ABSTRACT
Philosophy shows us how to see through the pretences of reason. Philosophy, then, enables us to see through the pretences of reason, and so makes it possible for us to direct our efforts securely on their target, the living of a life free of suffering. Philosophy in Greece overlaps with literature, with political and religious life, it embraces both arts and sciences. There is, in short, a profounder sense of the importance of philosophy than is much evident in philosophy departments. In India too, philosophy overlapped and interacted with a range of other concerns. It too is situated within a matrix of interests that serves to give it its value. The idea that what one should aim for is an existence that is so colourless, a life little better than that of a mollusc, has been one reason that European philosophers have struggled to engage with the Indian philosophical imagination.
