Philology and Confrontation: Paul Hacker on Traditional and Modern Vedanta

Covers the most interesting and important issues and topics of Vedānta from the point of view of one of the greatest experts of the twentieth century.Philology and Confrontation brings together the most influential and penetrating essays of Paul Hacker (1913–1979), one of the twentieth century's greatest scholars of Indian philosophy, offering English readers their first comprehensive access to his groundbreaking work on Vedānta, Advaita, and modern Hindu thought.Ranging from meticulous philological studies of Śaṅkara and early Advaita Vedānta to wide-ranging philosophical and cultural analyses, Hacker’s essays illuminate both the internal logic of nondualism and its broader religious, ethical, and historical implications. His work is distinguished by an unusual combination of textual precision, philosophical rigor, and sensitivity to the theological dimensions of Indian traditions. Particularly influential are his analyses of key Vedāntic concepts such as avidyā, māyā, nāmarūpa, Īśvara, degrees of reality, and the nature of personhood and spirit. Read more