Download Socrates and the Buddha 1 Introduction

CLASS 1 • INTRODUCTION • MAR 9, 2016
S O C R AT E S A N D T H E B U D D H A
A N C I E N T P H I L O S O P H I E S I N C O N V E R S AT I O N
KLENZE, ATHENS
DR. MICHAEL GRIFFIN
SOCRATES.ARTS.UBC.CA/SOCRATESANDTHEBUDDHA
ROMAN WALL PAINTING OF HIPPARCHEIA AND CRATES FROM THE VILLA FARNESINA, ROME. HIPPARCHEIA APPROACHES CRATES CARRYING A BOX, IMPLYING THAT SHE HAS COME TO CRATES AS A POTENTIAL BRIDE BEARING HER POSSESSIONS.
THE COURSE
• March 9 • Introduction: Overview of
Greek and Buddhist Philosophy
• March 16 • The challenge of
suffering: Socrates & Buddha on the
Human Condition
• March 23 • The diagnosis of
philosophy: Ignorance, SelfKnowledge, and Insight
• March 30 • Finding a cure: The goals
of eudaimonia and nirvāṇa
• April 6 • A path to well-being:
Philosophical practice and the
eightfold noble path
• April 13 • Conclusions and
applications
T O D AY
• 10.10–11.00am
• Introduction
• Overview: Socrates and the Buddha
• 11.10am-12pm
• Socrates of Athens and
Greek Philosophy
• Gautama and Buddhism
PA R T 1
INTRODUCTION
S O C R AT E S A N D T H E B U D D H A
Sōkratēs son of Sophroniskos
Athens, Greece
469–399 BCE
Siddhārtha Gautama
Lumbini, Shakya Republic
c. 563–483 BCE
or c. 480–400 BCE
S O C R AT E S A N D T H E B U D D H A
• Son of a stonemason
• ‘Father of Western philosophy’
• Ultimate concern:
The good life (eudaimonia)
• Socratic method: Question and answer
• Socratic problem:
Wrote nothing (oral tradition)
Sōkratēs son of Sophroniskos
Athens, Greece
469–399 BCE
• Encouraged independent,
critical reflection: “the
examined life” (Plato, Apology)
S O C R AT E S A N D T H E B U D D H A
• Prince in the Shakyan republic
• Founder of Buddhist philosophy
• Ultimate concern:
Curing suffering or discontent
(dukkha): “I teach nothing but
suffering and the end of suffering.”
• Method:
Question and answer
• Wrote nothing (oral tradition)
• Encouraged independent, critical
reflection (Kalama Sutta)
Siddhārtha Gautama
Lumbini, Shakya Republic
c. 563–483 BCE
or c. 480–400 BCE
Eudaimonia
Dukkha
εὐδαιμονία
दु क्ख
PA R T 2
S O C R AT E S & G R E E K P H I L O S O P H Y
Socrates
469-399 BCE, Athens
Zeno
334-262 BCE, Citium
Plato
429-347 BCE, Athens
Epictetus
55-135 CE, Rome
Aristotle
384-322 BCE, Athens
Marcus Aurelius
121-180 CE, Rome
Crates & Hipparcheia
c. 365-285 BCE, Athens
Plotinus
c. 204/5-270 CE, Rome
E A R LY P H I L O S O P H I A
AT H E N S I N T H E 5 T H C E N T U R Y B C E
What is philosophy?
φιλοσοφία
THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD
THE 5TH
CENTURY
• Classical Athens is the first
‘people-ruled’ polis (dēmokratia)
in the Mediterranean world
• She has achieved unchallenged
naval authority and an empire
which is labeled a
‘commonwealth’
• At the commercial and cultural
crossroads of Italy, Greece,
Egypt, and the Near East
THE 5TH
CENTURY
• Traditional views are
challenged, leading to a
perceived erosion of moral
values
• The poets transmit traditional
morality, while the sophists
teach “wisdom” including
rhetoric and political oratory,
perceived as a new
‘technology’, to steer the ship
of state for one’s own ends
THE 5TH
CENTURY
• Socrates (469-399 BCE), the
son of a stonemason, becomes
one of the most visible figures
in the democracy
• His non-conformity (versus the
poets), claims of ignorance
(versus the sophists), and
distinctive process of questionand-answer became the model
for philosophia and shaped
later philosophy & science
THE 4TH
CENTURY
• In the 4th century, Plato
(428-348 BCE) published a
series of ‘dialogues of
Socrates’ that were widely
read, and founded the
Academy
• After Plato, a series of
philosophers including
Aristotle founded schools
similar to the Academy and
spread philosophia throughout
the Mediterranean world
S O C R AT E S
THE FOUNDER
S O C R AT E S
• According to tradition, born to a stonemason named Sophroniscus in 469 BCE
• “The Socratic problem”: Socrates wrote nothing, and we know about him only
through Plato, Xenophon and Aristophanes, whose accounts vary widely
• Developed a unique form of inquiry into human excellence (aretē)
• Disclaimed wisdom (against sophists); denied that he “taught”; no fees
• Methods based on question and answer (the elenchus), requiring unity or
consistency (a) of one’s beliefs, and (b) of one’s beliefs and actions
• Behaviour peculiar enough to warrant its own verb (sōkratein) (e.g., Aristophanes,
Birds 1282) before philosophia generalized ‘Socraticism’.
• Conversed with anyone, “rich or poor, citizen or foreigner” (Apology 23C)
• Brought to trial in 399 BCE by two Athenians, Meletus and Anytus, on charges of
“impiety and corrupting the young.” Portrayed in Apology by Plato & Xenophon.
Link to video shown in class: youtu.be/fqTs77YXTQM
PA R T 3
THE BUDDHA
TO D AY
Siddhartha Gautama
c. 563-483 BCE, Lumbini
Socrates
469-399 BCE, Athens
Plato
429-347 BCE, Athens
Aristotle
384-322 BCE, Athens
SOURCES
Following the historical Buddha’s life,
the community (sangha) preserved his
teaching (dhamma) orally for centuries
in the Maghadi language, using metre as
a mnemonic aid.
Later, the dhamma was written (Pāli)
and collected together with more recent
material in the Tipitaka (‘three baskets’):
Vinaya (monastic regulations)
Sutta (the Buddha’s discourses)
Abhidhamma (phenomenology)
SOURCES
Ashoka the Great unified the Indian
subcontinent (269-232) and actively
promoted Buddhism.
Buddhism expanded rapidly, but also
splintered (the ‘sectarian’ period) into several
monastic communities, divided along different
interpretations of the vinaya and dhamma.
Later, two major divisions emerged:
‘Southern’ Buddhism ( including
Theravāda, the oldest surviving school:
Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, etc.)
‘Northern’ Buddhism (dominated by
the Mahāyāna or ‘great vehicle’ school:
Tibet, China, Japan, Korea, etc.)
S I D D H Ā R T H A G A U TA M A
THE BUDDHA
Born between 563-483 BCE near
Lumbini (Nepal)
Born to a Kshatriya (warrior, ruler)
family, regional royalty
Married at 16; lived as a sheltered
and happy prince until 29, when he
traveled into the community and saw
the Four Sights:
An old man
A sick man
A dead man
An ascetic (monk)
To be continued in class 2