It seems like everyone, from companies to online influencers to fitness coaches have talk about having mantras. But what are mantras, anyway? In this episode, we'll talk about how they compare to birdsong, Tibetan singing bowls, and spells at Hogwarts, as well as some ancient debates about whether they mean anything, and why that matters.   Listen to more episodes of Sutras & Stuff at www.sutrasandstuff.com.   Sounds and Music All music excerpts and soundbites used with an understanding of fair use modification for educational purposes. Theme music by­ https://incompetech.filmmus ..read more

Just keep swimming! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/malcolm-keating/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/malcolm-keating/support ..read more

What do the Metaverse, blue aliens, and airbenders have in common? They’re all based on the idea of the avatar, which goes back thousands of years to the Sanskrit term avatāra. In this episode, we’ll explore what an avatar is and how thinking about these ideas in ancient Hindu and Buddhist contexts can help us think about reality, the divine, and even our survival after death. Sounds and Music All music excerpts and soundbites used with an understanding of fair use modification for educational purposes.  Theme music by Kevin MacLeod’s music https://incompetech.filmmusic.io  Bibliography a ..read more

Does what goes around always come around? And is instant karma gonna get you? In the first episode of a season devoted to Sanskrit-to-English loanwords, we’ll examine how three groups of Indian philosophers understand karma: Jains, Buddhists, and Naiyayikas (or Nyaya philosophers). Sounds and Music All music excerpts and soundbites used with an understanding of fair use modification for educational purposes. Drake featuring Bryson Tiller, “Bad Karma” Alicia Keys, “Karma” John Lennon and Yoko Ono with The Plastic Ono Band, “Instant Karma! (We all Shine On)” Taylor Swift, “Karma” Indigo Girls ..read more

In this episode, I talk with Tom Davies, Seymour Reader in Ancient History and Philosophy at the University of Melbourne, about how understanding Indian philosophy in relationship with the rest of the ancient world helps us reflect on what philosophy is, as a human activity, in different cultural contexts. Note: This is the final episode of the regular season, concluding the series of interviews with philosophers who taught Philosophy and Political Thought at Yale-NUS. Not every philosopher participated, but interviews with all those who did are now available as episodes one through ten. But a ..read more

In this episode, I talk with Robin Zheng, Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow, about connections between social practices and knowing in premodern Indian philosophy and contemporary feminist philosophy. Further Resources: Robin Zheng’s website: https://www.robin-zheng.me/ Helen Longino: https://philosophy.stanford.edu/people/helen-longino Miranda Fricker: https://www.mirandafricker.com/ Christy Dotson: https://lsa.umich.edu/philosophy/people/faculty/kldotson.html Debating: https://sutrasandstuff.wordpress.com/2020/11/23/debating/ Questions of King Milinda, Book II (Rhys Davids): https ..read more

In this episode, I talk with Cathay Liu, Senior Lecturer at the National University of Singapore, about philosophical systems and both Indian and European philosophy in the 17th century. Further Resources Rene Descartes https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes/ The Tarkasamgraha at https://archive.org/details/tarka-samgraha-ramkrishna-mission/mode/2up How to Think Like a Nyāya Philosopher, Annambhatta's Primer on Reasoning (Part 1 of 4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L14Q87r24Is The Craft of Research https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo23521678.html Music Credits: Brittl ..read more

In this episode, I talk with Neil Mehta, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS, about what exists and what we can say about it. Further Resources Neil Mehta’s website: http://www.profneilmehta.com/ Theory of Two Truths in India: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/twotruths-india/ Graham Priest’s website: https://grahampriest.net Metaphysics of grounding: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/grounding/ Nagarjuna: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nagarjuna/ Music Credits: Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille License: http://creativ ..read more

In this episode, I talk with Matthew Walker, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS, about ancient philosophy, therapeutic arguments, reading practices, and the Bhagavad Gita. Further Resources Matt Walker’s website: https://sites.google.com/site/mattwalker2000/home Aristotle on the Uses of Contemplation: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/aristotle-on-the-uses-of-contemplation/14962F5B7153012A256FB48B5A27CCE8 Aristotle https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle/ Zhu Xi https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/zhu-xi/ Emotions in Indian Philosophy https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concep ..read more

In this episode, I talk with Jay Garfield, Professor of Philosophy at Smith College, about the Buddhist philosopher Candrakirti and how teaching Indian philosophy at Yale-NUS impacted his understanding of Western philosophers like Hume. Further Resources Jay Garfield’s website: https://jaygarfield.org/  David Hume: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume/ The Concealed Influence of Custom (Jay Garfield): https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-concealed-influence-of-custom-9780190933401 Candrakirti and Hume on the Self and the Person (Jay Garfield): https://jaygarfield.files.wordpress ..read more