ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 contains an introduction to Indian philosophy more generally and Vaiśeṣika in particular. Parallels with Western ontology and metaphysics are drawn in relation to Aristotle’s Categories. It highlights potential contributions of the Vaiśeṣika system in respect to the problems of individuation in Western philosophy. The chapter addresses a non-specialist Western audience unfamiliar with the categories of Indian philosophy, but interested in comparative philosophical reflection. Analogical discussions on Indian and Western metaphysics continue in all footnotes of Chapter 3. For the benefit of all philosophy students, editors have appended 2 illustrations at the end of the book: (1) ‘Vaiśeṣika and World Philosophy’ and (2) ‘The History of Vaiśeṣika scholasticism.’
