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A śabda reader : language in classical Indian thought / translated and edited by Johannes Bronkhorst.

LIBRA B132.S4 S228 2019
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Format:
Book
Contributor:
Bronkhorst, Johannes, 1946-2025, editor, translator.
Series:
Historical sourcebooks in classical Indian thought
Historical sourcebooks in classical indian thought
Language:
English
Sanskrit
Subjects (All):
Philosophy, Indic.
Semantics (Philosophy).
Language and languages--Philosophy.
Language and languages.
Hindu philosophy.
Buddhist philosophy.
Jaina philosophy.
Sanskrit language--Philosophy.
Sanskrit language.
Vedic language--Philosophy.
Vedic language.
Philosophy.
India--Languages--Philosophy.
India.
Physical Description:
360 pages ; 26 cm.
Place of Publication:
New York : Columbia University Press, [2019]
Summary:
"Language (śabda) occupied a central yet often unacknowledged place in classical Indian philosophical thought. Foundational thinkers considered topics such as the nature of language, its relationship to reality, the nature and existence of linguistic units and their capacity to convey meaning, and the role of language in the interpretation of sacred writings. The first reader on language in--and the language of--classical Indian philosophy, A Śabda Reader offers a comprehensive and pedagogically valuable treatment of this topic and its importance to Indian philosophical thought. A Śabda Reader brings together newly translated passages by authors from a variety of traditions--Brahmin, Buddhist, Jaina--representing a number of schools of thought. It illuminates issues such as how Brahmanical thinkers understood the Veda and conceived of Sanskrit; how Buddhist thinkers came to assign importance to language's link to phenomenal reality; how Jains saw language as strictly material; the possibility of self-contradictory sentences; and how words affect thought. Throughout, the volume shows that linguistic presuppositions and implicit notions about language often play as significant a role as explicit ideas and formal theories. Including an introduction that places the texts and ideas in their historical and cultural context, A Śabda Reader sheds light on a crucial aspect of classical Indian thought and in so doing deepens our understanding of the philosophy of language"-- Provided by publisher.
Contents:
Part I. Introduction: General observations about philosophy in India
The Brahmanical background
Buddhist thought : source of inspiration
The grammarian Patañjali
The special place of Sanskrit and the Veda
Self-contradictory sentences
Do words affect cognition?
Words and sentences
Other denotative functions of the word
Part II. Reader
Other denotative functions of the word : Mukulabhaṭṭa.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (347-353) and index.
Other Format:
Online version: Śabda reader.
ISBN:
9780231189408
0231189400
OCLC:
1035464946

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