Problems and Perspectives in Religious Discourse: Advaita Vedānta Implications - Softcover

Grimes, John A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0791417921 ISBN 13: 9780791417928

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 1994

Synopsis

Religious discourse uses ordinary language in an extraordinary way. This book surveys Western and Indian discussions of the nature and aspects of religious discourse. It presents the first cross-cultural elucidation of Advaita Vedanta as religious discourse.

About this title

About the Author

John A. Grimes is Assistant Professor at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. His publications include A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy, published by SUNY Press, Sapta Vidha Anupapatti: The Seven Great Untenables; and Quest for Certainty: A Comparative Study of Heidegger and Sankara.

Review

"This is an important and original book. It is a fine exposition of the questions about religious language and the problem of talking about the transcendent. I know of no one better able to expound an Advaitin viewpoint than Dr. Grimes." -- Ninian Smart, University of California, Santa Barbara

"The author has illumined some very important problems in the philosophy of religion and the East-West Dialogue. Good examples are, what kind of meaning does religious discourse have? Is there a difference in the meaning of Advaita Vedanta statements from those in exoteric Judeo-Christian traditions and from those in esoteric traditions such as the mysticism of Meister Eckhart and Jacob Boehme? John Grimes does a masterful job of discussing such profound and difficult western scholars as Anthony Flew, John Hick, and A. J. Ayer as well as important Indian philosophers such as as Gaudand Sankara. Grimes's comments scintillate on every page.

"Even for a person totally skeptical of religious discourse, this book is significant comparative philosophy and religion. Grimes shows parallels between Wittgenstein and Sankara. His insights into Nagarjuna show fascinating parallels between Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta. This is one of the most important books that I have read dealing with the relationship of logical positivism and empiricism to Indian philosophy. Grimes's discussion of pragmatism in relation to Advaita Vedanta is very interesting indeed." -- Judy D. Saltzman, California Polytechnic State University

Edition details

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0791417921
• ISBN 13: 9780791417928
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 209