Staff Reporter –
A visiting Professor of Philosophy has lauded the services being rendered by Wellington based Victoria University Professor of Philosophy Dr Jay Shaw, saying that his visit to New Zealand has been a turning point in his life.
Dr Anand Jayprakash Vaidya, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director, Center for Comparative Philosophy at the San Jose State University in California, said that Dr Shaw has made rare contributions to the world of Philosophy, especially in the field of Comparative Philosophy.
Rare Contribution
In a letter sent to National MP Dr Parmjeet Parmar, Dr Vaidya said, “What Professor Shaw does, makes so much possible. It is rare. Not many philosophers respect it at all. But the bottom line is that it is the truth. It is the best way for global philosophy to be done. And many realise that the future of philosophy is where Dr. Shaw points. And that in the coming years, his style of philosophy will be the status quo as the public returns to philosophy in the cultural way he describes,” he said.
Dr Vaidya was in New Zealand to attend an International Conference held at the Kilbirnie Campus of Victoria University from July 24 to 26, 2015.
Debt owed to women
He said, “Many women in the feminist movement are strongly aware of the debt that they owe to different women and different periods in the feminist movement. I think there is nothing different in the case of academia and comparative philosophy. Dr Shaw is a true hero for setting a path forward as a teacher, scholar, and person who makes the world better through philosophy. And I and others trying to make more room in academia for comparative and inclusive thinking owe a lot to his efforts,” he said.
Dr Vaidya said that the Conference theme of ‘Mind, Bind and Self’ was thought-provoking and related it to his own life and the journey that he has travelled thus far.
Complex personal history
Describing himself as an ‘Indian American,’ he said that he had a ‘complex history as a part of the Indian Diaspora. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Huston, Texas until he was four years old. The bulk of his formative years were in Saudi Arabia with regular visits to India, America, and parts of Europe.
“When I began my studies in philosophy I wanted to study comparative logic. I wanted to study the relation between classical Indian logic and western logic. I had no idea what this meant, but after reading an Encyclopaedia Britannica article on the Theorem propounded by Charles Sander Pierce when I nine years old, I was set on a path,” he said.
Beyond the Curriculum
Dr Vaidya said that he loved the education that he received in the US but none of them supported his interest at all in anything looking at the relation between classical Indian philosophy and anything in western philosophy.
“I was pushed away from my interests for 20 years. It is only now that I can even speak and write on such matters without fear,” he said.
A more detailed report of the Conference appears under Businesslink.
In the photograph published here, Professor Anand Vaidya appears on the extreme right, with others identified (from left) as Stephen Levine, Professor Jay Shaw, Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, Dr Parmjeet Parmar, Professor Purushottama Bilimoria and Professor Anand Vaidya.
