DASGUPTA, S(URENDRA) N(ATH)

born October 1885, Kushtia, Bengal, India died Dec. 18, 1952, Lucknow Hindu philosopher noted for his authoritative History of Indian Philosophy (5 vol., 192255). His philosophical system, developed from his studies of Eastern and Western thought, synthesized aspects of Vedantic literature, Indian Jainism (particularly its mysticism), British and U.S. Neorealism, and the theory of emergent evolution. Dasgupta's family was well known for its tradition of Sanskrit learning and culture. His own educational interests ran towards Sanskrit and science alike. Shortly after receiving M.A. degrees in Sanskrit and philosophy from Sanskrit College in Calcutta, he became a permanent professor at Chittagong College. It was there that he started the initial work on his History of Indian Philosophy. During the early 1920s Dasgupta travelled to England, where he earned a doctorate from Cambridge for his thesis on contemporary European philosophy. Upon his return, his base of teaching and research became Calcutta. He was well received within European philosophical circles, visiting the United States and Europe on several occasions throughout his career as a speaker and professor. In his philosophy, Dasgupta interpreted the mind-knowledge complex as part of a historical, evolutionary process that emerged from the fundamental matrix of space and time through biological stages. The end of this process is a divine beatitude that the individual values as the highest form of love.