Book Title: World of Philosophy
Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan
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been interested to include the approach as seen in the Indian philosophy. The discussion will not be complete excluding the Indian philosophy that has much to contribute specially Jainism's theory of Anekant and Syadvas(a theory of many-sidedness of reality) and Gandhi's concept of Truth both quite relevant in today's world.
As mentioned above the essay deals with both the sides (positions) in both the philosophies (western and Indian). In part-1 I deal with the western philosophy .I deal the issue of Truth or Absolutism versus Relativism in its historical as well as philosophical perspective. The front line of this war: On one side are those 'who believe in Plain, Unvarnished facts, rock-solid Truths 'that can be found through reason and objectivity that science leads to Truth, for instance. The other side, their opponents who mock this idea. They see 'the dark faces of Language, Culture, Power, Gender, Class, Ideology and Desire'-all subverting our perceptions of the world, and clouding our judgement with false notion of Absolute Truth.
The two sides of Indian philosophy have been discussed in part-II of this essay. In Indian philosophy we find philosophy an integral part of relizion .We must not forget that 'the spirit of the western civilization (and so western philosophy) is the spirit of enquiry.Its dominant element is the Logos. Nothing is to remain undiscussed.Everybody is to speak his mind. The exchange of ideas is held to be the path to the Realisation of the potentialities of the race. "The spirit of Indian civilization and so Indian philosophy is the spirit of reverence and acceptance,spirit of devotion and self sacrifice. The firm faith in an eternal moral order dominates the entire history of Indian philosophy." Its dominant element is morality and faith. Nothing is to remain questioned before morality and faith. The total surrender to the divine with devotion is the path to the Realisation of the potentialities of the race. But then here also we have two sides .On one side we have Absolutionists strongly believing in Advait - Vedanta's theory of Truth (the One or the Brahman).On the other side, we have pluralistic or non Absolutists believing everybody's Truth, not one but many.
Both part-I and part-II, I have put critical comments at the end as its conclusion. My own comments are purely in the background of the underlying current of the spirit behind the issue. Specially I have tried to show, how the issue transcends in Indian philosophy. It is not Absolutism versus Relativism as it is in western philosophy, but it is Absolutism and Relativism in Indian philosophy.
Part-I Absolutism and Relativism in western Philosophy
Western philosophy, according to the historians of western philoso
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