Discovering Indian Philosophy: An Intro to Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Thought | Jeffery Long, Ph.D.

The philosophical tradition of India is one of the oldest continuous streams of thought amongst the world’s cultures. It has given rise to and sustained multiple world religions, and has also inspired thinkers from across the globe, ranging from ancient Greek philosophers to contemporary thinkers in such diverse fields as psychology, political science, theology, and even business management. In this presentation, Dr. Jeffery Long explores the many perspectives which make up Indian philosophy.
Various Hindu systems of thought are examined, including the worldviews expressed in the Vedic and Upanishadic literature, as well as in the famous “six systems” of classical Indian philosophy. The distinctive and major contributions of the relatively little-known Jain tradition are also explored, as well as Buddhist modes of thought, which are widely associated in the Western world with East and Southeast Asia, but which originated in the context of the Indian philosophical conversation.
Other less known systems like those of the Lokayata materialists and the extinct Ajivika system are also covered. Questions examined include the nature of knowledge, the relationship of metaphysics and ethics, and the question of the nature, the existence, and even the necessity of God, as well as the importance of Indian philosophy for urgent contemporary global issues.
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Jeffery D. Long is Professor of Religion and Asian Studies at Elizabethtown College, in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. His graduate degrees are from the University of Chicago Divinity School and his undergraduate degree is from the University of Notre Dame. He also studied for two years at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India. Jeffery is the author of A Vision for Hinduism (2007), Jainism: An Introduction (2009), The Historical Dictionary of Hinduism (2011), and Hinduism in America: A Convergence of Worlds (2020), as well as a variety of articles and essays in edited volumes available on Amazon.
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The views expressed in this program are those of the presenter/s and do not necessarily represent the views of the Theosophical Society in America, its members, or its affiliates.