Krishnachandra Bhattacharyya (1875-1947) was one of the most prominent
philosophers in India in the first half of the 20th century. He was
King George Professor of Philosophy at Presidency College in Calcutta.
KC Bhattacharyya was a noted Kant scholar, as well as an expert on
classical Indian philosophy. His work is inflected by Advaita Vedanta,
Nyaya, Samkhya, and Yoga philosophy, as well as by the thought of Kant
and Husserl. But above all, it is highly original, responding to ideas
raised in these traditions through a profound reflection on the nature
of subjectivity. Subject as Freedom was published in 1930. It is
almost universally regarded by those who study modern Indian
philosophy as the most important philosophical treatise composed in
India during the period of British occupation. It is a meticulous
analysis of the structure of human subjectivity. KC Bhattacharyya
achieves a remarkable synthesis of neo-Vedantin, Kantian, and
Husserlian insights, exploring the role of embodiment, of language,
and of introspective consciousness in the achievement of
self-knowledge. KC Bhattacharyya argues that subjectivity itself
comprises a hierarchy of grades or levels of self-consciousness, and
that each of these constitutes a mode of freedom from objects of
knowledge. His analysis anticipates many important ideas that emerged
in Europe and the United States through the work of Merleau-Ponty,
Wittgenstein, Sellars, and Davidson, and provides insight into the
interconnection of these ideas and their role in our understanding of
human consciousness. Despite its importance and reputation, however,
this book has been little read and has been under-studied. This is
because of KC Bhattacharyya's unusual prose style and vocabulary. The
present edition includes both his original text and a translation of
that text into more familiar contemporary philosophical English with
some explanatory notes and a new introduction. This translation both
makes the contents of the text more accessible and provides a guide to
reading the original text.
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A Contemporary Translation
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780197809945
Publisert
2025
Utgiver
Oxford University Press Academic US
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok