________________
10
Jainism As Metaphilosophy
1
2
3
4 5 6
Notes and References See for instance, the definition of Brahmanism as "the most ancient and orthodox core of traditional Hinduism as expressed in the religious scriptures known as the Veda and related materials." - Article on “Brahmanism” in The Encyclopaedia Americana, Vol. IV See his introduction to the section on Hinduism in Wm Theodore de Bury, edt., Sources of Indian Tradition, New York: Columbia University Press, 1958, pp. 3-4 Sec for instance, the detailed discussion of the term 'Hindu' in Wilfred Cantwell Smith, The Meaning and End of Religion, New York: The New American Library of World Literature, 1964,61, 62 and 249. Ibid., pp. 250-251. See the Article on "Philosophy" Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, Vol. V The field of philosophy has not been an exception in the matter of redefining the scope and subject-matter of the discipline. The situation is neither uprising nor inexplicable. For one thing, piercing rational inquiry has been the hallmark of philosophy from its early beginnings, and for another, turning the searchlight of rational analysis on its own methods, was but a natural sequel of its reflective characteristic. The anti-metaphysical stance laken by some thinkers in the West, the great following this movement has had and the resulting definition of philosophy as analysis, it may be noted, has left its strong imprint on the concept of philosophy itself today. This is at least one of the basic concerns in philosophy and, epistemology as an important subdivision of philosophy even in the West, would vouchsafe for the philosophic significance of the process of knowing. It is interesting to note that the very division of philosophers into empiricists and rationalisis points 10 the foundational significance of epistemology. Man's attempting to understand the universe around him is thus considered to set the ball of philosophic inquiry rolling. The significance of darśana as connoting philosophy in the Indian tradition is thus obvious and hardly needs reiteration. S. Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., Vol. I, p. 43.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
