This paper is a study of debate practices as seen in the Nyāyasūtra and a number of commentaries. It concentrates on the ‘Points of Defeat ’, i.e., those occasions that if met in debate would entail defeat. The conditions under which a debater would meet with defeat were discussed widely in India and have also attracted considerable attention from modern scholars. In order to better understand this subject, use is made of some of the intuitions about language and conversation that (...) we owe to the philosopher H. P. Grice as well as of some recent theoretical advances in argumentation theory and informal logic, particularly of those most influenced by Grice’s thought. The Points of Defeat are studied both individually and as a group and it is shown that they point towards the practice of debating as being a rational, cooperative and goal-directed activity. (shrink)

In this paper, I build on recent scholarship concerning the early semantic history of the word “smṛti,” which has been shown to denote “tradition” in the early dharmasūtra material. I seek to add nuance to this work by examining the meaning of smṛti in the early Sāmavedic technical literature. This corpus helps elucidate one of the processes whereby smṛti came to refer to something textual. This paper argues that smṛti’s earliest textualized referent may have been fixed or semi-fixed individual statements (...) rather than definite texts. (shrink)

This paper is devoted to theoretical and methodical considerations on our study and understanding of macroscopic transitions in the world of Sanskrit intellectuals from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century (cf. Pollock, Indian Economic and Social History Review 38(1):3–31, 2001). It is argued that compared to his immediate predecessors Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita’s contribution to Prakriyā grammars was modest. It was to a large extent on account of changed circumstances—over the centuries mainly a slow but steady decline—in the position of Sanskrit and (...) the general public’s need for a simple definition of authoritatively correct Sanskrit that Bhaṭṭoji’s grammar met with success so quickly, so widely, and so solidly. I once knew a little boy in England who asked his father, “Do fathers always know more than sons?” and the father said “Yes.” The next question was, “Daddy, who invented the steam engine?” and the father said “James Watt.” And then the son came back with “But why didn’t James Watt’s father invent it?” Gregory Bateson (1972, p. 21). (shrink)

International policy frameworks can influence values and ideals by promoting a common conception of societal good, a domain overlapping with the traditional concerns of religion. Animal welfare has begun to receive attention in the UN environmental and sustainable development policy. This article explores the potential for Hindu religious communities and organizations to contribute to the creation and implementation of policy on animal welfare and the environment. The article centers on a discussion of the UN Environment Assembly's March 2022 resolution on (...) the Animal Welfare—Environment—Sustainable Development Nexus and the traditional Hindu concepts of līlā (divine play), ahiṃsā (harmlessness), and sevā (service). (shrink)