In many intellectual circles, there is a widely held view that Iphilosophical theology-a once-revered discipline which has exercised such great minds as St. Anselm, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Gottfried Wilhelm Liebniz-is dead, slain by the likes of David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and a host of 'new' atheists. In this elegantly argued volume, Mrittunjoy Guha Majumdar shows us how philosophical theology can proceed in the twenty-first century. What is even more exciting is that he does this while also accomplishing (at least) two other tasks: namely, taking seriously the many criticisms to which the discipline of philosophical theology has been subject over the last few centuries, and drawing our attention to the fact that a conversation was already underway in ancient India that anticipates and is incredibly relevant to our contemporary era.
In regard to the latter accomplishment, by drawing on the arguments of the venerable Nyaya and Vedanta traditions of India, his work is an outstanding example of what Swami Medhananda calls "cross-cultural philosophy of religion." Importantly, genuine cross-cultural philosophy of religion is not simply a well-intentioned exercise in border crossing-a fundamentally Eurocentric exercise that seeks to come across as more cosmopolitan by pulling elements of non-Western philosophies into its reflections. Genuine cross-cultural philosophy of religion is, first and foremost, philosophy. It is driven not so much by a desire to be (or worse, appear) cross-cultural as by basic philosophical questions. The cross-cultural element enters not so much as an end in itself (salutary and desirable though this goal is) but in the service of the question at hand. In short, a wide variety philosophical traditions are drawn upon precisely because they are relevant to the argument, because they have light to shine upon it.
In this volume, Mrittunjoy deftly shows us that the work of ancient Indian logicians-in particular, Udayanacarya-is deeply relevant to a question that refuses to go away, despite the efforts of a wide range of skeptics to refute it: the question of theism. As Dr. Guha Majumdar rightly says, the Nyaya system of philosophy which Udayana represents is too often characterized as a dry set of syllogisms. But as presented here, we see Udayana as pushing the boundaries of what it is possible for reason to accomplish. The discussion of Udayana and his response to Indian anti-theists (mostly Buddhists and Jains) is deftly woven into a conversation about Western philosophy and the current state of the theistic conversation. Even quantum physics is shown to fit within this conversation.
In short, this book is an admirable demonstration of what cross-cultural philosophy of religion can be. It is to be hoped that it will serve as an example and open this conversation even further. For the question of theism, as Dr. Guha Majumdar ably argues, is not a simple question of fact, nor a matter for dry, abstract theorization. Rather, it touches upon humanity's deepest longings and helps to ground central moral intuitions which transcend cultural boundaries. This book is thus important on many levels. It should be widely read and disseminated.
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