Skip to Main Content

Minds Without Fear: Philosophy in the Indian Renaissance

Online ISBN:
9780190457617
Print ISBN:
9780190457594
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

Minds Without Fear: Philosophy in the Indian Renaissance

Nalini Bhushan,
Nalini Bhushan

Professor of Philosophy

Professor of Philosophy, Smith College
Find on
Jay L. Garfield
Jay L. Garfield

Silbert Professor of Philosophy and the Humanities

Silbert Professor of Philosophy and the Humanities, Smith College
Find on
Published online:
22 June 2017
Published in print:
27 July 2017
Online ISBN:
9780190457617
Print ISBN:
9780190457594
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

This is an intellectual and cultural history of India during the period of British occupation. It demonstrates that this was a period of renaissance in India in which philosophy—both in the public sphere and in the Indian universities—played a central role in the emergence of a distinctively Indian modernity. This is also a history of Indian philosophy. It demonstrates how the development of a secular philosophical voice facilitated the construction of modern Indian society and the consolidation of the nationalist movement. We explore the complex role of the English language in philosophical and nationalist discourse, demonstrating both the anxieties that surrounded English, and the processes that normalized it as an Indian vernacular and academic language. We attend both to Hindu and Muslim philosophers, to public and academic intellectuals, to artists and art critics, and to national identity and nation-builidng. We also explore the complex interactions between Indian and European thought during this period, including the role of missionary teachers and study at foreign universities in the evolution of Indian philosophy. We show that this pattern of interaction, although often disparaged as “inauthentic” is continuous with the cosmopolitanism that has always characterized the intellectual life of India, and that the philosophy articulated during this period is a worthy continuation of the Indian philosophical tradition.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close