Trends in Contemporary Indian Philosophy of Education: A Critical Evaluation (Hardbound-2022)

In order to find out philosophical basis for Indian education, the book goes through a critical understanding and evaluation of the foremost among the contemporary Indian philosophers of education. It critically evaluates the educational philosophies of contemporary Indian thinkers who may be classified as revivalists or the neo-vedantic philosophers on the one hand and those influenced by western rationalism, humanism, and other tendencies on the other. In the former class may be included Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Dayananda, M.K. Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. In the latter class, the two leading names are M.N. Roy and Pandit J.L. Nehru. A critical evaluation and systematic understanding of the educational philosophy of these thinkers will unravel the philosophical basis required for the present-day education, particularly about aims of education, means of education, types of education, medium of education, teaching methods, and education for different sections of society. The book unravels the trends underlying the whole panorama of contemporary Indian philosophy of education. A critical evaluation of these trends and the exploration of philosophical basis is the main objective of the present book. The method followed is construction through criticism.

The book consists of eleven chapters discussing comprehensively the philosophical basis of Indian education and the discussion goes through need of philosophical basis of education; meaning of philosophy; meaning of education in India and West; synthetic definition; values of indigenous philosophy; history of Indian philosophy of education; Vivekananda’s, Aurobindo’s, Dayananda’s, Gandhi’s, Tagore’s, Radhakrishnan’s, Nehru’s, and Roy’s philosophies of education; and an ideal philosophy of education for India. It will certainly be found to evoke interest not only among teachers of philosophy and education but also among researchers, administrators, and planners in the field of education.

Dr. G. Ranjit Sharma, M.A., Ph.D., D.Litt., retired as a Professor from the Department of Philosophy, Manipur University (A Central University), Imphal. Prior to this he was Reader and Head at the Department of Philosophy, Manipur College, Imphal. He is a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. He is a life member of many academic and cultural organizations including Indian Philosophical Congress, Akhil Bharatiya Darshan Parishad, and Manipur Sahitya Parishad. He has published a number of papers and participated in several State, National, and International Conferences and Seminars. He is the author of The Idealistic Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, Kang-Khong Chairaba Punshi, Trends in Contemporary Indian Philosophy of Education, An Introduction to Gandhian Thought, and The Mother’s Philosophy of Education.