Table of Contents

Preface Introduction I . MODES OF CROSS-CULTURAL ENCOUNTER Reflections on 1492 II. GADAMER, DERRIDA, AND THE HERMENEUTICS OF DIFFERENCE III. RADHAKRISHNAN ON BEING AND EXISTENCE IV. HEIDEGGER, BHAKTI, AND VEDANTA A Tribute to J. L. Mehta V. EXIT FROM ORIENTALISM Comments on Halbfass VI. WESTERN THOUGHT AND INDIAN THOUGHT Some Comparative Steps VII. MODERNIZATION AND POSTMODERNIZATION Whither India? VIII. SUNYATA EAST AND WEST Emptiness and Global Democracy IX. DEMOCRACY AND MULTICULTURALISM Notes Index

About the Author

Fred Dallmayr is Packey Dee Professor of Political Theory in the Department of Government and International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of many books including Margins of Political Discourse, also published by SUNY Press.

Reviews

"It shows very clearly that issues having to do with global economic decisions are closely linked with issues having to do with philosophical and religious decisions. The focus of much of the book on India as a case-study is also useful. It's a fine work, written with clarity and intelligence and with some genuinely new things to say about the debate on orientalism." - Paul J. Griffiths, The Divinity School, University of Chicago "It juxtaposes well-known thinkers (Derrida, Habermas, etc.) with lesser known ones (Radhakrishnan, Mehta, etc.) in new and exciting ways. Most importantly, it treats all the thinkers on a level playing field, a move which itself creates a new 'field' in which the issue of cross-cultural theory can be developed. It possesses a number of unique and, at times, startling, insights which emerge out of the context of a well-worn debate on the issue of cross-cultural engagement." - Laurie L. Patton, Bard College