Scriptural Authority, Reason and Action

The present volume is the outcome of the panel “Scriptural Authority and Apologetics in the Indian Religio-Philosophical Environment” held in the framework of the 14th World Sanskrit Conference (Kyoto, September 2, 2009). It contains eleven essays by specialists in the fields of Mahāyāna Buddhism (P. Skilling, R. Walser), Buddhist epistemology (V. Eltschinger, H. Krasser, S. Moriyama, S. McClintock), Jainism (P. Balcerowicz), Mīmāṃsā and early Vedānta (K. Kataoka, H. David), and Pratyabhijñā philosophy (I. Ratié, R. Torella). The topics dealt with range from different symbolic, esthetic and institutional means of scriptural authorization (the long tongue of the Buddha, the preaching dais) to theories of rational choice in ethical-soteriological matters, from “inclusivism” to the critique of competing claims to the perception of the supersensible. Besides presenting in-depth contributions on little studied areas of Indian philosophy, this volume sheds unprecedented light on the diversity, persistence and structural homogeneity of the philosophers’ enquiries into the legitimacy and the modalities of religious authority and scriptural testimony. It also bears witness to the strong impact of religious pluralism and competition on the nature and the agenda of Indian philosophy.