Overview
- Fills a gap in yoga studies and offers a fresh perspective on jñāna-yoga (yoga of knowledge)
- Challenges norms of the mainstream Anglophone philosophical tradition by offering an alternative therapeutic approach
- Reflects on the universal practice of taxonomy, with a specific focus on religious studies, philosophy, and psychology
Part of the book series: Indian Philosophy: Past and Present (IPPP)
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About this book
This book examines the significance of metaphysical list-making as a determining feature of ‘spiritual exercises’ in South Asian gnostic yogas. It examines how these ancient traditions sought spiritual transformation through the dialectical practice of taxonomy. It highlights the gnostic thread that intersects ‘spiritual exercises’ and ‘ways of life’ in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina circles. It fills a gap in yoga studies by proposing a new understanding of jñāna-yoga (yoga of knowledge). Departing from mainstream Anglophone philosophical traditions, it articulates an original meta-theory of philosophical practice, explaining how philosophy can be 'therapeutic' in concrete terms. The book theorizes yogic Gnosticism, as a South Asian religious undercurrent and as a distinctive form of philosophical practice and ascetic way of life internalizing a sacrificial worldview. Finally, the book analyzes four literary case studies, presenting therapeutic methods in competing gnostic traditions, namely, the Verses on Sāṃkhya of Īśvarakṛṣṇa; the Advaita Instructions on the Doctrine of Gauḍapāda; the Buddhist Heart Sūtra; and the Twelve Contemplations of the Jaina Kundakunda. The groundbreaking multidisciplinary and trans-sectarian book offers a must-read for scholars across the fields of world philosophy and religious studies.
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Keywords
Table of contents (12 chapters)
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Front Matter
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List Making: From Universal to Spiritual Exercise
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Front Matter
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Case Studies in South Asian Gnostic Spiritual Exercises
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Karl-Stéphan Bouthillette is Assistant Professor at the Department of Philosophy (DoP), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). Following his Ph.D. in Munich, he pursued post-doctoral research in Leiden and Gent. His first monograph was Dialogue and Doxography in Indian Philosophy (Routledge, 2020).
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Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Metaphysics as Therapy
Book Subtitle: List-Making and Renunciation in Gnostic Yogas
Authors: Karl-Stéphan Bouthillette
Series Title: Indian Philosophy: Past and Present
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-2556-7
Publisher: Springer Singapore
eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2025
Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-96-2555-0Published: 01 April 2025
Softcover ISBN: 978-981-96-2558-1Due: 15 April 2026
eBook ISBN: 978-981-96-2556-7Published: 31 March 2025
Series ISSN: 3005-088X
Series E-ISSN: 3005-0898
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXII, 323
Number of Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations, 1 illustrations in colour
Topics: Metaphysics, Spirituality