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This book explores the dynamics of interaction between pragmatism and spirituality in the constitution and working of consciousness, freedom and solidarity. This book is cross-cultural and transdisciplinary in nature and brings critical and transformative perspectives from different philosophical and spiritual traditions of the world. It discusses the works of seminal thinkers such as William James, Rudolf Steiner, John Dewey, Swami Vivekananda, Martin Heidegger, Claude Levi-Strauss, Jordan Peterson, Slavos Zizek, Paul Valeri and O.V. Vijayan. It also explores dialogues between pragmatism and other philosophical and intellectual traditions such as Semiotics, Saiva Siddhanta, Vedanta, Trika Shaivism and Tantra. It explores themes such as pragmatism and belief, evolution of consciousness and happiness, spiritual pragmatism and economics of solidarity, value levels democracy, the perforamtive as an aspect of spirituality and transformation of political theology from Kingdom of Godto Gardens of God.
List of contents
Part One: Pragmatism, Spirituality and Society: Consciousness, Freedom and Solidarity.- Pragmatism and Belief.- Pragmatism, Consciousness and Spirituality: William James and Rudolf Steiner.- Pragmatic Non-Duality in William James, Swami Vivekananda and Trika Shaivism.- Peterson vs. Zizek on the Evolution of Consciousness and Happiness: from Pragmatism to Sarkar's Tantra.- Spirituality, Pragmatism, Vedanta and Universal Consciousness: A Study of the Philosophy of R. Balasubramanian.- A Quantum Bridge Between Science and Spirituality: Towards A New Geometry of Consciousness.- Freedom, Spiritual Praxis and Categorical Imperative.- Spiritual Pragmatism and an Economics of Solidarity.- Pragmatism and Socio-Political Movement Toward Solidarity.- Part Two: Pragmatism and Spirituality: Reconstructing Language, Self and the World.- "Pragmatic Metaphysics: Language as a Battlefield Between Truth and Darkness"An interpretive approach to the view on language, truth and world in the philosophy of Saiva Siddhanta - in the light of Heidegger's "Being and Time".- Monistic Elements in Lévi-Strauss's Structuralism: New Pathways of Consciousness, Pragmatism and Spirituality.- Language, Art and Mysticism As Reflection-Levels of an Alternative Semiotics and the Spiritual Perspective of a Value-Levels-Democracy.- Paul Valéry " Mystique sans Dieu": writing as a spiritual practice?.- Spirituality of Action: Reading O V Vijayan's Khasakkinte Ithihasam and Gurusagaram Through William James' Concept of Religion.- Is Homing Spiritual Praxis?.- Performative as the Language of Pragmatism: A Reading of Indian Spirituality.- Gardens of God: Spiritual Pragmatism and Transformation of Religion, Politics, Self and Society.
About the author
Ananta Kumar Giri is a Professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai, India. He has taught and done research in many universities in India and abroad, including Aalborg University (Denmark),
Maison des sciences de l'homme, Paris (France), the University of Kentucky (USA), University of Freiburg & Humboldt University (Germany), Jagiellonian University (Poland) and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has an abiding interest in social movements and cultural change, criticism, creativity and contemporary dialectics of transformation, theories of self, culture and society, and creative streams in education, philosophy and literature.
