Traditional Indian Virtue Ethics for Today: An East-West Dialogue (Palgrave Studies in Comparative East-West Philosophy)

Working in the tradition of world philosophy, this book puts Western virtue ethics in conversation with traditional Indian philosophies. The book begins with a contribution from Michael Slote on ‘World Philosophy: The Importance of India,’ which is followed by contributions covering metaethical topics such as the relationship between Western virtue ethics and various Indian philosophical traditions, and applied topics such as environmental ethics, business ethics, ethics and science, and moral psychology. Contributors include scholars working in both North America and India. Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Book Description Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables Chapter 1: Introduction Part I: World Philosophy Part II: Traditional Views Reformulated Part III: Virtue Ethics For Current Application Part IV: Indian Virtue Ethics For Theory Building Today Epilogue Incorporating Ideas From the Mahabharata References Part I: World Philosophy Chapter 2: World Philosophy: The Importance of India 1 2 3 4 Chapter 3: Questioning Buddhism on the Way to “World Philosophy” 1 2 3 4 5 Part II: Traditional Views Reformulated Chapter 4: Tagore’s Philosophy of Man: Reconciling Opposing Forces Preamble Stages of the Onward Journey Negative Freedom Followed by Positive Freedom The Finite and the Infinite Leisure, Relationality and the Infinite Moving Beyond the Norm of Utility Chapter 5: Virtue Ethics in Swami Vivekananda: A Novel Perspective on Vedanta Presentations at the Parliament of World Religions The Unique Perspective of Swami Vivekananda’s Non-Dualism Non-Dual Is the Mooring of Morality An Exalted Non-dualistic Vedanta Emerges References Chapter 6: Sri Aurobindo’s Metaphysics of Morals vis-à-vis Western Models of Virtue Ethics Introduction Sources of Morality Sri Aurobindo’s Metaphysics of Morals: Some Central Issues Are Moral Values Subjective? Morality and the Ongoing Evolutionary Process The Evolutionary Process Conclusion: The Virtue Ethics Connection References Part III: Virtue Ethics for Current Application Chapter 7: Ethical Message of the Mahabharata in the Wake of the Global Financial Crisis The Epic and Today’s Ethical Theories The Act and the Attitude Ethics and Spirituality: Tagore-Gandhi How To Go About It References Chapter 8: Virtue Ethics and Leadership in the 21st Century: Barton through the Lens of Tagore Background Dominic Barton: Who You Are Versus What You Do Barton’s Novel Contributions: Philosophy and Business; East and West The Importance of Philosophy in Business Virtue Ethics as the Philosophical Framework for Barton’s Proposition Virtue Ethics, Deontology, Consequentialism and the Long View in Business Eudaimonia—Connecting the Purpose of Business to the Purpose of Life Consequentialism and Short-termism Virtue Ethics for Business: Looking Eastward Broadening the Eastern Gaze to Include Indian Philosophy Philosophy, Spirituality and Long-termism in Tagore Reframing the Stakeholder through Tagore’s Lens Anchoring Virtue in an Eastern Conception of Eudaimonia? The Way Forward: ESG and World Philosophy “E” for (Environmental) Ethics? Philosophers: A Call to Action Conclusion References Chapter 9: Reflections on Teaching Virtue Ethics in a Business Curriculum The Nature and Purpose of Business The Good Life (Happiness, Reason, and Virtue) Virtue Ethics The Virtues of Good (and Ethical) Business Leaders Practical Wisdom Concluding Thoughts References Chapter 10: Kautilya’s Ethics-based Economics vs Modern Economics Introduction I. Kautilya’s Predecessors on Building an Ethical Infrastructure II. Kautilya’s Conceptual Framework on Provision of Yogakshema (peaceful enjoyment of prosperity) III. Kautilya on Acquisition of Wisdom and Ethical Anchoring IV. Concluding Observations References Part IV: Indian Virtue Ethics for Theory Building Today Chapter 11: Why Virtue Ethics Comes Closest to Indian Moral Praxis References Chapter 12: Environmental Virtue Ethics: A Traditional Indian Perspective on Hursthouse’s Quest Introduction A Virtue from the Indic Tradition Harmony and Ethics More on Harmony Within: A Philosophical Look Into the Gita East-West Confluence: Naturalism and Harmony Within Conclusion References Chapter 13: Emotion Concepts for Virtue Theory: From Aesthetic to Epistemic and Moral Introduction Aestheticized Emotion Emotion and Judgment Imagination Aesthetic Character References Chapter 14: Science, Spirituality and Virtue Ethics Introduction What Is Science? The Practice of Science The Expression of Science What Can Science Teach Us About Ethics and Human Values? Unity as a Foundation for Ethics References Chapter 15: The Challenge to being Virtuous: A Lesson from the Mahābhārata Introduction The Moral Maze of Deception: Differing Perspectives of Agents Two Aspects of Dharma Moral Particularism in the Mahābhārata Morality as Rule-Following: Wittgenstein via Kripke’s Prism Chapter 16: Epilogue: Incorporating Ideas from the Mahabharata Index