Science and Sanskrit tradition: A Western scholar's challenge - 1

This is a first of a series of articles that attempts to capture a very interesting RMF debate and discussion in Sept-Oct 2012, between a Western scholar, Rajiv Malhotra, and RMF commentators.


Rajivji recently received a manuscript from Karl-Stéphan (KSB), and noted (Sept 12, 2012): "A Westerner who is studying Sanskrit in India has sent me a paper that challenges the way Indians want to integrate modern science and Sanskrit. After a few rounds of emails between us, he has agreed to my suggestion that we should post it as a separate thread in this egroup, so people can exchange comments. I intend to post my response to it tomorrow after members have had a day to read it. My goal is to discuss the substance of what is being said. He will then respond. After he and i have gone back and forth at least once each, others may also post their views. Let us not mix this thread with anything outside its topic. His condition is that I post his paper in entirely with no editing. I am doing that below."

I'm only posting the abstract below and will try to publish the paper if I obtain permission from Rajiv ji (you can of course find the entire paper on RMF). I will then attempt to summarize the responses from both sides over the next few days.The RMF link to this thread is here.







New perspectives on Indian doxography
Jawaharlal Nehru University, (Special Center For Sanskrit Studies) New Delhi, India 2012

Abstract
After witnessing the persistent popularity of Fritjof Capra's The Tao of Physics among Indian intellectuals, I felt the need to review such literature. My thesis is that the modern Indian interest in unifying ancient philosophies and Western Sciences is the continuation of a long process of systematic attempts by Indian thinkers to combine all the known authoritative systems of thought under a unified and coherent world view that not only safeguards the foundation of their age-old tradition, often at the cost of doctrinal aberration, but that promotes itself as superior to any other competing discourse. Observing how these modern writings share striking features with ancient doxographical attempts, I suggest that such literature can be said to be a continuation of the Indian doxographical tradition and, in parallel, of the process toward Hindu unity.

As as first step toward understanding the KSB is talking about, i found the following entry for doxography in Wikipedia.