Philosophical Reconstruction by Nikunja Vihari Banerjee

Philosophical Reconstruction
Author: Nikunja Vihari Banerjee
Publisher: Arnold-Heinemann
Edition: First Edition, 1973
Pages: 155
Binding: Hardcover
Size: 6 inch x 9 inch

Philosophical Reconstruction by eminent Indian thinker Nikunja Vihari Banerjee is a profound philosophical work that urges a reevaluation and reformation of philosophical inquiry in the modern age. Published as a first edition in 1973 by Arnold-Heinemann, this 155-page hardcover volume offers a compelling call for the rethinking of philosophical foundations—not merely to revise existing systems, but to reconstruct the very mode of philosophical engagement.

Banerjee, deeply influenced by both classical Indian philosophy and modern Western thought, challenges the dichotomies often found in academic philosophy: being vs. becoming, rationalism vs. existentialism, metaphysics vs. phenomenology. He proposes a new integrative approach that roots philosophical thinking in lived experience, rather than in abstract, speculative theory. For Banerjee, philosophy must arise from the existential urgency of the human condition—a need to make sense of life, suffering, creativity, and freedom.

The book draws on a wide range of traditions, engaging with Vedantic, Buddhist, and Samkhya frameworks alongside Kant, Heidegger, Hegel, and Sartre. Banerjee’s writing is both critical and constructive, seeking to dissolve rigid categories while simultaneously outlining the contours of a new philosophical method—one that balances reason with intuition, concept with experience, and being with becoming.

What makes Philosophical Reconstruction especially significant is its bold interdisciplinary spirit. It bridges not only East and West but also classical and modern, academic and existential, the rational and the mystical. Banerjee questions inherited assumptions and urges thinkers to move beyond the inherited linguistic and logical forms, toward a philosophy that responds to the fullness of reality.

Printed in a 6 x 9 inch hardcover format, this rare edition is both a collectible and a valuable resource for students and scholars of philosophy, comparative thought, and intellectual history. It stands as a significant contribution to 20th-century Indian philosophical literature and resonates with contemporary debates on the future of philosophy itself.

• A foundational work in modern Indian philosophical thought

• Proposes a new approach to philosophical inquiry based on experience and existence

• Engages with Indian and Western traditions, including Vedanta, Buddhism, Kant, and Heidegger

• Critiques the limitations of purely logical or metaphysical philosophy

• Argues for the reconstruction of philosophical categories and methods

• First edition hardcover, published by Arnold-Heinemann in 1973

• Compact and intellectually rich, ideal for scholars, students, and collectors

• Explores deep themes of freedom, suffering, consciousness, and creativity

• A rare and insightful volume in the realm of comparative philosophy