Civilizations

This volume collects lectures by the late Indian philosopher Daya Krishna (1924-2007). The lectures were delivered in 1967 and in 2005 and serve as a form of dialog between the older Krishna and his younger self on the category of civilization. He understands civilization as the result of the ways in which people conceive of themselves and the society and discusses Indian and Western civilizations as paradigmatic cases that illustrate this understanding. As part of this discussion, he posits freedom as "a focal concept around which the thinking in the social sciences may be organized, which may bridge the gap and provide continuity between the great typal civilizations of the past and open the way for the fecundating relationship with the present and the future." Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)