The Concealed Art of the Soul

Theories of Self and Practices of Truth in Indian Ethics and Epistemology

Jonardon Ganeri

A comparative study of classical Indian and contemporary Western accounts of the self
Ganeri is one of the leading scholars of Indian philosophy
Cuts across Indian philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics, and will also appeal to those with an interest in religious and cultural studies
Makes Indian thought accessible to Western philosophers

The Concealed Art of the Soul

Theories of Self and Practices of Truth in Indian Ethics and Epistemology

Jonardon Ganeri

Description

In The Concealed Art of the Soul, Jonardon Ganeri presents a variety of perspectives on the nature of the self as seen by major schools of classical Indian philosophy. For Indian thinkers, a philosophical treatise about the self should not only reveal the truth about the nature of the soul, but should also engage the reader in a process of study and contemplation that will eventually lead to self-transformation. By combining careful attention to philosophical content and sensitivity to literary form, Ganeri deepens our understanding of some of the greatest works in Indian literary history. His magisterial survey includes the Upanisads, the Buddha's discourses, the epic Mahabharata, and the writings of Candrakirti, whose work was later to provide the foundation for Tibetan Buddhism. Ganeri argues that many Western theories of selfhood are not only present in these writings, but are developed to a high degree of sophistication, and that there are other ideas about the self found in the work of classical Indian thinkers which present-day analytic philosophers have not yet begun to explore.
Scholars and students of philosophy and religious studies, particularly those with an interest in Indian and Western conceptions of the self, will find this book fascinating reading.

The Concealed Art of the Soul

Theories of Self and Practices of Truth in Indian Ethics and Epistemology

Jonardon Ganeri

PART I - SOUL-SEARCHERS AND SOOTH-SAYERS
1: Hidden in the cave: the Upanisadic self
2: Dangerous truths: the Buddha on silence, secrecy and snakes
3: A cloak of clever words: the deconstruction of deceit in the Mahabharata
PART II - EXHORTATIONS TO ENLIGHTENMENT
4: Words that burn: why did the Buddha say what he did?
5: Words that break: can an Upanisad state the truth?
PART III - A SELFLESS PERSON'S SENSE OF SELF
6: The imperfect reality of rersons
7: Self as performance
APPENDICES
TEXTS AND ABBREVIATIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX

The Concealed Art of the Soul

Theories of Self and Practices of Truth in Indian Ethics and Epistemology

Jonardon Ganeri

Author Information

Jonardon Ganeri, Professor of Philosophy, University of Sussex

Jonardon Ganeri is a philosopher who draws upon Indian, European and Ango-American sources in his work. He is currently Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sussex. He read Mathematics at Cambridge before commencing graduate studies in Philosophy at London and Oxford. He has been a Jacobsen Fellow in Philosophy at King's College London and a Spalding Fellow at Clare Hall Cambridge. As well as teaching at various Universities in Britain, he has held visiting professorships at the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania.