It seems like everyone, from companies to online influencersto fitness coaches, talk about having mantras. But what are mantras,anyway? In this episode, we'll talk about how they compare to birdsong, Tibetansinging bowls, and spells at Hogwarts, as well as some ancient debates aboutwhether they mean anything, and why that matters. Listen to more ep…

Just keep swimming! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/malcolm-keating/support

What do the Metaverse, blue aliens, and airbenders have in common? They’re all based on the idea of the avatar, which goes back thousands of years to the Sanskrit term avatāra. In this episode, we’ll explore what an avatar is and how thinking about these ideas in ancient Hindu and Buddhist contexts can help us think about reality, the divine, and e…

Does what goes around always come around? And is instant karma gonna get you? In the first episode of a season devoted to Sanskrit-to-English loanwords, we’ll examine how three groups of Indian philosophers understand karma: Jains, Buddhists, and Naiyayikas (or Nyaya philosophers). Sounds and Music All music excerpts and soundbites used with an und…

Taylor Swift says karma is her boyfriend, and Boy George sings about karma chameleons. In addition to “karma,” there are lots of other Sanskrit terms which have made their way into English: yoga, dharma, mantra, guru, Buddha, swastika, and more. In this season, we’ll focus on one word an episode to get a deeper understanding of what they meant in t…

In this episode, I talk with Tom Davies, Seymour Reader in Ancient History and Philosophy at the University of Melbourne, about how understanding Indian philosophy in relationship with the rest of the ancient world helps us reflect on what philosophy is, as a human activity, in different cultural contexts. Note: This is the final episode of the reg…

In this episode, I talk with Robin Zheng, Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow, about connections between social practices and knowing in premodern Indian philosophy and contemporary feminist philosophy. Further Resources: Robin Zheng’s website: https://www.robin-zheng.me/ Helen Longino: https://philosophy.stanford.edu/people/helen-longino …

In this episode, I talk with Cathay Liu, Senior Lecturer at the National University of Singapore, about philosophical systems and both Indian and European philosophy in the 17th century. Further Resources Rene Descartes https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes/ The Tarkasamgraha at https://archive.org/details/tarka-samgraha-ramkrishna-mission/m…

In this episode, I talk with Neil Mehta, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS, about what exists and what we can say about it. Further Resources Neil Mehta’s website: http://www.profneilmehta.com/ Theory of Two Truths in India: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/twotruths-india/ Graham Priest’s website: https://grahampriest.net Metaphysics…

In this episode, I talk with Matthew Walker, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS, about ancient philosophy, therapeutic arguments, reading practices, and the Bhagavad Gita. Further Resources Matt Walker’s website: https://sites.google.com/site/mattwalker2000/home Aristotle on the Uses of Contemplation: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books…

In this episode, I talk with Jay Garfield, Professor of Philosophy at Smith College, about the Buddhist philosopher Candrakirti and how teaching Indian philosophy at Yale-NUS impacted his understanding of Western philosophers like Hume. Further Resources Jay Garfield’s website: https://jaygarfield.org/ David Hume: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries…

In this episode, I talk with Christine Tan, Philosophy Lecturer at Yale-NUS College in Singapore, about Indian materialism, skepticism, and overlaps with Chinese Philosophy. Further Resources Christine Tan’s website: https://tanchristineabigail.com/ Guo Xiang: https://iep.utm.edu/guoxiang/ Cārvāka: https://iep.utm.edu/indmat Podcast Episodes on Jay…

In this episode, I talk with Kathryn Muyskens, Philosophy Lecturer at Yale-NUS College in Singapore, about the Buddhist philosopher Shantideva and bioethics, health care, and compassion. Further Resources Kathryn Muyskens’ papers on Philpapers: https://philpeople.org/profiles/kathryn-muyskens Shantideva: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/shantidev…

Content note: There's one instance of the "F-word" in English towards the end of the interview. In this episode, I talk with Andrew Bailey, Associate Professor of philosophy at Yale-NUS College in Singapore about the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna and analytic metaphysics, Gandhi on technology, and Nyaya philosophers on inference. Further Resources…

In this episode, I talk with Bryan Van Norden, Professor of philosophy at Vassar College in the United States about how he came to Indian philosophy, what he enjoys about teaching it, as well as connections between ideas about knowing in Indian and Chinese philosophy. Further Resources Bryan Van Norden’s website: http://www.bryanvannorden.com/ “Les…

How does a 9th century Nyaya philosopher addresses the intersection of religious conflict and ruling power in India? Are feelings of offense reason to exclude certain religious practices? What lessons can we take from Nyaya philosophers on religious toleration, and are they internally consistent here? To read the whole play, get the Clay Sanskrit L…

Join our hero Sankarshana as he travels around the kingdom, vanquishing foes...with reason. Part 1 of 2. To read the whole play, get the Clay Sanskrit Library translation of Much Ado about Religion by Csaba Dezsö, published 2005 by NYU Press. https://nyupress.org/9780814719794/much-ado-about-religion/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.sp…

When is a door not really a door? When it's ajar! That old joke equivocates on two meanings of "ajar" In this episode we look at how equivocation can impact our reasoning, like when we ask, When is a doctor not really a doctor? We explore a few other ways that reasoning can go wrong and force us to lose in a debate. And listen until the end to hear…

Quick announcement about Episodes 8 through 10. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/malcolm-keating/support

When is a reason not a reason? According to Nyaya philosophers, when it's all smoke and no fire. In this episode we'll talk about how reasoning can go wrong when people use "counterfeit reasons," which don't actually support their claims. Music: Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille License: h…

If you've ever watched a political debate on TV, you may wonder what the point is. After all, aren't both participants committed to their own viewpoints, and just aiming to win? Why would we ever think that debate is a useful activity. Nyaya philosophers were big proponents of debate, but not the kind of debate you see on network TV. In this episod…

Doubts can feel paralyzing, but according to the early Nyaya philosopher Uddyotakara, the right kind of doubt is actually useful. In this episode we'll apply his thinking about doubt to the 2020 US presidential election. Music: Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille License: http://creativecomm…

In this increasingly partisan world, many of us are listening only to people we already agree with. But can we learn things from the speech of people on the "other side"? In this episode, we learn how Nyaya philosophers think testimony can be a powerful tool for conveying knowledge, regardless of religion or political affiliation. Music: Brittle Ri…

Sutras (and stuff) will return next week for a new episode. Apologies for the delay and thanks for your patience! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/malcolm-keating/support

The climate is changing due to human activity. Scientists today are arguing for this crucial claim, warning us that it has dire consequences. But how can we know that the past has an effect on the present? How can we draw connections between unseen things and what we observe? In this episode, we’ll see how Nyaya philosophers could help science comm…

We can’t directly see it but we know it exists by extending our vision with special tools. We can reason about when it’s present based on associations. We can share facts about it with each other. And we can learn its name by comparing it to other similar kinds of things. I’m talking about the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, and in this episode we’…

How can we become better thinkers and better human beings? What’s the connection between critical thinking and reducing suffering? In this intro episode to Season 2, we’ll learn about the Indian tradition known as “Nyaya,” who says these things are very closely related, and whose ideas we’ll be focusing on in detail this coming season. Music: Britt…

When I started this podcast in February 2020, I envisioned a first season of ten episodes. I wrote, recorded, and scheduled the most recent episode (Episode 8) before the nationwide protests against police brutality began in the United States, which is my country of origin and my current home while I am on leave from my college. Given current event…

Binge-watching. You sit down, popcorn and soda at the ready, and before you know it, three hours have gone by and Netflix pops up with a message: “Are you still watching?” While binge-watching is a fairly new English phrase (attested by the OED back to 1998 in verb form) in the sense of “overindulgence,” binging goes back to the 19th century, assoc…

Do you wish things were different right now? Is there some experience you used to have that you miss? Are you having unpleasant feelings? If so, you've got a lot in common with Buddhist practitioners and philosophers from the 4th century CE. In this episode, I speak with Bryce Huebner, Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor of Philosophy at Ge…

Who should you listen to? Now, more than ever before, we have access to advice from a range of self-proclaimed experts. Anyone with a webcam and an Internet connection can dole out advice. But how do we tell if someone is trustworthy? In this episode, I test some so-called experts based on the requirements from Nyaya philosophers. Let's see who mak…

Who should you listen to? Now, more than ever before, we have access to advice from a range of self-proclaimed experts. Anyone with a webcam and an Internet connection can dole out advice. But how do we tell if someone is trustworthy? In the next episode, I test some so-called experts based on the requirements from Nyaya philosophers, with a litle …

Love, happiness, and disease. These are a few things that today we call "contagious." But how did thinkers in the Indian subcontinent, before the discovery of viruses, understand diseases and their treatment? This podcast is part two of a two-part interview with Patricia Sauthoff, an expert in the history of alchemy and medicine in India. Sources a…

Love, happiness, and disease. These are a few things that today we call "contagious." But how did thinkers in the Indian subcontinent, before the discovery of viruses, understand diseases and their treatment? This podcast is part one of a two-part interview with Patricia Sauthoff, an expert in the history of alchemy and medicine in India. Sources a…

I want to hear from you. Send me a voice message through Anchor or email me at sutrasandstuff@gmail.com and I might use your messages on an upcoming episode. Be well, everyone. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/malcolm-keating/support

If you’re going to recline your seat on an airplane, you should do it gently. And if you’re going to kill your enemy with the shyena ritual, you should build a brick altar. But should we do either of these things? Mimamsa and the logic of troubling commands. Sources and Links BBC clip from “Corona Virus: What is social distancing?” Kei Kataoka (201…

What does an ancient Sanskrit text have to tell us about reasoning about the coronavirus and debating with people about its treatment? Caraka’s Compendium, a medical treatise, gives some guidelines for when to bother debating with people, and whom we should trust with our health.Sources & linksOnline Searchable Caraka SamhitaTranslation of Caraka S…

Taylor Swift does it, and so does Kalidasa. How does figurative speech work and why do we enjoy it so much? In this episode, I talk about how figurative language from Sanskrit poetry to William Shakespeare to Taylor Swift. Sources and Links Taylor Swift, “The Man” music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqAJLh9wuZ0 Yigal Bronner, Extreme Poetry…

(This is an audio remastered version of an episode which first aired February 29, 2020.) Introduction to the podcast and, what do sutras and Twitter have in common? What do ancient Sanskrit aphorisms have in common with modern Internet communication? In this episode, Malcolm talks about sutras and Twitter, bedbugs and textual interpretation. Source…