Study of Vivekacūḍāmaṇi of Śaṅkarācārya, work on Vedanta philosophy.

Prose rendering, with commentary, of a medieval verse work on the Advaita school in the Hindu philosophy.

Contributed articles presented at the First International Conference on "Buddhism and National Cultures", held at Delhi in 1984.

Festschrift in honor of S.P. Dubey, Indian philosopher; contributed articles.

Indian philosophy has ancient origin, but contemporary in significance. It is wide and varied, but holistic and integral in its approach. In terms of contemporary needs and aspirations, it has to be revisited and reinterpreted. It is imperative on the part of contemporary thinkers and scholars to properly understand from the original sources and put forth its true spirit without any bias and prejudices. Then only its real message can be disseminated to the world, and an attempt is made here (...) to provide a blueprint to undertake this exercise. (shrink)

Mahatma Gandhi is regarded as an apostle of nonviolence. But his own thought prioritized truth as the final goal and nonviolence only as the preferred means to achieve the goal. Hence, it is of utmost importance to understand clearly what Gandhi meant by “truth.” Gandhi himself did not offer great help in communicating his concept of truth. He claimed, though, that it was easier for him to grasp truth as he conceived it and that he struggled to grasp nonviolence. Kishorlal (...) Mashruwala, an intellectually inclined close associate and follower of Gandhi wrote a book called Gandhi Vichar Dohan or Quintessence of Gandhi’s Thought in Gujarati. Mashruwala was a clear and systematic thinker and Gandhi approved of the book as accurate depiction of his own, Gandhi’s, thinking. The book has never been translated in English. The present work, Mahatma Gandhi’s Thought: Philosophy of Truth and Nonviolence, by Professor Ramesh N. Patel, is first in publishing relevant parts of that book. It clarifies the dual concept of truth that Gandhi developed and worked with. The concept sports highly original and innovative thinking that, at the same time, reflects an ethic that would challenge anyone to the extreme. Greatness of Gandhi is made obvious when it is realized that he lived this original concept of extremely challenging truth ethic fully through his life. The present work goes ahead to show how Gandhi’s concept of truth logically works as the prime source from which nonviolence and other Gandhian concepts are derived. It also presents Gandhi’s overall thought in a philosophically systematized manner. This is its unique feature compared to the enormous literature available on Gandhi which keeps painting him just as an apostle of nonviolence, focusing on his politically dramatic years. (shrink)

This volume provides a clear and exhaustive exposition of Buddhist epistemology and logic, based on the works of classical thinkers such as Vasubandhu, Dinnaga,..

Quest after values and their realization constitute innate necessity for human being. This presupposes knowledge of Reality and knowledge of the value-schema. In this context, a distinction can be drawn between descriptive awareness of Reality and prescriptive awareness of Values. For the latter, the pῡrva mimāmsā system postulates ‘codanā’ as a means of knowledge. In Indian Culture, two types of values are enunciated, viz. preyas and śreyas. The Taittirῑya upaniṣad puts forth a five-dimensional theory of human constitution and accordingly advocates (...) a fivefold value-schema. In general, theory of puruṣartha has been accepted by all the cultural traditions of India with variant details. It would be interesting and enlightening to discuss different aspects and issues concerning this theory. Knowledgeable scholars may delineate on related issues as well. (shrink)

Study of classical commentary on Sāṅkhyakārikā of Īśvarakr̥ṣṇa, work on the fundamentals of Sankhya philosophy.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Feminist Studies 44, no. 2. © 2018 by Feminist Studies, Inc. 379 Amy Bhatt The Butterfly Effect of Women’s Studies My entry into women’s studies began over two decades ago when I was an undergraduate at Emory University. I took Introduction to Women’s Studies in 1998, the same year that Feminist Studies published a formative issue on the evolution of women’s studies in the academy. I turned to (...) doctoral programs in women’s studies after graduation, all the while growing aware of the heated debates over the future (and the past) of the field, the challenges of crafting interdisciplinary graduate programs, the relationship between academic and activist feminisms, and the ramifications of institutionalization. By the time I entered the University of Washington’s PhD program in 2004, these conversations were further enlivened by the expansion of graduate degrees and certificates across the country and internationally. In 2017, I was promoted to associate professor after being hired as the first women’s studies tenure-track faculty member at my current institution, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Having been a part of three differently situated women’s studies programs/departments, I have experienced both the advantages that the field offers for engaged scholarship and teaching, but also the conceptual, resourcing, and workload problems that arise from doing interdisciplinary work. While not engaging the longer history of the scholarly and institutional evolution of women’s studies, my perspective as a relatively recently minted PhD student considers two areas: the promises and pitfalls of 380 Amy Bhatt graduate training (particularly in light of a constricted academic job market) and the impact of integrating women’s studies into the academy. Impossibilities and Promises In her introduction to a special forum on the paradoxes and challenges of women’s studies in graduate education in a 2003 issue of Feminist Studies (which took up the themes raised in the 1998 issue), Pamela Caughie points out that tension is at the core of women’s studies: “Interdisciplinary work depends on disciplinary knowledges; professional training may thwart social activism; theory cannot always be applied.”1 While women ’s studies programs have proliferated across higher education, even ardent feminist academics have levied forceful arguments against institutionalizing women’s studies as stand-alone units. In the same Feminist Studies article, Caughie argues that women’s studies should avoid “disciplining interdisciplinarity,” in part, because such attempts presume a (false) coherence in traditional disciplines that is oppositional to the interstitial nature of interdisciplinarity. While she advocates for graduate training in the field, she expresses concern that by hiring faculty in women’s studies and advocating for a shared research agenda, “we risk reproducing rather than critiquing disciplinary structures.”2 Likewise, in her introduction to Women’s Studies on the Edge, Joan Wallach Scott argues that, because of its formalization within the academy, women’s studies has lost its connection to activism and institutional critique.3 And perhaps most famously, Wendy Brown argues that the work of feminist, queer, critical race, and postcolonial theory ought to be returned to the disciplines, rather than remain within the separate, 1. Pamela L. Caughie, “Graduate Education in Women’s Studies: Paradoxes and Challenges (Introduction to Forum),” Feminist Studies 29, no. 2 (Summer 2003): 406. 2. Pamela L. Caughie, “Professional Identity Politics,” Feminist Studies 29, no. 2 (2003): 430. See also Robyn R. Warhol, “Nice Work, If You Can Get It— And If You Can’t? Building Women’s Studies Without Tenure Lines,” in Women’s Studies on Its Own, ed. Robyn Wiegman (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2002), 224–32. 3. Joan Wallach Scott, “Introduction: Feminism’s Critical Edge,” in Women’s Studies on the Edge, ed. Joan Wallach Scott (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2008), 1–16. Amy Bhatt 381 often marginalized, domain of women’s studies.4 Such critics caution against the formalization of and, in some cases, expansion of women’s studies across academe. On the other hand, advocates of women’s studies point out that the disciplines themselves are a taxonomy that reflects particular power/content /methodologicalinterventionsandthattheyarenotself-evidentspaces of knowledge production. They argue that formalization ought to be celebrated and that the debate over interdisciplinarity versus traditional disciplines has... (shrink)

This book seeks to critically expound and appraise the thoughts of the foremost British philosopher, J.M.E. McTaggart, with respect to three principal themes of his philosophy: substance, self, and immortality. Sharma draws on all of McTaggart’s major writings to provide a comprehensive exposition of his overall theory of reality.

Speech perception has been a very productive and important area in psycholinguistics. In this review easy, I discuss Cutler's new book on native language listening. Cutler argues for a theory of speech perception, where all speech perception is accomplished by competence in native speech. I review this book and attempt to situate its main contributions in the broader context of cognitive science.

We share Nair-Collins and Joffe's (2023) concern with the accuracy of the “whole brain-death” diagnosis, which fails to take into account current understandings of residual brain function (neurohor...

This baseline study was conducted to find out the knowledge, attitudes and practices of medical ethics among the undergraduate medical interns who did not have structured ethics curriculum in their course. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out using a self-administered structured questionnaire among the medical undergraduate interns of Maharajgunj Medical Campus, the pioneer medical college of Nepal which enrols 60 students in a year. A total of 46 interns participated in the study. The most common source of knowledge on (...) ethics was lectures/seminars (35.7%) followed by experience at work (24.5%), training (21.4%) and own reading (17.3%). The main contents of Hippocratic Oath were known to 98.8% while 60.9% knew the main contents of Nepal Medical Council (NMC) code of ethics. Great majority (91.3%) regard ethics as very important in medical profession. “Doctors know the best irrespective of patients’ opinion” was disagreed by only 39.1% indicating the paternalistic attitude. However, 78.3% were in favour of adhering to the patient’s wish. None of the participant agreed to abandon confidentiality. Only about one-fourth (26.1%) claim to encounter ethical dilemma every day while the highest number (43.5%) had once in a month. To deal with the situation of ethical dilemma, majority approached to immediate supervisor followed by head of the department and colleagues. Eighty-seven percent of participating interns were involved in research activities involving human subjects. Only one of the participants had encountered the ethical issue on end-of-life and it was do-not-resuscitate consent in a terminally ill patient. On implementation of the curriculum on medical ethics focus should be - principles of biomedical ethics, sensitive ethical dilemmas like end-of-life care and practical experiences with participation in deliberations of the ethics committee. (shrink)

It is proposed here that Webb's ideas about robots as possible models of animals need some rethinking. In our view, even though widely used biorobotics strategies are fairly successful at reproducing the macroscopic behavior of biological systems, there are still several problems unresolved on the side of robotics as well as biology. Both mathematical and hardware-like robotics models should be feasible physiologically. Control principles elaborated in robotics are not necessarily applied to biological control systems. Although observations of flying birds inspired (...) aerodynamics and thus modern airplanes, little knowledge has been added to the neurophysiological principles underlying flight in birds. Chess playing computers might outperform most chess players, but they cannot be considered as physiologically feasible models of human thinking. (shrink)

This substantive and important book, Seeing One in Many, by Professor Ramesh N. Patel, serves many needs and purposes. It also stands out in several ways. -/- First, seeing one spiritual being in our manifold universe is a hallmark of all spirituality. Highlighting this spirituality as a main feature of the world’s oldest living religion has obvious healing potential for the world’s polarizing conflicts of sundry nature that we have been witnessing with concern for a while. -/- This religion (...) happens to be one of the largest in the world. As such, it carries relevance for a significant section of humanity. Hinduism, called Sanatana Dharma, or eternal religion by many of its practitioners, has a lot to offer to the world community of spiritual seekers. However, this positive and constructive aspect of Hinduism has been overshadowed by negative image created by unsympathetic forces over the last couple of centuries. This work makes this manifest in an accessible dialog style. -/- The author puts his expertise in Sanskrit to skillful use in bringing out major features of spirituality embedded in the original Sanskrit literature which is the home of Hindu scriptures. As a trained Sanskritist he guides the reader beyond the daunting complexity and diversity of Hindu beliefs and practices toward a gentle but deep understanding of the defining themes of the Hindu spirituality. -/- Further, Ramesh utilizes his five decades of teaching experience in world religions for an effective and fruitful comparison of Hinduism with both other Eastern as well as Western religions of the world. The book is filled with thoughtful insights that bring the rich diversity of spiritual outlooks in world history to show how Hindu spirituality stands in relation to them. -/- Then, Ramesh exploits his training and specialization in Western philosophy to draw contrasts and comparisons of Western ethical theories with the Hindu value philosophy. He clearly shows how the Hindu philosophy comes out as a remarkably coherent integration of many theories of Western ethics. Ramesh also uses the Western logical notions of stipulative and descriptive definition to blend them with the classical indigenous ideas of external or tatastha and internal or svarupa lakshana or definition. The result is a salient four-point definition of Hinduism. -/- Like all mature traditions, Hinduism has its spectrum of outlooks ranging from radical left to radical right. Ramesh presents three major points of the spectrum of conservative, reform and moderate Hinduism. A productive dialog is depicted where a balanced moderate Hinduism emerges. -/- Toward the end of the book’s dialog, Ramesh applies his teaching experience in philosophy of science, history and social sciences to build further on the unique definition of Hinduism thus achieved. In all, this book is a solid comprehensive enunciation of Hindu thought and spirituality which should reward anyone with more than casual interest in the subject plentifully. -/- Ramesh N. Patel was Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Antioch College. He retired in 2002 after teaching for twenty-five years. He continues to teach voluntary courses in Bhagavad-gita, Upanishads, Hinduism and Spirituality Studies. (shrink)

Day-to-day lives are affected globally by the epidemic coronavirus 2019. With an increasing number of positive cases, India has now become a highly affected country. Chronic diseases affect individuals with no time identification and impose a huge disease burden on society. In this article, an Efficient Recurrent Neural Network with Ensemble Classifier is built using VGG-16 and Alexnet with weighted model to predict disease and its level. The dataset is partitioned randomly into small subsets by utilizing mean-based splitting method. Various (...) models of classifier create a homogeneous ensemble by utilizing an accuracy-based weighted aging classifier ensemble, which is a weighted model’s modification. Two state of art methods such as Graph Sequence Recurrent Neural Network and Hybrid Rough-Block-Based Neural Network are used for comparison with respect to some parameters such as accuracy, precision, recall, f1-score, and relative absolute error. As a result, it is found that the proposed ERNN-EC method accomplishes accuracy of 95.2%, precision of 91%, recall of 85%, F1-score of 83.4%, and RAE of 41.6%. (shrink)

As part of the special issue on “The United Nations at Seventy-Five: Looking Back to Look Forward,” this essay connects the past of the United Nations to its future from the perspective of the Global South. When the UN was created, most developing countries were colonies that played no role in writing the rules and designing the architecture of the post-1945 UN-centric global multilateral order. Today, countries in the Global South command a majority of the UN membership, but still mostly (...) function as norm takers and are severely underrepresented in the UN Security Council—which functions as the geopolitical cockpit—and also in the senior ranks of the UN system, in the key posts in the Secretariat, and in the UN's funds and agencies. Gradually, however, these countries are using their numerical strength to give voice to their distinctive preferences, priorities, and values. This essay provides a broad-brush sketch of the changing nature of the North-South partnership on the UN's four overarching normative mandates of security, development, environment, and human rights. It includes a brief comment on the coronavirus pandemic within the framework of its main narrative of the continuing need for a UN-centric North-South partnership. (shrink)

In this paper, I attempt a further elucidation and defense of some of the things I said in my article “Critical Reflections on Nāgārjuna’s Vigrahavyāvartanī” and a response to Professor Claus Oetke’s criticisms :371–394, 2012) of “a number of views which have been propagated” by me in my article. Although some additional issues have been raised, broadly, the themes addressed here are the same three as were the object of my investigation in that paper: namely, Nāgārjuna’s emptiness doctrine; his denial (...) that he has any thesis to advance or buttress; and his onslaught on the pramāṇa theory. Toward the end I argue that if I understand Nāgārjuna correctly, then what that thinker ends up providing is a criterion, not of reality, but of unreality, and that this stance, speaking philosophically, is tantamount to nihilism. (shrink)

We agree with Nielsen Busch and Mjaaland’s (2023) assessment that the Dead Donor Rule (DDR) should be viewed as an essential requirement of the organ donation process, and that the essence of the r...