Classical Indian philosophy /

Mohanty (Temple Univ. and author of more than 20 books, including Reason and Tradition in Indian Thought, CH Nov'93) uses his extensive and deep subject knowledge to produce another valuable work. Mohanty combines training in both the history of Indian thought and Western phenomenology. The design of the present book is thoughtful, presenting several charts on specific topics (including theory of error and Indian aesthetics). There is a useful appendix on principal philosophers, texts, and doctrines of the major schools of Indian philosophy, as well as a glossary of Sanskrit terms and index. Overall, the volume is a very handy library reference work that could also function in courses as a streamlined introductory text alongside an anthology. Because of the brevity of the project many topics are treated in summary fashion when it would have been interesting to see more of Mohanty's reasoning process. However, it would be wrong to expect a great deal of development on any particular topic in this volume, due to the nature of the project. This exceptionally concise and well-written work is highly recommended for both graduate and upper-division undergraduate students. F. J. Hoffman; West Chester University of Pennsylvania