Indian Thought and Its Development - Albert Schweitzer

1957 paperback with 272 pages in splendid condition. R65 paxi or R100 courier / postnet in SA.

India has been a cradle of deep religious thinking for millennia. In this volume, Albert Schweitzer describes the history and development of Indian thought about the world and ethics. He presents a story of an uneasy co-existence in Indian thought of world and life affirmation alongside of world and life negation. While both have been present from the beginning of Indian religious thinking, world affirmation has in recent centuries been fueled by a natural desire for ethical action in the world, and has eclipsed the previously dominant and more intellectually convincing world negation. Schweitzer shows great respect for Indian beliefs, particularly their willingness to extend ethical concerns beyond humans to all of life. However, he is not convinced that their ethical concerns are based on a firm foundation that will withstand critical appraisal. His concern with a firm foundation in Eastern thought is a consequence of his assessment that Western world affirmation and ethics had floundered since at least the eighteenth century. Without a rational, consistent foundation, ethical thinking and action cannot endure. Indian Thought is a brilliant, consistent assessment of a huge body of religious thought. Those interested in Indian religious thinking through the early years of the twentieth century, or the interaction of Western and Eastern thought, will find it very rewarding. However, people interested in a discussion of Schweitzer's ethical philosophy--Reverence for Life--should turn elsewhere, such as his autobiography Out of My Life and Thought or the last chapters of The Philosophy of Civilization.