This book presents a novel interpretation of major problems of Indian ethics from an applied ethical perspective. It approaches prominent theories like Dharma, Karma and Purusarthas from a critical point of view, so as to render them logically consistent and free from some standard limitations. Ethical theories are meant to provide guidance for life, but quite often many of our celebrated theories appear to be inapplicable or difficult to apply in practical life. Indian ethical theories are of special significance to this problem because they have in them rich potentials of applicability as much as many of them typify inapplicable abstract theories of morals. The book incorporates a wealth of research on ethical theories, keeping in view the spirit of ethics and the demands of the situations; for a reasoned balance between the two is the key to applied ethics. The book argues that ethical theories are objective but defeasible in overriding circumstances where competing values deserve preference. Such justified exceptions are warranted by the very spirit of ethics, which is to promote the good life. The argument from defeasibility and justified violation in the book helps bridging the gap between ethics and its application and makes Indian theories of value appear in fresh light- workable, practically applicable and effective as incentives for morality. With uncommon virtue of contemporized presentation of Indian ethics, this book should be of interest to scholars and researchers working on Indian ethics and moral philosophy, as well as to those interested in Indian culture and value tradition.

This best-selling text continues to fill an existing gap in the literature taught in applied ethics courses. As a growing number of courses that include the perspectives of diverse cultures are being added to the university curriculum, texts are needed that represent more multicultural and diverse histories and backgrounds. This new edition enhances gender coverage, as nearly half of the pieces are now authored by women. The new edition also increases the percentage of pieces written by those who come from a non-Western background. It offers twelve up-to-date articles (not found in previous editions) on human rights, environmental ethics, poverty, war and violence, gender, race, euthanasia, and abortion; all of these topics are addressed from Western and non-Western perspectives.

This book explores the fluid, mutable and contingent ways in which transgender men in Malaysia construct their subjectivities. Against the dearth of academic resources on Malaysian trans men, this ground-breaking monograph is rooted in the lived experiences of Malaysian trans men whose vicissitudes have mostly been hidden, silenced and overlooked. Comprising diverse age groups, ethnicities, socio-economic status, educational backgrounds and religious persuasions, these trans men reveal how they navigate life in a country with secular and religious laws that criminalise their embodiments, and the strategies they deploy to achieve self-determination and self-actualisation despite being perceived as aberrant and sinful. This book demonstrates how negotiations with constitutive elements such as gender identity, social interaction, citizenship, legality, bodily struggle, medical transitioning and personal spiritual validation condition the becomings of Malaysian trans men.

Indian ethics is one of the great traditions of moral thought in world philosophy whose insights have influenced thinkers in early Greece, Europe, Asia, and the New World. This is the first such systematic study of the spectrum of moral reflections from India, engaging a critical cross-cultural perspective and attending to modern secular sensibilities. The volume explores the scope and limits of Indian ethical thinking, reflecting on the interpretation and application of its teachings and practices in the comparative and contemporary contexts. The chapters chart orthodox and heterodox debates, from early classical Hindu texts to Buddhist, Jaina, Yoga, and Gandhian ethics. The range of issues includes: life-values and virtues, karma and dharma, evil and suffering, renunciation and enlightenment; and extends to questions of human rights and justice, ecology and animal ethics, nonviolence and democracy. Ramifications for rethinking ethics in a postmodern and global era are also explored. Indian Ethics offers an invaluable resource for students of philosophy, religion, human sciences and cultural studies, and to those interested in South Asian responses to moral dilemmas in the postcolonial era.

Featuring leading scholars from philosophy and religious studies, The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Indian Ethics dispels the myth that Indian thinkers and philosophers were uninterested in ethics. This comprehensive research handbook traces Indian moral philosophy through classical, scholastic Indian philosophy, pan-Indian literature including the Epics, Ayurvedic medical ethics, as well as recent, traditionalist and Neo-Hindu contributions. Contrary to the usual myths about India (that Indians were too busy being religious to care about ethics), moral theory constitutes the paradigmatic differentia of formal Indian philosophy, and is reflected richly in popular literature. Many of the papers make this clear by an analytic explication that draws critical comparisons and contrasts between classical Indian moral philosophy and contemporary contributions to ethics. By critically addressing ethics as a sub-discipline of philosophy and acknowledging the mistaken marginalization of Indian moral philosophy, this handbook reveals how Indian contributions can illuminate contemporary philosophical research on ethics. Unlike previous approaches to Indian ethics, this volume is organized in accordance with major topics in moral philosophy. The volume contains an extended introduction, exploring topics in moral semantics, the philosophy of thought, (metaethical and normative) ethical theory, and the politics of scholarship, which serve to show how the diversity of Indian moral philosophy is a contribution to the discipline of ethics. With an overview of Indian moral theory, and a glossary, this is a valuable guide to understanding the past, present and future research directions of a central component of Indian philosophy.

EDITORS’ INTRODUCTION This volume is a collection of papers presented at the international workshop on “Buddhist Approach to Global Education in Ethics” which is being held on May 13, 2019, at International Conference Center Tam Chuc, Ha Nam, Vietnam on the occasion of the 16th United Nations Day of Vesak Celebrations 2019. The aim is to throw new light on the values of the global ethical system with a focus on the Buddhist approach in deepening our understanding of how Buddhist ethics can deliver a social change in the globalized world. REVIEW OF CONTENTS Prof. P. D. Premasiri in his paper titled “Universally valid ethical norms of Buddhism applicable to global education in ethics” deals with hindrance in determining the basis for global education in ethics and providing undeniable facts about the diversity involved in ethical norms, principles and attitudes of various global communities. The author also discusses the characteristics of Buddhist teaching on a humanistic approach to the moral life with perceptions of enlightened humans, i.e. ‘Knowledgeable Persons’ (vi¤¤å purisà). The paper places further emphasis on the necessity to draw the attention of educators to train the minds of humans on ethical choices in accordance with such decisions. The paper entitled “Teaching Buddhist Ethics through the Life of the Buddha and Jesus” by Abraham Velez De Cea has proposed a new approach to the Buddhist ethical way of teaching and its application through interpretations of the Buddha’s life from the perspective of virtue ethics and meditation. The purpose is to heighten the Buddhist contribution being made to global education in ethical issues. The paper is divided into two parts, Buddhist ethics as a form of virtue ethics and secondly, interpretation of the Buddha’s teachings from the perspective of virtue ethics and meditation.

The Essays In This Volume Are Of Interest Not Only To Readers Concerned With Indian Environmental Issues But Also To Persons Concerned With Environmental Issues Around The World.

This companion volume focuses on the application and practical ramifications of Indian ethics. Here Indian dharma ethics is moved from its preeminent religious origins and classical metaethical proclivity to, what Kant would call, practical reason – or in Aristotle’s poignant terms, ēhikos and phronēis –and in more modern parlance normative ethics. Our study examines a wide range of social and normative challenges facing people in such diverse areas as women’s rights, infant ethics, politics, law, justice, bioethics and ecology. As a contemporary volume, it builds linkages between existing theories and emerging moral issues, problems and questions in today’s India in the global arena. The volume brings together contributions from some 40 philosophers and contemporary thinkers on practical ethics, exploring both the scope and boundaries or limits of ethics as applied to everyday and real-life concerns and socio-economic challenges facing India in the context of a troubled globalizing world. As such, this collection draws on multiple forms of writing and research, including narrative ethics, interviews, critical case studies and textual analyses. The book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and students of Indian philosophy, Indian ethics, women and infant issues, social justice, environmental ethics, bioethics, animal ethics and cross-cultural responses to dominant Western moral thought. It will also be useful to researchers working on the intersection of Gandhi, sustainability, ecology, theology, feminism, comparative philosophy and dharma studies.