Crossing horizons : world, self, and language in Indian and Western thought / Shlomo Biderman ; translated by Ornan Rotem.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Biderman, Shlomo.

Contributor:

Rotem, Ornan.

Standardized Title:

Masaʻot filosofim. English

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Philosophy, Comparative.

Philosophy, Indic.

Self (Philosophy).

Transcendence (Philosophy).

Language and languages--Philosophy.

Language and languages.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (369 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this book, Shlomo Biderman examines the views, outlooks, and attitudes of two distinct cultures: the West and classical India. He turns to a rich and varied collection of primary sources: the Rg Veda, the Upanishads, and texts by the Buddhist philosophers Någårjuna and Vasubandhu, among others. In studying the West, Biderman considers the Bible and its commentaries, the writings of such philosophers as Plato, Descartes, Berkeley, Kant, and Derrida, and the literature of Kafka, Melville, and Orwell. Additional sources are Mozart's Don Giovanni and seminal films like Ingmar Bergman's Persona.Biderman uses concrete examples from religion and literature to illustrate the formal aspects of the philosophical problems of transcendence, language, selfhood, and the external world and then demonstrates their plausibility in actual situations. Though his method of analysis is comparative, Biderman does not adopt the disinterested stance of an "ideal" spectator. Rather, Biderman approaches ancient Indian thought and culture from a Western philosophical standpoint to uncover cultural presuppositions that can be difficult to expose from within the culture in question. The result is a fascinating landmark in the study of Indian and Western thought. Through his comparative prism, Biderman explores the most basic ideas underlying human culture, and his investigation not only sheds light on India's philosophical traditions but also facilitates a deeper understanding of our own.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Far and Beyond

2. Transcendence in two cultures

3. My-Self

4.No-Self

5. "It's All in the Mind"

Notes

Bibliographical Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [329]-346) and index.

ISBN:

9786612796333

9781282796331

128279633X

9780231511599

0231511590

OCLC:

826476191