Western philosophy and Christian theology in twentieth-century Hindu thought

Abstract

A striking feature of Hindu academic writing in English in the twentieth century is engagement with Western philosophy and with Christian theology and spirituality. While much of this is straightforwardly comparative in nature, there is also a concern to demonstrate the wider value and importance of Hindu thought in the face of negative attitudes found in modern Western philosophical and Christian theological writing. This chapter starts with the very influential work of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and then considers how other Hindu scholars responded to and furthered what he did. It shows how this engagement also served as the context for a modern continuation of traditional polemics between rival Hindu schools, as Radhakrishnan sought to promote the value of a modern version of Advaita Vedānta, whereas Hindu scholars belonging to other Vedāntic schools countered this by promoting instead their own traditions. Moreover, this chapter offers a critical assessment of the success of such engagement, arguing in particular that attempts to establish positive parallels between modern Western philosophy and Hindu thought are less convincing than those between classical Western philosophy and traditions of Christian theology making use of it.