Western Philosophy and Indian Thought

Françoise Dastur

Until recently, the matter of the relation between Western philosophy and Eastern traditions of thought had been largely neglected by European philosophers, especially in France. It is the depth of the ignorance of Indian philosophy in Europe that was highlighted by the French philosopher and journalist, Roger Pol-Droit, in his 1989 book The Oblivion of India: A Philosophical Amnesia. India has been a place of prodigious development in mathematics, astronomy, philology and philosophy since ancient times. However, it was only at the end of the 18th century that Europe began to discover the importance of Indian literature and philosophy, beginning in Germany where writers and philosophers chose to look in the direction of the Orient. In this talk, Professor Dastur will explore the many points of convergence between Western philosophy and Indian thought, suggesting that these need much further analysis and development.

Professor Françoise Dastur taught philosophy in the University of Paris I from 1969-1995, in the University of Paris XII from 1995-1999, and in the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis from 1999-2003. She taught also as a visiting professor in the universities of Mannheim, Rio de Janeiro, Caracas, Warwick, Essex, De Paul (Chicago), Boston College, and North Western University (Evanston). Professor Dastur was, as honorary Professor of Philosophy, attached to the Husserl Archives of Paris (ENS Ulm), a research unit affiliated to the French National Center for Research (CNRS) until June 2017.  She was a founding member and the President of the École Française de Daseinsanalyse, of which she is now honorary President. She has published many articles in French, English and German, and is the author of several books in French, five of which have been translated into English.