Philosophy as a discipline has always dealt with existential questions of life, society and the sciences.
Interestingly, modern philosophical thought has come to be dominated by Western thinkers, with ancient Asian schools of the discipline, including Indian and Chinese, taking a back seat.
This has been attributed to the past few centuries of colonialism through which European powers have dominated most aspects of human life.
With the revival of Asia over the past three decades, several scholars of Asian origin have tried to argue the importance of studying comparative philosophy.
Retired Victoria University of Wellington professor Jaysankar Lal Shaw is one such scholar.
Shaw taught at Victoria University for more than four decades, leading courses on Western philosophy, Māori philosophy, Confucianism, Buddhism and comparative philosophy.
One of Shaw's key contributions over this time has been putting forward the relevance of Indian philosophy to contemporary Western thinking.
Shaw, 84, has authored more than 14 books on philosophy and is the recipient of two Festschrifts.
A Festschrift is a volume of writings by different authors presented as a tribute to a scholar or an academic.
"Through the course of my career, I have tried to solve some of the problems of contemporary Western philosophy of belief, language, logic, epistemology and ethics from the perspective of classical Indian philosophy," Shaw says.
"I have found these answers in several systems of Indian darshan [the Hindi word for philosophy]. Some in Advaita Vendanta, which is a school of Indian philosophy popularised by Indian saint Swami Vivekananda. Others in the Nyaya, Samkhya and Mimamsa schools of Indian philosophical thought."
One example, Shaw says, is how he found a solution to the problem of false beliefs put forward by noted Western philosopher Bertrand Russell in a book titled The Problems of Philosophy.
"Russell claims the syllogism in Shakespeare's Othello is an irresolvable philosophical question. In the story, Othello believes Desdemona loves Cassio. But Desdemona does not love Cassio. So this is an example of false belief," Shaw says.
"Russell notes none of the Western philosophers have solved the problem of false belief. But we can solve the problem using the Nyaya school of Indian philosophy, which states [that] as Othello is familiar with true love [of the sort he has for Desdemona], he projects that true love between Desdemona and Cassio.
"So falsehood depends on some truth with which the person is acquainted."
Born in the Indian state of Bengal in the 1940s, Shaw had also taught at the University of Hawaii, Alabama University and Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India, before moving to New Zealand in the 1970s.
"Having exposure to both Western and Indian schools of philosophy have led me to believe the mutual synergy between the two systems and how they can derive insights from each other," he says.
While at Victoria University, Shaw also introduced Māori philosophy in his courses.
"Māori philosophy is fascinating. It has a different interpretation of the letter 'i'. There it refers to the community at large, very unlike the Western individual-centric world view," he says.
"Moreover, the concept of oneness that we witness in Indian Advaita Vendanta has several similarities with the Māori world view."
The inclusive nature of Indian philosophy, which includes all living beings and nature, align with how many Māori think, Shaw says.
Shaw also makes a distinction between the Indian concept of dharma and the Western concept of religion.
"When we say dharma in India, it refers to a set of beliefs which are totally opposed to blind faith or dogma," he says. "These beliefs are rational and always compatible with science. Translating dharma as religion doesn't capture the true meaning of the word."
Having spent much of his life studying and teaching comparative philosophy, the octogenarian has some words of advice for contemporary philosophers.
"[English author Rudyard] Kipling famously wrote,'East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet'. It is not true anymore," he says.
"We should work towards fostering a dialogue between the diverse traditions of philosophy, add new dimensions in thoughts and reconcile differences," he says.
"This way we will be able to come up with better solutions to the problems we all face."
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