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Lecture 2. Part 1. Indian philosophy
The term Indian philosophy, may refer to any of several traditions of philosophical
thought that originated in the Indian subcontinent, including Hindu philosophy, Buddhist
philosophy, and Jain philosophy. Having the same or rather intertwined origins, all of these
philosophies have a common underlying theme of Dharma, and similarly attempt to explain
the attainment of emancipation. They have been formalized and promulgated chiefly between
1,000 BC to a few centuries A.D, with residual commentaries and reformations continuing up
to as late as the 20th century by Aurobindo and ISKCON among others, who provided stylized
interpretations.
The characteristic of these schools is that they may belong to one "masthead" and
disagree with each other, or be in agreement while professing allegiance to different banners.
Competition between the various schools was intense during their formative years,
especially between 800 BC to 200 AD. Some like the Jain, Buddhist, Shaiva and Advaita
schools survived, while others like Samkhya and Ajivika did not.
The Sanskrit term for "philosopher" is dārśanika, one who is familiar with the systems
of philosophy, or darśanas.
Common themes
Indian thinkers viewed philosophy as a practical necessity that needed to be cultivated
in order to understand how life can best be led. It became a custom for Indian writers to
explain at the beginning of philosophical works how it serves human ends. They centered
philosophy on an assumption that there is a unitary underlying order. The efforts by various
schools were concentrated on explaining this order. All major phenomena like those observed
in nature, fate, occurrences, etc. were outcomes of this order.
The earliest mention of this appears in the Rig Veda, which speaks of the Brahman, or
the universally transcendent and real building block of all the world. It is described as
dimensionless, timeless and beyond reach of the known frontiers of happiness and knowledge.
The idea of ṛta, translated as "righteousness" or "the cosmic and social order", also plays
an important role.
The Vedas (Sanskrit वेद, véda, "knowledge") are a large corpus of texts originating in
Ancient India. They form the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest sacred texts of
Hinduism.
According to Hindu tradition, the Vedas are not of human agency, being supposed to
have been directly revealed, and thus are called śhruti ("what is heard"). Vedic mantras are
read at Hindu prayers, religious functions and other occasions. The mystic dimensions and
applications of these mantras as a way of obtaining the physical immortality was written in Sri
Aurobindo's Secret of the Veda.
The class of "Vedic texts" is aggregated around the four canonical Sa ṃhitās or Vedas
proper, of which three are related to the performance of yajna (sacrifice) in historical (Iron
Age) Vedic religion:
1.
the Rigveda, containing hymns to be read by the priest;
2.
the Yajurveda, containing formulas to be recited by the priest;
3.
the Samaveda, containing formulas to be sung by the priest.
4.
the Atharvaveda, is one of the oldest and is relatively great in extent from a
collection of praises, stories, predictions.
The Upanishads are Hindu scriptures that constitute the main teachings of Vedanta.
They do not belong to any particular period of Sanskrit literature: the oldest, such as the
Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads, date to the late Brahmana period (around the
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middle of the first millennium BCE), while the latest were composed in the medieval and early
modern period.
The Upanishads speak of a universal spirit (Brahman) and an individual soul, (Atman)
and at times assert the identity of both. Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and
immanent, the absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that ever is, was, or shall be.
Schools
Classical Indian philosophy can be roughly categorised into "orthodox" (astika) schools
of Hindu philosophy, and "heterodox" (nāstika) schools that do not accept the authorities of the
Vedas.
[Orthodox Schools (Astika)
Many Hindu intellectual traditions were codified during the medieval period of
Brahmanic-Sanskritic scholasticism into a standard list of six orthodox (astika) schools, the
"Six Philosophies", all of which cite Vedic authority as their source:

Nyaya, the school of logic

Vaisheshika, the atomist school

Samkhya, the enumeration school

Yoga, the school of Patanjali (which assumes the metaphysics of Samkhya)

Purva Mimamsa (or simply Mimamsa), the tradition of Vedic exegesis, with
emphasis on Vedic ritual, and

Vedanta (also called Uttara Mimamsa), the Upanishadic tradition, with emphasis
on Vedic philosophy.
These are often coupled into three groups for both historical and conceptual reasons:
Nyaya-Vaishesika, Samkhya-Yoga, and Mimamsa-Vedanta.
Heterodox schools (Nastika)
Schools that do not accept the authority of the Vedas are by definition unorthodox
(nastika) systems.
Jain philosophy
One of the main characteristics of Jain belief is the emphasis on the immediate
consequences of one's physical and mental behavior. Because Jains believe that everything is
in some sense alive with many living beings possessing a soul, great care and awareness is
required in going about one's business in the world. Jainism is a religious tradition in which all
life is considered to be worthy of respect and Jain teaching emphasises this equality of all life
advocating
the
non-harming
of
even
the
smallest
creatures.
Non-violence ( Ahimsa) is the basis of right View, the condition of right Knowledge and the
kernel
of
right
Conduct
in
Jainism.
Jainism encourages spiritual independence (in the sense of relying on and cultivating one's
own personal wisdom) and self-control which is considered vital for one's spiritual
development. The goal, as with other Indian religions, is moksha which in Jainism is
realization of the soul's true nature, a condition of omniscience (Kevala Jnana). Anekantavada
is one of the principles of Jainism positing that reality is perceived differently from different
points of view, and that no single point of view is completely true. Jain doctrine states that
only Kevalis, those who have infinite knowledge, can know the true answer, and that all others
would only know a part of the answer. Anekantavada is related to the Western philosophical
doctrine of Subjectivism.
Buddhist philosophy
Buddhist philosophy is a system of beliefs based on the teachings of Siddhartha
Gautama, an Indian prince later known as the Buddha. Buddhism is a non-theistic philosophy,
one whose tenets are not especially concerned with the existence or nonexistence of a God or
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gods. The question of God is largely irrelevant in Buddhism, though some sects (notably
Tibetan Buddhism) do venerate a number of gods drawn in from local belief systems.
Buddhism has had a strong philosophical component. Buddhism is founded on the
rejection of certain orthodox Hindu philosophical concepts. The Buddha criticized all concepts
of metaphysical being and non-being, and this critique is separate from the founding of
Buddhism.
Buddhism shares many philosophical views with Hinduism, such as belief in karma, a
cause-and-effect relationship between all that has been done and all that will be done. Events
that occur are held to be the direct result of previous events. The goal for both Hindu and
Buddhist practitioners is to avoid karma (both good and bad), end the cycle of rebirth and
suffering, and attain freedom (Moksha or Nirvana). However, a major difference is the
Buddhist rejection of a permanent, self-existent soul (atman). This view is a central one in
Hindu thought but is rejected by all Buddhists.
All traditions recognize Gautama Buddha as an enlightened teacher who shared his
insights in order to help beings end their suffering in accordance with the laws of Karma by
understanding the Four Noble Truths; realizing the true nature of phenomena and thereby
escaping the cycle of suffering and rebirth known to Buddhists as Sa ṃsāra. Among the
methods Buddhist schools apply towards that goal are ethical conduct, the cultivation of
wisdom, the training of one's mind through learning and meditation, altruistic behaviour,
renunciation of worldy matters, devotional practices and, in some branches, the invocation of
holy beings to seek their help in achieving Nirvana. A Buddhist is one who takes refuge in The
Three Jewels: Buddha;
Nirvana is a concept that comes from Sanskrit and means "extinction" (of suffering) or
"quited", "calmed"; it's also known as "Awakening" or "Enlightenment" in the West. Also,
Buddhists believe that anybody who has achieved nirvana (also known as bodhi) is in fact a
Buddha.
Karma means literarily "action" or "work"; in a religious context it has an ethical or
moral sense. Karma can be either negative or positive; Rebirth means to be born again in one
of many possible types of lifes.
The Cycle of Samsara
Human beings wish pleasure and satisfaction of the six senses (seeing, hearing,
smelling, tasting, touching and thinking) from birth to death. After another rebirth they do the
same, and continue repeating this cycle (Samsara). Humans always expect pleasure and do not
like to feel pain.
The Four Noble Truths
According to the Pali Tipitaka, the Four Noble Truths were the first teaching of
Gautama Buddha after attaining Nirvana. They are sometimes considered as containing the
essence of the teachings of the Buddha:
1.
the noble truth of the nature of "suffering",
2.
the noble truth that is the fundamental cause or arising of all suffering,
3.
the noble truth that is the end or escape of suffering,
4.
the noble truth that is the way or effort leading to the end of suffering and to
"attain happiness."
Cārvāka
Cārvāka is characterized as a materialistic and atheistic school of thought. While this
branch of Indian philosophy is not considered to be part of the six orthodox schools of
Hinduism, it is noteworthy as evidence of a materialistic movement within Hinduism.
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Part 2. Chinese philosophy
Philosophy has had a tremendous effect on Chinese civilization, and East Asia as
a whole. Many of the great philosophical schools were formulated during the Spring
and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, and came to be known as the Hundred
Schools of Thought. The four most influential of these were Confucianism, Taoism,
Mohism, and Legalism. Later on, during the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism from India also
became a prominent philosophical and religious discipline. (It should be noted that
Eastern thought, unlike Western philosophy, did not express a clear distinction between
philosophy and religion.) Like Western philosophy, Chinese philosophy covers a broad
and complex range of thought, possessing a multitude of schools that address every
branch and subject area of philosophy.
Chinese philosophy is philosophy written in the Chinese tradition of thought.
Chinese philosophy has a history of several thousand years; its origins are often traced
back to the Yi Jing (the Book of Changes), an ancient compendium of divination, which
uses a system of 64 hexagrams to guide action. This system is reflects the characteristic
concepts and approaches of Chinese philosophy.
The Tao Te Ching (Dào dé jīng, in pinyin romanisation) of Lao Tzu (Lǎo zǐ) and
the Analects of Confucius (Kǒng fū zǐ; sometimes called Master Kong) both appeared
around the 6th century BCE, slightly ahead of early Buddhist philosophy and preSocratic philosophy.
Confucianism. Confucianism represents the collected teachings of the Chinese sage
Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 BC. His philosophy concerns the fields of ethics and
politics, emphasizing personal and governmental morality, correctness of social
relationships, justice, traditionalism, and sincerity. The Analects stress the importance of
ritual, but also the importance of 'ren', which loosely translates as 'human-heartedness,
Confucianism was and continues to be a major influence in Chinese culture, the state of
China and the surrounding areas of Southeast Asia.
The major Confucian concepts include rén (humanity or humaneness),
zhèngmíng (rectification of names; e.g. a ruler who rules unjustly is no longer a ruler
and may be dethroned), zhōng (loyalty), xiào (filial piety), and lǐ (ritual). Confucius
taught both positive and negative versions of the Golden Rule. The concepts Yin and
Yang represent two opposing forces that are permanently in conflict with each other,
leading to perpetual contradiction and change. The Confucian idea of "Rid of the two
ends, take the middle" is a Chinese equivalent of Hegel's idea of "thesis, antithesis, and
synthesis", which is a way of reconciling opposites, arriving at some middle ground
combining the best of both.
Themes in Confucian thought
A simple way to appreciate Confucian thought is to consider it as being based on
varying levels of honesty. In practice, the elements of Confucianism accumulated over
time and matured into the following forms:
Ritual. In Confucianism the term "ritual (Chinese , pinyin lǐ)" was soon extended to
include secular ceremonial behavior before being used to refer to the propriety or
politeness which colors everyday life. Rituals were codified and treated as a
comprehensive system of norms. Confucius himself tried to revive the etiquette of earlier
dynasties. After his death, people regarded him as a great authority on ritual behaviors.
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Shaping the rituals in a way that leads to a content and healthy society, and to content and
healthy people, is one purpose of Confucian philosophy.
Relationships. One theme central to Confucianism is that of relationships, and the
differing duties arising from the different status one held in relation to others. Individuals
are held to simultaneously stand in different degrees of relationship with different people,
namely, as a junior in relation to their parents and elders, and as a senior in relation to their
younger siblings, students, and others. While juniors are considered in Confucianism to
owe strong duties of reverence and service to their seniors, seniors also have duties of
benevolence and concern toward juniors.
Social harmony -- the great goal of Confucianism -- thus results partly from every
individual knowing his or her place in the social order and playing his or her part well.
When Duke Jing of Qi asked about government, by which he meant proper
administration so as to bring social harmony, Confucius replied,
"There is government, when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister;
when the father is father, and the son is son." (Analects XII, 11, tr. Legge).
Filial piety. "Filial piety" is considered among the greatest of virtues and must
be shown towards both the living and the dead (ancestors). The term "filial", meaning
"of a child", denotes the respect that a child, originally a son, should show to his
parents. This relationship was extended by analogy to a series of five relationships :
1. Sovereign to subject
2. Parent to child
3. Husband to wife
4. Elder to younger sibling
5. Friend to friend (The members of this relationship are equal to one another)
Specific duties were prescribed to each of the participants in these sets of
relationships. Such duties were also extended to the dead, where the living stood as sons
to their deceased family. This led to the veneration of ancestors.
Loyalty. Loyalty is the equivalent of filial piety on a different plane. It was
particularly relevant for the social class to which most of Confucius' students belonged,
because the only way for an ambitious young scholar to make his way in the Confucian
Chinese world was to enter a ruler's civil service.
Loyalty was also an extension of one's duties to friends, family, and spouse.
Loyalty to one's leader came first, then to one's family, then to one's spouse, and lastly
to one's friends. Loyalty was considered one of the greater human virtues.
Humanity. Confucius was concerned with people's individual development, which
he maintained took place within the context of human relationships. Ritual and filial piety
are the ways in which one should act towards others from an underlying attitude of
humaneness. Confucius' concept of humaneness is probably best expressed in the
Confucian version of the (Ethic of reciprocity) Golden Rule: "What you do not wish for
yourself, do not do to others;".
In Chinese history, Legalism (Chinese: Fǎjiā; Wade-Giles: Fa-chia; literally
"School of law") was one of the four main philosophic schools during the In China
under the political leadership of Li Si, his form of Legalism became a totalitarian
ideology in China, Li Si's Legalism one of the earliest known totalitarian ideologies.
Legalism was a pragmatic political philosophy that does not address higher
questions like the nature and purpose of life. It has maxims like "when the epoch
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changed, legalism is the act of following all laws", and its essential principle is one of
jurisprudence. "Legalism" here has the meaning of "political philosophy that upholds
the rule of law", and is thus distinguished from the Western meaning of the word. The
school's most famous proponent and contributor Han Fei believed that a ruler should
govern his subjects by the following trinity:
1. Fa (Chinese: fǎ; literally "law or principle"): The law code must be clearly
written and made public. All people under the ruler were equal before the law. Laws
should reward those who obey them and punish accordingly those who dare to break
them. Thus it is guaranteed that actions taken are systematically predictable. In
addition, the system of law ran the state, not the ruler. If the law is successfully
enforced, even a weak ruler will be strong.
2. Shu - Special tactics and "secrets" are to be employed by the ruler to make
sure others don't take over control of the state.
3. Shi ("legitimacy, power or charisma"): It is the position of the ruler, not the
ruler himself or herself, that holds the power. Therefore, analysis of the trends, the
context, and the facts are essential for a real ruler.
Daoism refers to a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions and
concepts. These traditions have influenced East Asia for over two thousand years and
some have spread internationally. The Chinese character Tao 道 (or Dao) means "path"
or "way", although in Chinese religion and philosophy it has taken on more abstract
meanings. Taoist propriety and ethics emphasize the Three Jewels of the Tao:
compassion, moderation, and humility. Taoist thought focuses on health, longevity,
immortality, wu wei (non-action) and spontaneity.
Reverence for nature and ancestor spirits is common in popular Taoism.
Organized Taoism distinguishes its ritual activity from that of the folk religion, which
some professional Taoists (Daoshi) view as debased.
Principles
Tao can be roughly stated to be the flow of the universe, or the force behind the
natural order. Tao is believed to be the influence that keeps the universe balanced and
ordered. Tao is associated with nature, due to a belief that nature demonstrates the Tao.
The flow of qi, as the essential energy of action and existence, is compared to the
universal order of Tao. Tao is compared to what it is not, like the negative theology of
Western scholars. It is often considered to be the source of both existence and nonexistence.
De. Tao is also associated with the complex concept of De "power; virtue", which
is the active expression of Tao. De is the active living, or cultivation, of that "way".
Wu wei
Wu wei is a central concept in Taoism. The literal meaning of wu wei is "without
action". It is often expressed by the paradox wei wu wei, meaning "action without
action" or "effortless doing". The practice and efficacy of wu wei are fundamental in
Taoist thought, most prominently emphasized in Taoism. The goal of wu wei is
alignment with Tao, revealing the soft and invisible power within all things. It is
believed by Taoists that masters of wu wei can control this invisible potential, the
innate yin-action of the Way.
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