Welcome!
I'm Malcolm Keating.
I work on philosophy of language, epistemology, and argumentation.
I think about these topics along with Sanskrit-language philosophers in the Indian subcontinent. Along the way, I make connections with contemporary analytic philosophy.
My full CV is here. Contact: malcolm.keating@yale-nus.edu.sg
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Yale-NUS College, Singapore
Courtesy Joint Appointment at National University of Singapore, where I will begin teaching when Yale-NUS College closes in AY2025-26.
My current research focuses on two main questions and traditions:
(1) With Nyāya: What norms should govern our arguments with other people?
(2) With Mīmāṃsā: How do we make sense of metaphorical, non-referential, etc. language?
Academic Research
Academic Research
If you are a scholar needing citeable copies of any of my materials for your research and are unable to afford or access them, please email me.
Encyclopedia Entries & Bibliographies
- "Debating with Fists and Fallacies: Vācaspati Miśra and Dharmakīrti on Norms of Argumentation" (2022). International Journal of Hindu Studies 26:1, pp. 63-87.
- "Kumārila Bhaṭṭa and Pārthasārathi Miśra on First- and Higher-Order Knowing" Philosophy East and West. 72:2 (2022): 396-414. (formerly Knows-Knows in Mīmāṃsā: Pārthasārathi and Kumārila on svataḥ prāmāṇya)
- "The Pragma-Dialectics of Dispassionate Discourse: Early Nyāya Argumentation Theory" (2021). Religions. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12100875
- Controversial Reasoning in Indian Philosophy: Major Texts and Arguments on Arthâpatti. (2020). Bloomsbury Academic Publishing.
- Language, Meaning, and Use in Indian Philosophy: An Introduction to Mukula's "Fundamentals of the Communicative Function." (2019). Bloomsbury Academic Publishing.
- NDPR review of the book, Brendan Gillon, 21 Feb 202
- Swarajya review of Language, Meaning, and Use in Indian Philosophy
- "Metaphor or Delusion? A Mīmāṃsaka's Response to Conceptual Metaphor Theory." (2019). Philosophy East and West. doi: 10.1353/pew.0.0172
- "(Close) the Door; the King (is Going): The Development of Elliptical Resolution in Bhāṭṭa Mīmāṃsā." (2017). Journal of Indian Philosophy 45:5, pp. 911-938.
- "Metonymy and Metaphor as Verbal Postulation: The Epistemic Status of Non-Literal Speech in Indian Philosophy'.' (2017) Journal of World Philosophies 2:1.
- "How Do We Gather Knowledge through Language?'' with Elisa Freschi. (2017). Journal of World Philosophies 2:1.
- Thinking about Embedded Metaphors." (2015). Journal of Pragmatics 88, pp.19-26.
- "The Cow is to Be Tied Up: Sort-Shifting in Classical Indian Philosophy." (2013). History of Philosophy Quarterly 30:4, pp.331-332.
- "Mukulabhaṭṭa’s Defense of Lakṣaṇā: How We Use Words to Mean Something Else, but Not Everything Else." (2013). Journal of Indian Philosophy 41:4, pp. 439-461.
Encyclopedia Entries & Bibliographies
- "Pramāṇa.'' (2021). Invited contribution to The Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Religion, eds. Stewart Goetz and Charles Taliaferro, Wiley-Blackwell.
- "The Literal/Non-Literal Distinction in Indian Philosophy," The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (Winter 2016 Edition, Revised Winter 2020), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).
- "Epistemology (Pramāṇas)" with Matthew R. Dasti. (2016). Oxford Bibliographies Online, Hinduism.
Teaching
Teaching
Yale-NUS Students interested in an independent study with me, please send an email describing the topic and including a list of potential readings.
Note: I currently do not take on post-docs or graduate students as I am primarily at an undergraduate institution.
Common Curriculum
Independent Studies
Note: I currently do not take on post-docs or graduate students as I am primarily at an undergraduate institution.
Current Courses:
Sem 2 AY2022-23
On Sabbatical:
Sem 1 AY2023-24
Yale-NUS (2015-present)
Philosophy Electives- Analogical Reasoning & Metaphor (3000 level)
- Classical Indian Philosphy (2000 level)
- Classical Indian Philosophy of Language (3000 level)
- Debate and Reasoning in Indian Philosophy (3000 level)
- Doing Things with Words (4000 level)
- Philosophy Capstone Seminar
- Slurs, Insults, and Hate Speech (3000 level)
Common Curriculum
- Historical Immersion course: Hinduism, Nationalism, and the Bhagavad Gita in the 20th century (3000 level)
- Philosophy and Political Thought 1 (1000 level)
- Philosophy and Political Thought 2 (1000 level)
Independent Studies
- Introduction to Analytic Philosophy of Language
- Fiction and Fictionalism
- Sanskrit Language
- Vasubandhu's Triṃśikā or Thirty Verses (on Consciousness-Only)
Service to the Profession
Service to the Profession
Book Review Editor, Philosophy East and West (South Asia)
*Please email if you are interested in reviewing for the journal.
*Please email if you are interested in reviewing for the journal.
Public
Philosophy
Public
Philosophy
Podcasts: freely available for reuse in the classroom with attribution.
Videos: freely available for reuse in the classroom with attribution.
Articles, Blog Posts, & Interviews
Videos: freely available for reuse in the classroom with attribution.
Articles, Blog Posts, & Interviews
- "Skeptics and Yogis: Ancient Indian Wisdom is Broader and Deeper Than You Might Think," Culturico August 2, 2021.
- "In Nyāya philosophy only some debates are worth having," Psyche December 2, 2020.
- "The Aesthetic Ingredients of Holiday Romance," PEA Soup, November 30, 2020
- 316am Magazine Interview
- Substack: https://malcolmkeating.substack.com/
- Past blogging at Śābdabodhaḥ (personal blog) and the Indian Philosophy Blog, (a group scholarly blog)
Book Reviews
Book Reviews
If you are a scholar needing citeable copies of any of my materials for your research and are unable to afford or access them, please email me.
- ShashiPrabha Kumar, “Categories, Creation and Cognition in Vaiśeṣika Philosophy,” Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics, Vol. 43, No. 1., 139-141.
- Ethan Mills’ “Three Pillars of Skepticism in Classical India: Nāgārjuna, Jayarāśi, and Śrī Harṣa.” Journal of Dharma Studies (50). Published online 31 August 2019
- Keya Maitra's “The Philosophy of the Bhagavad Gītā: Contemporary Introduction.” Philosophy East & West. 69(3). doi: 10.1353/pew.2019.0075
- Roy Tzohar's “A Yogācāra Buddhist Theory of Metaphor.” Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. August 2018.
- Amber Carpenter’s “Indian Buddhist Philosophy.” Philosophy East & West. 65(4) October 2015.
- Christopher G. Framarin's “Desire and Motivation in Indian Philosophy. Routledge Hindu Studies.” Journal of the American Oriental Society. 133(1)160-62.
Work In Progress
Work In Progress
- Reason in an Uncertain World: Nyāya Philosophers on Argumentation and Living Well. Oxford University Press. Under Contract.
- Classical Sanskrit for Everyone. Hackett Publishing. Under Contract.
- Revision to "Epistemology (Pramāṇas)" with Matthew R. Dasti. Oxford Bibliographies Online.
For information about work in progress, email me.
Find me elsewhere online:
