Course Catalogue

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In this course, we explore the diverse approaches to philosophy of language, epistemology, and metaphysics that developed in traditions of Classical Indian Philosophy. The course will investigate how different thinkers in these traditions answered questions such as: "how do words and sentences relate to the world?"; "how can speakers understand sentences of a language that they haven't been explicitly taught?"; "how can context affect meaning?"; "what are the sources of knowledge?"; "how can language transmit knowledge from a speaker to audience?"; and "what is the difference between literal meaning and other sorts of meaning such as metaphor?". No prior knowledge of Indian Philosophy will be presupposed.

161 hour lectures; 41 hour seminars over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus. This is one of the Honours options in Philosophy and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Successful completion of Junior Honours Philosophy, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours Programmes.

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The standard assessments for this course are: 

■ Long Essay 2000 words (55%)

■ Medium Essay 1500 words (45%)

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available: 

■ There are no alternatives to the assessments, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.  

This course aims to:

■ Introduce students to competing philosophies developed in various Classical Indian traditions through primary and secondary literature;

■ Encourage students to illustrate and apply these theories to examples that motivated the original work and to examples of relevance to the students' own lives; and

■ Encourage students to hone their analytical and critical skills by assessing and developing the arguments and positions from these traditions.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Describe and compare theories of language, knowledge, and reality developed in various traditions in Classical India, including traditions that treat certain religious texts, the Vedas, as authoritative, such as Nyāya and Mīmāṃsa and other traditions such as Buddhism.

■ Assess elements of the context in which these theories arose.

■ Apply these theories to examples of concern in the classical context and also in contemporary contexts.

■ Critically evaluate the arguments offered for and against these theories.