Sutras & Stuff: A Philosophy Podcast

Dec 11 2023 39 ep. 14 mins 151
Sutras & Stuff: A Philosophy Podcast artwork

In this informal bite-sized podcast, we'll talk about a range of ideas found in Indian philosophy, along with their connections to the modern day. Your host is a philosopher who reads Sanskrit texts and thinks about how the modern and premodern are intertwined. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/malcolm-keating/support

  Education
RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


S4 E3: Mantra

Dec 11 2023 29 mins  
It seems like everyone, from companies to online influencers to fitness coaches, talk about having mantras. But what are mantras, anyway? In this episode, we'll talk about how they compare to birdsong, Tibetan singing bowls, and spells at Hogwarts, as well as some ancient debates about whether they mean anything, and why that matters. Listen to more episodes of Sutras & S

Announcement - Season 4 Episode 3

Mar 02 2023 1 mins  
Just keep swimming! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/malcolm-keating/support

S4 E2: Avatar

Feb 02 2023 35 mins  
What do the Metaverse, blue aliens, and airbenders have in common? They’re all based on the idea of the avatar, which goes back thousands of years to the Sanskrit term avatāra. In this episode, we’ll explore what an avatar is and how thinking about these ideas in ancient Hindu and Buddhist contexts can help us think about reality, the divine, and even our survival after death.

S4 E1: Karma

Jan 05 2023 34 mins  
Does what goes around always come around? And is instant karma gonna get you? In the first episode of a season devoted to Sanskrit-to-English loanwords, we’ll examine how three groups of Indian philosophers understand karma: Jains, Buddhists, and Naiyayikas (or Nyaya philosophers). Sounds and Music All music excerpts and soundbites used with an understanding of fair use modificat

S4 Teaser

Dec 16 2022 1 mins  
Taylor Swift says karma is her boyfriend, and Boy George sings about karma chameleons. In addition to “karma,” there are lots of other Sanskrit terms which have made their way into English: yoga, dharma, mantra, guru, Buddha, swastika, and more. In this season, we’ll focus on one word an episode to get a deeper understanding of what they meant in their original contexts, and

S3 E10: Tom Davies

Jun 16 2022 14 mins  
In this episode, I talk with Tom Davies, Seymour Reader in Ancient History and Philosophy at the University of Melbourne, about how understanding Indian philosophy in relationship with the rest of the ancient world helps us reflect on what philosophy is, as a human activity, in different cultural contexts. Note: This is the final episode of the regular season, concluding the series

S3 E9: Robin Zheng

May 31 2022 15 mins  
In this episode, I talk with Robin Zheng, Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow, about connections between social practices and knowing in premodern Indian philosophy and contemporary feminist philosophy. Further Resources: Robin Zheng’s website: https://www.robin-zheng.me/ Helen Longino: https://philosophy.stanford.edu/people/helen-longino Miranda Fricker: https://www.mir

S3 E8: Cathay Liu

May 14 2022 15 mins  
In this episode, I talk with Cathay Liu, Senior Lecturer at the National University of Singapore, about philosophical systems and both Indian and European philosophy in the 17th century. Further Resources Rene Descartes https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes/ The Tarkasamgraha at https://archive.org/details/tarka-samgraha-ramkrishna-mission/mode/2up How to Think Like a Nyāya

S3 E7: Neil Mehta

Apr 30 2022 16 mins  
In this episode, I talk with Neil Mehta, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS, about what exists and what we can say about it. Further Resources Neil Mehta’s website: http://www.profneilmehta.com/ Theory of Two Truths in India: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/twotruths-india/ Graham Priest’s website: https://grahampriest.net Metaphysics of grounding: https://plato.s

S3 E6: Matt Walker

Apr 14 2022 15 mins  
In this episode, I talk with Matthew Walker, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS, about ancient philosophy, therapeutic arguments, reading practices, and the Bhagavad Gita. Further Resources Matt Walker’s website: https://sites.google.com/site/mattwalker2000/home Aristotle on the Uses of Contemplation: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/aristotle-on-the-uses-of-contem