The Nay Science: A History of German Indology

Insiders analysis of motives origin of indology. Its groundbreaking work to start to decolonize indology.

A very important book well beyond the field of Indology, just as Foucault's case studies of the formation of this or that institution, for all of their specificity, are nevertheless of broad general interest. The Nay Science is important for anyone concerned with the status and future of the humanities.Adluri's study of German Indology reveals the theological underpinnings of the ostensibly secular positivistic study of sacred and philosophical texts. We learn not only just how false are the claims of disinterested scientificity made on behalf of such scholarship, but also about the deep metaphysics involved in the practice of most modern philology. Adluri goes further, however, and offers (particularly in the book's prologue and in its conclusion, "Gandhi on the Gita") a vision for a hermeneutical philology that resists reductionism and embraces polysemy and existential commitment.

This is a work of extraordinary brilliance and depth. In a lucid, jargon-free style and with impeccable scholarship, the authors reveal the history of numerous negative stereotypes about Indian culture and literature, thereby sweeping away much detritus and opening the way for fresh perspectives.

A deeply researched text written with great nuance and focus, it will not answer to the issues of all possible readers. Nevertheless, for those who engage it with a spirit of genuine interest and an open mind, Adluri and Bagchee paint an intricate and compelling portrait of the tradition and influence of German Indology from an important, and underrepresented, perspective. Students and scholars of Religious Studies in general, though they may find some of the philological details too specialized for their purposes, will nonetheless find--if nothing else--cause to (re)reevaluate the inheritances of the discipline and explore, more deeply, some biases that have been written in to our foundational sources. Finally, The Nay Science hints at (though, sadly, does not deliver fully formed) some possibilities for overcoming these issues and a path to revivifying tradition and spirit in the human sciences. It is not the easiest reading but it repays the effort.

This is a necessary book for those engaged in research across a range of fields, and for those who consume that research. Although the primary content is a history of Sanskrit philology, it is an important contribution to the philosophy of science through its critique of method. As such, it offers one of the most adequate critiques of the flight to method that is so prevalent in contemporary humanities and sciences.

This is a brilliant study in the history of German Indology. This work is very comprehensive and in depth in its treatment of the history of philological method. The text is well written and never fails to engage the interest of the reader - a difficult task for a book of this size and scope. Of particular interest to non-specialists are the fourth and fifth chapters, which offer a critical appraisal of the philological methods employed in German indology while situating this discussion relative to such important phenomena as the emergence of Historicism and the development of Hermeneutics The final part of the work makes an important theoretical-ethical contribution to the discussion concerning "Future-Philology" (Zukunftphilologie) and the history of the philological sciences. I highly recommend it!

I liked the book immenselyLike the Indologists, this is a thorough, rigorous, honest work of scholarship. Unlike the indologists it isnot misguided. It deserves 5 star rating