THE BLOOMSBURY RESEARCH HANDBOOK OF: INDIAN ETHICS

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Featuring leading scholars from philosophy and religious studies, The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Indian Ethics dispels the myth that Indian thinkers and philosophers were uninterested in ethics. This comprehensive research handbook traces Indian moral philosophy through classical, scholastic Indian philosophy, pan-Indian literature including the Epics, Ayurvedic medical ethics, as well as recent, traditionalist and Neo-Hindu contributions. Contrary to the usual myths about India (that Indians were too busy being religious to care about ethics), moral theory constitutes the paradigmatic differentia of formal Indian philosophy, and is reflected richly in popular literature. Many of the papers make this clear by an analytic explication that draws critical comparisons and contrasts between classical Indian moral philosophy and contemporary contributions to ethics. By critically addressing ethics as a sub-discipline of philosophy and acknowledging the mistaken marginalization of Indian moral philosophy, this handbook reveals how Indian contributions can illuminate contemporary philosophical research on ethics. Unlike previous approaches to Indian ethics, this volume is organized in accordance with major topics in moral philosophy. The volume contains an extended introduction, exploring topics in moral semantics, the philosophy of thought, (metaethical and normative) ethical theory, and the politics of scholarship, which serve to show how the diversity of Indian moral philosophy is a contribution to the discipline of ethics. With an overview of Indian moral theory, and a glossary, this is a valuable guide to understanding the past, present and future research directions of a central component of Indian philosophy. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents 1 Moral Philosophy: The Right and the Good 1. Introduction 2. What Is Philosophy? Explication versus Interpretation Why We Should Reject Interpretation Why We Should Explicate The Evidence: Disciplinary Relativity of Objectivity 3. Philosophical Concepts and the Right to Disagree 4. Moral Theory Four Moral Theories Virtue Ethics: The good (state of mind, or character, organization of society) is a condition of right action. Consequentialism: The right (action) is justified by the good (outcome). Deontology: The good is justified by the right. Bhakti/.Yoga: The right (procedure) causes the good. Observations of Indian Moral Theory 5. Conclusion Notes Bibliography 2 Philosophy, Religion, and Scholarship 1. Introduction Looking Ahead 2. Objections of Misunderstanding The Argument That Dharma and Ethics Are Philosophical Synonyms Is Too Quick Interpretation Is Required for the Distinction of Truth and Objectivity The Preceding Account of Moral Theory Is Unscholarly Your Writing Is Inelegant, Imprecise The Idea That “Dharma” Means Ethics Is Forced You Failed to Convince Me 3. Religion The Criticism of Religion Is Not Universally Applicable Religion Is More Than Ethics 4. Objection to the Characterization of Interpretation 5. In Defense of Orthodox Indology The Philology Project Indologists Know Better: Mill’s Liberal Imperialism 6. Interpreter’s Criticism You Are Mean and Uncharitable Explication Is Bias 7. Standard Objections to Indian Ethics: OI 8. Conclusion Notes Bibliography 3 The West, the Primacy of Linguistics, and Indology 1. Introduction 2. Two Models of Thought Thought as Explication Thought as Interpretation The Historical Roots of Logocentric Accounts of Thought How the Linguistic Account of Thought Hides Itself Linguistic Account of Thought Is Not Ubiquitous 3. Implications of the Linguistic Account of Thought Anthropocentric Communitarianism Uncritical Naturalism Anti-Philosophy 4. Objections Disciplinary Criticism of the West Is Essentializing Generalizations Admit of Exceptions The West Is Not the Only Intellectual Tradition with Commitments 5. Orthodox Indology as the Creature of Western Theory and Western Imperialism Notes Bibliography 4 Beyond Moral Twin Earth: Beyond Indology 1. Introduction 2. Beyond Moral Twin Earth: Will the Real Bhumi Step Forward? Moral Twin Earth A World of Diversity Outcomes 3. Failed Solutions Davidsonian “Solutions” Right-Wing Solutions 4. Objection 5. Conclusion Notes Bibliography 5 Interpretation, Explication, and Secondary Sources 1. Introduction 2. Quackery vs. Research 3. Contrasts 4. Summary of Contributions Moral Theory (Metaethics and Normative Ethics) Applied Ethics Ethics and Politics 5. Conclusion: Why More Indian Ethics Is a Good Thing Bibliography 6 The Scope for Wisdom: Early Buddhism on Reasons and Persons 1. Introduction 2. Ethical Reasoning in Early Buddhism 3. The Characteristic of Nonself 4. Mindfulness and Wisdom 5. Conclusion Notes Bibliography 7 Jaina Virtue Ethics: Action and Nonaction 1. Introduction 2. The Embodied Situation According to Jainism 3. Jaina Metaethics: Virtue as Intrinsic Personal Reality 4. Jaina Normative Ethics: Recovering Virtue from Action 5. The Relevance of Virtue 6. Conclusion Notes Bibliography 8 Patañjali’s Yoga: Universal Ethics as the Formal Cause of Autonomy 1. Introduction 2. Explication, and Interpreting the Yoga Sūtra 3. Yoga’s Place in Moral Theory 4. The Good as the Output of the Regulative Ideal The Three Parts of the Right Freedom vs. Determinism: The Metaphysics of Morals 5. The Public Practice of Personhood 6. Universal Ethics Response to Competing Theories 7. Fixing Kant 8. Working Out the Tension in Mill with a Bit of Yoga 9. Conclusion Note Bibliography 9 Nyāya Consequentialism 1. Introduction Nyaya Ethics: Consequentialism Liberation Without Consciousness 2. Motivation and Obligation 3. Response to Western Moral Theory 4. Conclusion Notes Bibliography 10 Mindfulness and Moral Transformation: Awakening to Others in Sāntideva’s Ethics 1. Introduction: A Flash of Lightning in the Dark of Night 2. Bodhicitta: A Good beyond Measure 3. Guarding Awareness: Moral Development and Mental Discipline 4. Moral Dimensions of Mindfulness and Concentration 5. The Perfection of Wisdom 6. Virtues and Consequences in Śāntideva’s Ethics 7. Conclusion: Moral Treatise as Meditation Manual Notes Bibliography 11 Three Vedāntas: Three Accounts of Character, Freedom, and Responsibility 1. Introduction 2. Moral Theory 3. The Vedas 4. MTA Part 1: Death and Deontology 5. MTA Part 2: The Bhakti Option and the Gītā 6. Three Orthodox Options Śaṅkara Rāmānuja Madhva 7. Do You Have Character? 8. Driving Past the Idea That Vedānta Is Theology Not Ethics 9. Conclusion: Responsibility? Bibliography 12 Medical Ethics in the Sanskrit Medical Tradition* 1. Introduction 2. Medical Ethics in Modern Ayurvedic Education 3. Medical Ethics in the Ayurvedic Treatises The Pillars of Medicine: Physicians, Attendants, and Patients The physician The attendant (and other carers) The patient Right Professional Conduct Veracity in The Doctor–Patient Relationship A physician’s honesty: Truth, but not the whole truth Ensuring patient compliance Deception as a therapeutic tool 4. Conclusion Notes Bibliography 13 Toward a Complete and Integral Mīmāṃsā Ethics: Learning with Mādhava’s Garland of Jaimini’s Reasons 1. On Hindu Ethics and Mīmāṃsā’s Uncertain Place 2. The Garland of Jaimini’s Reasons as a Best Entry Point into Mīmāṃsā Ethical Reasoning 3. In What Sense Then Is Mīmāṃsā Reasoning Ethical Reflection? Bibliography 14 A Study in the Narrative Ethics of the Mahābhārata 1. Introduction 2. Narrative and Philosophy 3. The Mahābhārata’s Merit as Narrative 4. Moral Theory 5. Arjuna and the Pāṅḍavas as the Personifications of Virtues (and Vices) 6. Breach of Virtue as the Restoration of Dharma 7. Justice 8. Friendship 9. Yudhiṣṭhira’s Test 10. Conclusion Notes Bibliography 15 Ethics of M. K. Gandhi: Nonviolence and Truth 1. Introduction 2. Some Previous Research 3. Criticism of Modernity 4. Nonviolence (Ahiṃsā) Nonviolence in the Bhagavad Gītā Niṣkāmakarma Sthitaprajña, Anasakti Jainism Independence 5. Truth (Satya) 6. Combining Truth and Nonviolence Ethics of Consumption (Aparigraha) 7. Conclusion Notes Bibliography 17 The Ethics of Radical Equality: Vivekananda and Radhakrishnan’s Neo-.Hinduism as a Form of Spiritual Liberalis 1. Introduction 2. The Ethics of Radical Equality 3. The Hell Dance of Demons: The Politics of Caste Oppression 4. Neo-Hinduism as Spiritual Liberalism 5. The Limits of Radical Equality: Neo-Hinduism as a Substantive Doctrine 6. Conclusion Note Bibliography Glossary Index