インドには古来よりさまざまな哲学的思考の伝統があります。宗教と哲学にはっきりした境目がなく、宗教聖典を土台としているところが、西洋の伝統とは大きく異なっているといえます。本書ではインド思想の多様性に注目し、古典哲学の六つの正統学派を指すインド六派哲学を読み取っていきます。カルマや転生というインドならではの概念も検証し、他では見られないインド哲学独特の世界に読者を誘います。
 

• There is currently a great deal of interest in understanding different ways of thinking, and much of this interest is directed to Indian worldviews
• The book introduces distinctively Indian concepts such as karma and rebirth
• It also shows that many of the issues on which Indian philosophy focuses are common to those of Western philosophy
• Indian thought differs from the Western tradition in that religion and philosophy are not separate undertakings
• Sue Hamilton is an authority on the subject, and has published widely on Buddhism thought and Indian philosophy more generally

  
India has a long, rich, and diverse tradition of philosophical thought, spanning some two and a half millennia and encompassing several major religious traditions.

This Very Short Introduction emphasizes the diversity of Indian thought, and is structured around six schools which have achieved classic status. Sue Hamilton explores how the traditions have attempted to understand the nature of reality in terms of an inner or spiritual quest, and introduces distinctively Indian concepts such as karma and rebirth. She also shows how Indian thinkers have understood issues of reality and knowledge — issues which are also an important part of the Western philosophical tradition.