India and Europe in the quest for a Universal Philosophy
 
A talk by John Clarke at Colet House  on Monday 19 Nov at 7pm
 
There is a long tradition in modern European thought from the Renaissance onwards which has sought to find a way beyond theological factionalism and philosophical disputes to an underlying unity of truth, a universally compelling way of thinking about the world and its meaning. Europe’s encounter with the great philosophical and religious systems of the East, though often competitive and divisive, has given an important impetus to this ‘metaphysical thirst’ for unity, for a universal philosophy.

This talk will trace the story of Europe’s encounter with the religious-philosophical traditions of India, beginning with the European ‘discovery’ of Indian metaphysics in the Romantic period. It will go on to  show how a series of great Indian thinkers – from Rammohan Roy and Vivekananda to Aurobindo and Radhakrishnan – played a seminal role in the creation of  a universal world religion  as a result of their encounter with the West. The key to this was the role of Advaita Vedanta as a dominant force in modern Indian intellectual thought, and its relationship with European idealist philosophies. It is also, paradoxically, the story of the emergence of Indian nationalism and anti-colonialism which were linked to belief in the underlying spiritual identity of India and its basis in the monistic thinking of Advaita Vedanta.   

John Clarke is Professor Emeritus in the History of Ideas at Kingston University, and is the author of Oriental Enlightenment: the Encounter between Asian and Western Thought.