Realisms Interlinked: Objects, Subjects, and Other Subjects

This book brings together over 25 years of Arindam Chakrabarti's original research in philosophy on issues of epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind. Organized under the three basic concepts of a thing out there in the world, the self who perceives it, and other subjects or selves, his work revolves around a set of realism links. Examining connections between metaphysical stances toward the world, selves, and universals, Chakrabarti engages with classical Indian and modern Western philosophical approaches to a number of live topics including the refutation of idealism; the question of the definability of truth, and the possibility of truths existing unknown to anyone; the existence of non-conceptual perception; and our knowledge of other minds. He additionally makes forays into fundamental questions regarding death, darkness, absence, and nothingness. Along with conceptual clarification and progress towards alternative solutions to these substantial philosophical problems, Chakrabarti demonstrates the advantage of doing philosophy in a cosmopolitan fashion. Beginning with an analysis of the concept of a thing, and ending with an analysis of the concept of nothing, Realisms Interlinked offers a preview of a future metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind without borders.

Table of Contents:
PART I: OBJECTS Introduction 1: I Touch What I Saw 2: Non-particular Individuals 3: On Perceiving Properties 4: Seeing Daffodils, Seeing as Daffodils, and Seeing Things Called 'Daffodils' 5: Truth, Recognition of Truth, and Thoughtless Realism 6: Idealist Refutations of Idealism 7: Externality, Difference and Inherence 8: Is This a Dream? 9: The Object to the Verb: The Case of the Accusative PART II: SUBJECTS 10: On Referring to the First Person 11: The Self at Other Times and In Other Bodies 12: Does Self Awareness Turn the Self Into an Object? 13: In Defense of an Inner Sense 14: Our Knowledge and Error About Our Own Cognitions 15: Fictionalism About the Mental 16: Nyaya Proofs for the Existence of the Self PART III: OTHER SUBJECTS 17: Knowing You From the Bridge 18: The Grammar of Calling the Other 19: Knowing From the Words of Others 20: Can Another Person Teach Me What It Means? 21: Shadows of Ignorance 22: Concept Possession, Sense Experience and Knowledge of a Language 23: On What There Will Be 24: Is There a World Out There? God Knows! 25: Absence, Non-Existence and Other Negative Things Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Arindam Chakrabarti is Professor of Philosophy and Director of Center for South Asian Studies at University of Hawai'i, USA.

Review :
[A] welcome presentation of a lot of Chakrabarti's often uniquely original work. This book is best treated as an organic whole, much better absorbed as an intellectual construction out of decades of sharp-eyed exploration of the wonders of two different traditions of philosophical thought. This is a book of staggering erudition; it is broad in vision, metaphysically ambitious, and beautifully written … There is such a wealth of insight here, and such a wide-ranging discussion of the many issues involved in these debates and of the many contributions to these debates over centuries in India and the West, addressed with such intellectual acuity and panache that no other book on the topic is in the same league. In lively and accessible prose, Arindam Chakrabarti tackles some fundamental questions about the interrelations between the self and the world, drawing on both Western and Eastern traditions of thought. There is much to learn from this book, and much to enjoy in it. The reader cannot fail to be stimulated. Chakrabarti is almost unique in his capacity to understand in depth such a range of philosophical interlocutors, while uncovering systemic ties between apparently disparate metaphysical holdings. Realisms Interlinked is a fitting testament to his lifelong thought and stands as an exemplary work of cosmopolitan philosophy: transcending historical, geographical, and disciplinary divisions, it provides significant insight into every topic it considers. This is an exciting, open-minded and readable contribution to the rapidly developing interaction between Indian and Western traditions in metaphysics and epistemology. Arindam Chakrabarti draws extensively on the rich resources of both to show how much they have to offer each other in the form of startling hypotheses, ingenious reasoning, and new questions.