Indian Philosophy

India has a long, rich, and diverse tradition of philosophical thought, spanning some two and a half millennia and encompassing several major religious traditions. Until recently it was widely believed that India is 'mystical' and the West is 'rational', and many still hold this view. But in fact Indian thought has a strong tradition of rationality, as this Very Short Introduction explains. Starting with the very beginnings of philosophizing in India, Sue Hamilton shows how and why philosophical debate developed, flourished, and proliferated into a variety of schools of thought. In highlighting its key features, she draws the reader into the world of 'classical' Indian philosophy, illustrating the different ways in which the great Indian thinkers interpreted and sought to understand the nature of reality.