Intimacy, Integrity and India: Rethinking Asian and Western Philosophy

Is there such a thing as “Asian philosophy”, including both South and East Asia? This talk by Amod Lele will explore that question by re-applying the categories of Thomas P. Kasulis in his book Intimacy or Integrity: Philosophy and Cultural Difference. Kasulis uses the categories of “intimacy” and “integrity” to mark a difference between Japanese and Buddhist traditions, on one hand, and the modern West on the other. The talk will argue that when one examines the traditions of South Asia using Kasulis’s categories, one discovers that those traditions — including South Asian Buddhism — are in an important respect more like those of the modern West than like those of East Asia. Please RSVP to ymgentry@bu.edu by November 12.