Download Western cultural tradition

PHILOSOPHY OF THE
ANCIENT EAST
LECTURE II
PLAN



Origin of philosophical thought. Eastern
and western types of cultural development.
Philosophy of Ancient India (Vedantic
philosophy, Buddhism).
Philosophical conceptions of Ancient
China (Confucianism, Taoism).
PHILOSOPHY VERSUS
MYTHS

Mythological thinking was based on
reflection of nature and man in the light of
the tribal relations.

Philosophy introduces the system of
knowledge that is based on reason.
PHILOSOPHY ORIGIN

Philosophy originated in the following
three centers of the ancient civilization: in
ancient Greece, India and China, what
happened almost simultaneously in the
middle of the 1st millennium BC.
Specific features of reference to nature
Western cultural tradition Eastern cultural tradition
 careful and religious
 active transformation
reference to nature and
and mastering of
everything alive
nature by man
 development of the very
 Achievements in the
nature of man
realms of techniques,
 the moral-spiritual
technologies and
improvement of a
science
personality
Social life and Social values
Western cultural tradition
 the idea of historical
progress, development
of society in the line of
ascent
 the values of
democracy, legal state,
freedom and
sovereignty of an
individual
Eastern cultural tradition
 no intention of
progress
 preserving the culture
as it is
 the values of a
community and
limitation of the
individual freedom
Spiritual psychological features of man
Western cultural tradition

logical style of thinking,
cold mind, sober
pragmatism and practicism

"divide and rule"

Rational thinking

Philosophical treatises
Eastern cultural tradition

feelings, emotions,
elements of the religious
and artistic worldperception

unity and indivisibility of
everything

Intuitive and mystical
thinking

Philosophical parables,
aphorisms, and
instructions
Indian philosophy

Ancient Indian philosophy includes the
mystical treatises known as Upanishads
(700 – 100 BC), early Buddhist writings
(300 BC – 500 AD) and the Sanskrit poem
Bhagavad-Gita (Song of God, about 200
BC). Classical Indian philosophy is less
concerned with spirituality than ancient
thought
Outlook ideas of Indian philosophy





ultimate reality is one-eternal and impersonal Absolute
the variety of apprehensions, which comes to us through
the senses is illusory and is called mãyã
Man must rid himself of his illusion if he is to become
aware of reality (brahma)
This "knowing" is not a mere intellectual knowledge, but
an enlightenment of one's whole being
If one fails to find this "release" (moksa), one is bound by
the law of punishment and reward (karma) to return to
this world in a further incarnation, still tied to the wheel
of rebirth (samsara)
REINCARNATION
Reincarnation, the view that after death human
beings live again in other forms
Bhagavad-Gita:
"We have all been for all time: I, and thou, and those
king of men. And we shall be for all time, we all
for ever and ever"
"As a man leaves an old garment and puts on the one
that is new, the Spirit leaves his mortal body and
then puts on one that is new"
KARMA



the sum total of the acts done in one stage
of person's existence, which determines his
destiny in the next stage
a form of matter, which can contaminate a
soul and postpone its attaining Nirvana
the doctrine that whatsoever a man sows,
whether in action or thought, the fruits will
eventually be reaped by him – if not in this
life, then in the next
Caste division of Indian society




- Brahmin caste – the first or the highest caste,
comprising the priests (fr. Sanskrit Brahman –
worship);
Kshatriya caste – the second caste,
comprising warriors and rulers (fr. Sanskrit
kshatra – rule);
- Vaisya caste – the third caste, comprising
farmers and merchants (fr. Sanskrit – peasant);
Sudra caste – the fourth and the lowest caste,
comprising manual workers (fr. Sanskrit sudra
Three groups of yoga steps



1) Moral discipline – against killing, lying,
stealing, sexual impurity and possessiveness, and
towards purity, contentment, study and God –
centeredness.
2)
Physical disciplines – control over bodily
posture, breathing and excitation of the senses.
3)
Stages of meditation – concentration,
contemplation and ecstasy (unity).
FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
1) Sorrow is the universal experience of mankind.
2)
The cause of sorrow is desire, and the cycle of
rebirths is perpetuated by desire for existence.
3)
The removal of sorrow can only come from
the removal of desire.
4)
The desire can be systematically abandoned
by following the Noble Eightfold Path, which is
the basis of the disciplines of Buddhism and finds
its origin in the corresponding yoga system.
THREE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CHINESE
PHILOSOPHY



"Yin" – a symbol of the shadow or the
passive, feminine principle of life
"Yang" – the symbol of the sun or the
active, masculine principle of life
"Dao (Tao)" – that means the way or the
universal force harmonizing nature
CONFUCIANISM

The ethics of Confucius is based on
differentiation of two social types of people
and two styles of behavior in society. These
are the junzi (literally, "lord's son",
"gentleman" or "profound person") and the
xiaoren ("small person"): "The profound
person understands what is moral. The
small person understands what is
profitable".
SOME OF
CONFUFUCIUS’SAYINGS



"Do unto others as you would have them do unto
you".
"When your father is alive, observe his will. When
your father is dead observe his former actions. If,
for three years you do not change from the ways
of your father, you can be called a 'real son
(hsiao).'"
If you govern with the power of your virtue, you
will be like the North Star. It just stays in its place
while all the other stars position themselves
around it."
DAOISM



Dao is the main notion of Daoism that gives
answers to all the questions about origin of the
world and the way it exists. It is the initial cause
and the only law of the universe to which nature,
society and man are subordinated.
The essence of Dao is non-being, that is why it
can neither be cognized by mind nor determined
by means of words.
When we think that life's occurrences seem unfair
(a human discrimination), we should remember
that heaven's net misses nothing and it leaves
nothing undone.