Phenomenology: East and West: Essays in Honor of J.N. Mohanty (Contributions to Phenomenology, 13)

To know the work of Jitendra Nath Mohanty even slightly is to commence to appreciate it immensely. Lucidity and sagacity have been its armor; originality and ingenuity have been its strength. And wearing the former and wielding the latter have become so persistent a mark of his work as to suggest that their appeal for Mohanty lies altogether more in the refmed reaches of philosophical craftsmanship than on the coarse ground of intellectual partisanship. The multifaceted character of his work in phenomenology and Indian philosophy has never left us palled by its significance and, as a consequence, has always left us conceding its command on our philosophical discourse. It has fulfilled the most welcomed promise of striking the chords of both imagination and reason by exposing Husserlian phenomenology to the concerns of both the so-called "analytical" and "continental" traditions and by exposing the philosophical tradition of Indian thought to the intricacies of Husserl. Although charting and periodizing the body ofMohanty' s work in phenomeno­ logy may be the function of a memory inconspicuous for originality and liveli­ ness, they nonetheless offer a precis conspicuous for the variety of topics that Mohanty has both engaged and enriched. Mohanty's career in phenomenology can be characterized by three phases, each concentrating on different themes, but with the latter two also epitomizing a more incisive and deeper discussion of the issues raised in the first. Front Matter....Pages i-xix Mohanty on Transcendental Philosophy....Pages 1-11 On Transcendental Philosophy....Pages 13-23 On the Possibility of Transcendental Philosophy: Some Construction and Questions....Pages 25-48 The Premature Refutation of Relativism....Pages 49-63 Mohanty on the Possibility of Transcendental Philosophy....Pages 65-79 Transcendental “I”....Pages 81-91 The Concept of the Body....Pages 93-109 Husserl’s Theories of Indexicals....Pages 111-127 Possible “Worlds”: Remarks about a Controversy....Pages 129-143 Higher Positivism....Pages 145-156 Husserl vs. Derrida....Pages 157-176 Mind and Memory....Pages 177-194 Hermeneutics, “Great” Philosophy, and Jaspers’ Schelling....Pages 195-207 Representation and the Historical Sciences....Pages 209-217 Hegel’s Critique of Psychologism....Pages 219-244 The Influence of Phenomenology on J.N. Mohanty’s Understanding of ‘Consciousness’ in Indian Philosophy....Pages 245-253 Mohanty on Śabda Pramāna....Pages 255-268 Continuing the Conversation....Pages 269-288 Self Presentation....Pages 289-293 Back Matter....Pages 295-319 This volume contains a broad selection of essays primarily commenting on the significant intellectual contributions of J.N. Mohanty toward phenomenology and Indian philosophy. Mohanty's work over the past thirty years reveals a remarkable grasp of numerous philosophical traditions and a wealth of original ideas, both of which have served to relax the strictures among those traditions and to broaden intellectual horizons. In commemoration of Mohanty, these essays offer a critical yet constructive discussion of his ideas. All of the essays are published here for the first time, and their authors include well known philosophers from Europe, India, the United States and Canada. Mohanty replies to these and other criticisms, taking the opportunity to clarify and further develop his views. The volume thus amounts to a critical and constructive dialogue with Mohanty, a dialogue which will, it is hoped, facilitate a continuous, sympathetic appreciation of his thought