Philosophy in Colonial India, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2015 Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures Series, Vol. 11

This volume focuses on the gradual emergence of modern Indian philosophy through the cross-cultural encounter between indigenous Indian and Western traditions of philosophy, during the colonial period in India, specifically in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This volume acknowledges that what we take ?Indian philosophy? or ?modern Indian philosophy? to mean today is the sub-text of a much wider, complex and varied Indian reception of the West during the colonial period. Consisting of ?twelve  chapters and a thematic introduction, the volume addresses the role of academic philosophy in the cultural and social ferment of the colonial period in India and its impact on the development of cross-cultural philosophy, the emergence of a cosmopolitan consciousness in colonial India; as also the philosophical contribution of India to cultural globalization.

The issue of colonialism and emergence of new identities in India has engaged the critical attention of scholars from diverse fields of inquiry such as history, sociology, politics, and subaltern studies. However, till today the emergence of modern Indian philosophy remains an unexplored area of inquiry. Much of the academic philosophical work of this period, despite its manifest philosophical originality and depth, stands largely ignored, not only abroad, but even in India. This neglect needs to be overcome by a re-reading of philosophical writings in English produced by scholars located in the universities of colonial India. This edited volume will facilitate further explorations into the presence of colonial tensions as they are visible in the writings of modern Indian academic philosophers like  B. N. Seal, Hiralal Haldar, Rasvihary Das,, G. R. Malkani, K. C. Bhattacharyya, .  G. N. Mathrani and others.

Chapter 1. Modern Indian Philosophy: from colonialism to cosmopolitanism.- Chapter 2: Thought and Context: Philosophy on the eve of Colonialism.- Chapter 3: Philosophy in Colonial India: The Science Question.- Chapter 4: The Self and its Knowledge: The Legacy of Rasvihary Das.- Chapter 5: Brajendranath Seal: A Disenchanted Hegelian.- Chapter 6: The Notion of Absolute: Hegel and Hiralal Haldar.- Chapter 7: G.R.Malkani: Reinventing Classical Advaita Vedānta.- Chapter 8: K.C. Bhattacharyya and Spivak on Kant: Colonial and Postcolonial Perspectives, Lessons and Prospects  .- Chapter 9: The Road Not Taken: G.N.Mathrani’s Wittgensteinian Transformation of Philosophy.- Chapter 10: Radical Translation: S.R. Rajwade’s Encounter with F.W. Nietzsche.- Chapter 11: Tagore’s Perception of the West.- Chapter 12: Bankim Chandra on Morality.- Chapter 13: Colonialism and Traditional Forms of Knowledge: Then and now.

Defines a new area of inquiry into the reinvention of classical Indian philosophy under colonialism

Provides thematic unity with fresh insights into some of the key writings by major Indian philosophers of the colonial period

Contributes significantly to studies on cross-cultural philosophy

Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras