About the Department:

The department of comparative philosophy was established in 1981in Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh-Ladakh. The fundamental purpose of the department is to impart and inculcate philosophical and critical thinking studying the philosophical problems and concerns traversing various philosophical trajectories and horizons of traditions and disciplinary demarcations. The department focuses on the traditional and contemporary approaches of philosophical orientations and issues in teaching and research in the institute.

The department plays an essential part in accomplishing the purposed aspirations of the esteemed institute. Initially the people of Ladakh used to go to Tibet to study Buddhist Philosophy. The process ended with the advent of Chinese territorial dominion in Tibet in 1959. Aftermath Tibet’s occupation by China, Central Institute of Buddhist Studies formally known as School of Buddhist Philosophy was established in Ladakh under the kind guidance of Late Kushok Bakula with the core aim to impart education in Buddhism to the people of Ladakh. Gradually with the pertinence of time the modern areas of studies were also introduced in the institute. The curricula of department of comparative philosophy was set in the institute with the primary aim to corroborate and substantiate the scope of the study of the fundamental concepts of Buddhist tenets providing a wider philosophical perspective encompassing eastern as well as the western traditions of philosophical thought.

Comparative philosophy is a way of thinking that provides a wider framework cutting across the horizons of philosophical traditions to deal with various concerns and issues in a contesting, comparing and dialogical manner. The academic programs and courses of the department of comparative philosophy have structured in such a manner that provide a strong foundational understanding of the concepts, ideas and problems of philosophy engaging students in substantive speculations. The curricula deals with the metaphysical, epistemological, ethical, logical and religious as well as social and political themes across the spectrum of philosophical traditions including Indian philosophy such as the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, the heterodox schools which includes the study of Charvaka tradition, western philosophy that begins with the foundational study of the ancient Greek system of philosophy of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, modern western philosophy that deals with Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hume, Barkley, Bradley, Kant and Hegel etc. Along with the study of the foremost themes in the traditional trajectory of philosophy the curricula of the department also explores the contemporary issues and enterprises of philosophy occurring in the Indian system of philosophy as well as the west. The contemporary themes in Indian tradition deals with the thoughts of Aurobindo, Rabindranath Tagore, Gandhi, Ambedkar, Daya Krishna etc. Existentialism, phenomenology and analytical system of philosophy and other 19th and 20th Century philosophers are few of the contemporary western tradition of philosophy to mention here constituted in the academic engagements of the department. Apart from these undertakings the philosophical engagement at the department also deals with the foundational, conceptual and rigorous arguments of scientific inquiries entrenched in the philosophy of science. The course of study at the department also includes training the students to read classical and contemporary philosophical texts in Indian as well as western system of thought. Students are also encouraged in writing philosophical composition in various forms.

The study of the discipline of comparative philosophy is very significant and indispensable for the validation or substantiation of believes, concepts and practices of an individual tradition as well as to become open-mindedness free from the narrowness of fundamentalism. The way of doing Philosophy traditionally in India is very unique in character. The method of doing philosophy constitute in the form of purvapaksha, pratipaksh, khandan and siddhanta. In order to prove and establish one’ views and principles (Siddhanta) the opponents’ (purvapaksha) standpoints and arguments has to make deeply familiarized and understood, and repudiate (khandan) them with strong and substantial logical arguments. To understand the concept of “selflessness”, it is indispensable to understand the opponent’s view of the existence of “self” and vice versa. The Buddhist and the non-Buddhist particularly Hindu philosophical thinkers and scholars in the form of purvapaksha and pratipakha were in constant dialogue with each other in the great centers of knowledge like Nalanda and Vikarmasila of ancient India. The metaphysical, epistemological, logical and ethical views of Buddhist philosophy can only be understood substantially with clear discernment of the Hindu philosophical point of views. In addition, the western philosophical perspective contains profound thoughts in terms of metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics and psychology as well, the study of which is very significant to gain a broader view. For instance, the system of logic in western philosophy is very profound and extensive in terms of the inductive and deductive approaches based on the classical logical system of Aristotle. In the Indian system of logic the Buddhist and the Nyaya system of logic are very rigorous and comprehensive. Both the systems evolved in a dialogical manner regarding Gautama, Dignaga, Dharmakarti and many other great scholars. Repudiating the five form of argumentation (tsul na intibetan) in Nyaya to be redundant, Dignaga gave the theory of three form of argumentation (tsul sum in tibetan) to approach the reality of inferential knowledge. The deductive and inductive structure of reasoning in both Indian and western system are one of the areas of the study of comparative philosophy in a holistic manner.

The department of comparative philosophy of CIBS engages in seminars, discussion, workshops, lectures and many other forms of academic activities to provide additional platforms of learning to the students and opportunities for research. The department has contributed in producing great scholars in Ladakh and around the world and aims at creating new body of scholars and philosophical works to contribute in the field of philosophy.

Faculty Details:

S.No	NAME	DESIGNATION	EMAIL ID	Contact No.	PROFILE
1	Dr Vipin Kumar Pandey	Lecturer (HOD)	dr.vipinkumarpandey[at]hotmail[dot]com	(M) 9419981110	Click to view profile
2	Mrs Jigmet Lhamo	Lecturer (Contractual)	jimlha3787[at]gmail[dot]com	(M) 9906148304	Click to View Profile