Sanskrit Language Acts and Worldmaking in Philosophy and Religion
Sanskrit Language Acts and Worldmaking in Philosophy and Religion
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King's College London
Theology & Religious Studies / Language Acts & Worldmaking Centre / Global Cultures Institute presents:
Sanskrit Language Acts and Worldmaking in Philosophy and Religion
Thursday May 22nd and Friday May 23rd 2025
Venue: King’s College London
Sanskrit Language Acts and Worldmaking
How does Sanskrit and its affiliated philosophical traditions operate in the humanities? And in what ways can Sanskrit knowledge systems contribute to contemporary philosophical and critical debates? These are intertwined questions that a two-day symposium at KCL seeks to explore through interdisciplinary research. The role of Sanskrit in philosophical and religious discourses remains alive and contested, shaping imagined, perceptual and experienced worlds. This symposium probes diverse growth directions for Sanskrit – from polycentric philosophy to cultural heritage. Such directions constitute worldmaking (Goodman 1978), such as communal worldmaking that can be exclusive/revisionary or inclusive/visionary, or epistemo-ontological worldmaking to better mobilise or understand global contemporary societies. Focusing on new and emerging research and work in progress, the workshop will both analyse and engage the Sanskrit language and its translations in a dynamic worldmaking context that links historical and contemporary usages. It will offer a space to think critically and ‘do philosophy’ with Sanskrit concepts.
Spaces are strictly limited. If you book a place and can no longer attend, please cancel your booking to make space for other colleagues.
This programme may be subject to minor changes closer to the event date.
Workshop Programme
Day 1 Thursday May 22nd 10.00 to 17.00 Anatomy Lecture Theatre, King’s Building
AM 10.00-10.30: Arrive and coffee
AM 10.30-12.30
Professor Diwakar Acharya (University of Oxford):
‘On creating a translation (Sanskrit to English) and critical edition of a key 7th-century commentary in the Sāṃkhya philosophical tradition, the Yuktidīpikā’
Dr. Geoffrey Ashton (University of San Francisco):
‘For Whom is Liberation Meaningful? A Philosophical Interpretation of “Puruṣa-Artha” in the Sāṃkhya Kārikā’
LUNCH BREAK 12.30-13.45
PM 13.45-15.45
Dr Jessica Frazier (University of Oxford and Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies)
‘A World of Words: Bhartṛhari in the Debate about Names and Things’
Dr Marie-Helene Gorisse (University of Birmingham)
‘The Jain Doctrine of Perspectives: Disambiguating Linguistic Expressions as a Tool for Liberation’
BREAK 15.45-16.00
PM 16.00-17.00
Postgraduate Panel:
Kush Depala (Heidelberg University)
'Sitting with the Divine: Ritual Space, maṇḍalas and Worldmaking in Swaminarayan Tradition(s)'
Hershini Soneji (University of Cambridge)
‘Doctrinal Narratives in Post-Commentarial Texts’
Day 2 Friday May 23rd 10.00 to 16.30 Council Room, King’s Building
AM 10.00-10.30: Arrive and coffee
AM 10.30-12.30
Professor Clare Carlisle (King's College London):
‘Spinoza and India: The Question of Influence’
Professor Ananya Vajpeyi (CSDS, Delhi, and Ashoka University, India)
‘The Modern Life of Sanskrit: An Encounter with Psychoanalysis’
LUNCH BREAK 12.30-13.45
PM 13.45-15.45
Dr Shalini Sinha (University of Reading)
‘Enacting Worlds, Enacting Selves: Some Aspects of Tantra and Veda’
Dr Karen O’Brien-Kop (King’s College London)
‘Living Dualism and Impossible Embodiment: Samkhya and Scientific Theories of Consciousness’
BREAK 15.45-16.00
16.00-16.30: Closing discussion
Location
King's College London - The Strand, WC2R 2LS