Volume 1, 2018
Research Article

Remembering Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya’s Contribution to the History of Philosophical Thought and Scientific Ideas on His Birth Centenary <SUP>1</SUP>

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  • Dhruv Raina
Dhruv Raina
Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110 067
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29195/DSSS.01.01.0015

Published 2023-09-04

Keywords

  • Ancient India; materialism, idealism, urbanization, scientific thought.

How to Cite

Raina, D. (2023). Remembering Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya’s Contribution to the History of Philosophical Thought and Scientific Ideas on His Birth Centenary <SUP>1</SUP>. DIALOGUE: Science, Scientists and Society, 1, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.29195/DSSS.01.01.0015
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Abstract

Lokāyata is considered Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya’s magnum opus, a pioneering exploration of the history of materialist thought in ancient India. This work not only established his reputation but subsequently provided a rationale for the need to re-position the schools of Indian philosophical thought in terms of their internal diversity, the range of philosophical problems addressed and the ‘family resemblances’ between the schools. He subsequently went on to pursue the study of the beginnings of scientific thought in ancient India between the period of what historians call the two urbanizations. On his birth centenary, this essay explores the issues discussed in his work, the reception of his ideas amongst historians of science, and their contemporary salience.

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