what may be called ‘methodological pluralism’. In spite of its primary historical character, this project, both in its conceptualization and execution, has been shaped by many scholars drawn from different disciplines. It is for the first time that an endeavour of such a unique and comprehensive character has been undertaken to study critically a major world civilization like India. The development in Nyaya, Mimamsa, Vedanta and Samkhya from the end of seventeenth century onwards is delineated in this book and which reveals that it is not only a period just of pariskara or subtle refinement as is generally believed but also that of genuine creative innovation. The same can be said in the field of Alamkarasastra, Vyavaharasastra and Dharmasastra and also in the thinking done in the field of philosophy, written in English language, since the coming of the British. It also tries to develop a new methodology for the historiography of thought, which may be relevant to other fields of history writing as well. It also suggests the direction which further works may take in future.