Rediscovering God with Transcendental Argument: A Contemporary Interpretation of Monistic Kashmiri Śaiva Philosophy

By David Peter Lawrence

Provides a comparative philosophical study of the thought of the two principle theorists of monistic Kashmiri Shaivism, Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta, and also formulates a conception of the nature of philosophy as a means of intercultural and interreligious dialogue.

Rediscovering God with Transcendental Argument provides a comparative philosophical study of the Pratyabhij a system of the medieval Kashmiri Śaiva thinkers Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta. Beginning with intensive descriptive and prescriptive reflections on the nature of philosophy itself, the book examines the special characteristics of the Pratyabhij a discourse as both philosophical apologetics and spiritual exercise. Lawrence situates the Pratyabhij a speculation within the larger context of Hindu and Buddhist deliberations about the role of interpretation in experience, and gives a groundbreaking exposition of the epistemology and ontology of Shiva's self-recognition. He observes the similarities and differences of the Pratyabhij a with Christian understandings of the divine logos, and argues that the Śaiva philosophy elucidates a cogent way of demonstrating the reality of God against contemporary relativism, deconstructionism and other forms of skepticism.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0791440583
• ISBN13: 9780791440582
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 8.9"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher