Indian Ethics: Classical Traditions and Contemporary Challenges

Indian ethical traditions have been one of the great repositories of moral thought in world philosophy whose insights have influenced early Greece, Europe, Asia, and the New World. This volume is the first such systematic study of the spectrum of moral reflections from India employing a critical cross-cultural perspective and engaging modern secular sensibilities. This comprehensive compendium explores the scope and limits of Indian ethical traditions. It reflects on the interpretations and applications of the teachings of the great texts and major schools of both orthodox and heterodox sects, relates them to present-day concerns and contexts, and highlights the distinctive aspects of the Indian ethical traditions. The general introduction examines the distinctive nature of moral philosophy in India as compared to the West. The three parts of the volume analyse ethical traditions from the Vedic to contemporary times. The chapters chart orthodox and heterodox debates, from early classical Hindu texts to Buddhist, Jaina, Yoga and Gandhian ethics. The range of issues include: life-values and virtues, karma and dharma, evil and suffering, renunciation and enlightenment; and extends to questions of human rights and justice, ecology and animal ethics, non-violence and democracy. The ramifications for rethinking ethics in a postmodern and global era are investigated in order to explore their relevance in the present times. Indian Ethics offers an invaluable resource for scholars, teachers, and students of philosophy, history, religion, literature, and cultural studies and those interested in South Asian responses to moral dilemmas in the postcolonial era.