कार्यसूची (kāryasūcī – event agenda)
सवित्सर अङ्कीयदृश्य (savitsara aṅkīyadṛśya - detailed video)
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सारांशः (sārāṁśaḥ - synopsis)
दर्शनस्य सामान्य परिचयः (darśanasya sāmānya paricayaḥ – generic introduction to
philosophy)
This briefing document provides an overview of
the foundational concepts of philosophy, with a particular focus on Indian
philosophical systems, as presented in "IKS:PI-1 दर्शनस्य सामान्य परिचयः (darśanasya sāmānya
paricayaḥ – generic introduction to philosophy)". It delves into the etymological roots of
philosophical terms, classifications of philosophical schools, and the
historical evolution of philosophical thought across Eastern and Western
traditions.
1. दर्शनं किम् (darśanaṁ kim- what is philosophy)?
The presentation begins by exploring the etymological origins of "तत्त्वदर्शन / φιλοσοφία (tattvadarśana /
filosofía - philosophy)" in both Greek and Indian traditions.
- Greek
Origin: The
English term "philosophy"
derives from Greek term “φιλοσοφία (filosofía
- love for wisdom)” which inturn is
derived from “φίλος (philos - love)” & “σοφία (sofia - wisdom)”
- Indian Origin: In India,
philosophy is termed "तत्त्वदर्शन (tattvadarśana – vision of suchness)" which in turn
is derived from “तत्त्व (tattva - suchness)” & दर्शन (darśana –
vision). Thus,
" तत्त्वदर्शन (tattvadarśana
– vision of suchness)" represents "a view of the suchness or thatness or of the
existence of whatever is there as it is".
Eminent scholar Poola Tirupati Raju, in his
"The
Philosophical Traditions of India", defines " दर्शन (darśana – vision)" as " Darśana means
seeing, looking at, viewing, and therefore sight, look, view. The darśana of the Nyāya school means the ‘view’ of the
Nyaya school, the perception of reality according to the Nyāya, and so the
philosophical theory of the Nyāya. The school or system may be spiritual or
materialistic, theistic or atheistic; yet it is a darśana or view or perception
of reality. Perception here does not mean direct knowledge like the seeing of
colours or the hearing of sounds, but a mental view or vision of reality, and
therefore a theory of reality.".
Closely related to philosophy is आन्वीक्षिकी / μεταφυσική (ānvīkṣikī / metafysikí - metaphysics), derived from
- ·
the Greek "μετά (metá –
beyond/after)" and
" φυσικά (physiká –
physical / nature)", hence
literally meaning "beyond nature".
- ·
In Sanskrit, the
equivalent is "आन्वीक्षिकी (ānvīkṣikī - perspective)", from "अन्वक् (anvak – after / following)" and "ईक्षा (īkṣā - view)", implying "a perspective that follows some observation".
कौटिलिय अर्थशास्त्र (kauṭiliya
arthaśāstra) glorifies
" आन्वीक्षिकी (ānvīkṣikī - perspective)" as "the lamp of all sciences, the resource of all actions and the shelter of
all virtues", suggesting it
illuminates other knowledge branches, guides actions, and protects principles.
Swami Abedanandha, a direct disciple of Sri
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, defines true philosophy through three key functions:
- Coordination of Scientific Results: It must "coordinate ultimate results arrived at by special branches of knowledge which we call science and taking up the conclusions it must form the widest generalizations possible".
- Investigation of Knowledge Source: It "must investigate the realm of knowledge and trace its source", leading to epistemology (the science of knowledge).
- Guiding Towards the Absolute: It "leads our minds into the realm of the absolute", helping one "reach out to the absolute, the highest state of consciousness".
सत्यदर्शनम् (satyadarśanam - true philosophy) according to सनातनधर्म (sanātanadharma – eternal spirituality), is " ज्ञान (jñāna - wisdom)", based on युक्ति (yukti - reason), अनुभव (anubhava
– experience) and श्रद्धा (shraddhā - faith).
Krishna Chandra Bhattacharyya proposes four grades of philosophical
thought,
- ·
Empirical Thought: Observing the external world through senses (corresponds to waking state).
- ·
Pure Objective Thought: Internalizing the
objective world subjectively (corresponds to dream state).
- · Spiritual Thought: Inquiry into spiritual concepts where subject and object differentiation
diminishes (corresponds to sleep state).
- · Transcendent Thought: The final state of absolute truth, transcending all previous states
(corresponds to trance state).
2. दर्शनस्य शाखाः (darśanasya śākhāḥ -
branches of philosophy)
Krishna Chandra Bhattacharyya broadly classifies philosophy into three main
strains:
- वस्तुदर्शन (vastudarśana – object philosophy): The objective side of life, also known as विद्यसत्वस्य / οντολογία (vidyasatvasya / ontología– ontology) viz. study of being or existence.
- आत्मदर्शन (ātmadarśana – subject philosophy): The subjective side of life, related to spirituality.
- सत्यदर्शनम् (satyadarśana – truth philosophy): The knowledge side of life, also known as विद्यासत्यस्य / επιστημολογία (vidyāsatyasya / epistimología – epistemology) - study of knowledge, how we know about existence).
These divisions branch into various subdomains, which, while distinct, are
integrated by आन्वीक्षिकी / μεταφυσική (ānvīkṣikī / metafysikí - metaphysics):
•
विद्यसत्वस्य / οντολογία (vidyasatvasya / ontología– ontology)
•
विद्यासत्यस्य / επιστημολογία (vidyāsatyasya / epistimología –
epistemology)
•
चेतस्विद्या / ψυχολογία (cetasvidyā̄ / psychología - psychology)
•
विद्यामूल्यस्य / αξιολογία (vidyāmūlyasya / axiología – axiology)
•
प्रपञ्चविज्ञान / κοσμολογία (prapañcavijñāna / kosmología -
cosmology)
•
ईश्वरशास्त्र / θεολογία (īśvaraśāstra / theología - theology)
•
मोक्षशास्त्र / σωτηριολογία (mokṣaśāstra / sotiriología - soteriology)
•
अन्तमभाग्यशास्त्र / εσχατολογία (antamabhāgyaśāstra / eschatología - eschatology)
•
धर्मशास्त्र / ηθική (dharmaśāstra /
ithikí- ethics)
•
रसालङ्कार / αισθητική (rasālaṅkāra / aisthitikí - aesthetics)
•
व्युत्पत्तिशास्त्र / ἐτυμολογία (vyutpattiśāstra / etymología
- etymology)
• क्रियाविद्या / τελετουργική επιστήμη (kriyāvidyā / teletourgikí epistími – ritual science)अर्थकरण / ερμηνευτική (arthakaraṇa / hərməˈno͞odiks - hermeneutics)
More recently, meta-ontology (examining the
foundations of ontology) and meta-metaphysics (philosophical study of
metaphysics itself) have emerged, highlighting the renewed relevance of
metaphysics in areas like AI and quantum physics.
3. दर्शनस्य भौगोलिक
वर्गीकरणम् (darśanasya bhaugolika vargīkaraṇam – geographical
classification of philosophy)
Philosophical traditions are broadly
classified geographically into Oriental (Eastern) and Occidental (Western)
philosophy.
- Oriental Philosophy: Characterized by a deep integration with religion and spirituality.
- Indian Philosophy: Encompasses Hinduism (including Vedic and Agamic
streams, Shadashanas), Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. The presentation
notes that "even atheistic schools will follow on will come under
relig form of a religion here".
- Chinese Philosophy: Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhist philosophy
(spread from India).
- Japanese Philosophy: Shintoism and Buddhism.
- Tibetan Philosophy: Predominantly extended Buddhist philosophy.
- Occidental Philosophy:
- Ancient Schools: Greek (Pre-Socratic, Classical, Hellenistic),
Jewish/Israeli, and Persian.
- Medieval Philosophy: Primarily driven by religious/theological ideas
(Roman/Christian, Arabic Islamic, Jewish Scholasticism).
- Modern European Philosophy: Rationalism (Descartes), Empiricism
(Locke), Idealism (Kant, Hegel), Materialism (Marxism).
- Postmodern Philosophy: Analytical (American) and Continental (European).
- Philosophy of Science: A global, cross-cutting domain.
Swami Vivekananda emphasizes the distinct yet
complementary nature of Oriental and Occidental philosophies: "from the orient came the voice which once told
the world that if a man possesses everything that is under the sun and does not
possess the spirituality what avails it that is the oriental type The other is
the occidental type as I said the oriental is very spiritual or religious in its
context". However, the
briefing stresses the need for an "integral approach" as
"Orient and Occidental
are no more to be separated",
advocating for harmonizing the two ideals to achieve a holistic understanding.
The history of philosophy is viewed through four main eras:
- Axial Age: Early philosophical foundations.
- Plastic Development: Shaping of diverse
schools.
- Systematic Philosophy: Formalization and structured thought.
- Specialization and Globalization: Diversification and interconnectedness.
There has been "parallel development" of
philosophical thought in both East and West, with significant "knowledge exchange" leading to "global convergence".
Timeline of Key Philosophical Schools (Indicative):
- Ancient Era:Oriental: Vedic Philosophy (c. 4500 BCE), Upanishadic Philosophy, Buddhist
Philosophy (c. 500 BCE), Jain Philosophy (c. 500 BCE), Taoism (China),
Confucianism (China).
- Occidental: Pre-Socratic Greece, Classical Greek Philosophy (Plato, Aristotle), Hellenistic
Philosophy, Zoroastrianism (Persian), Jewish/Hellenistic Philosophy.
- Medieval Era:Oriental: Vedantic Schools (Uttaram Mimamsa), Mahayana Buddhism (India, China,
Tibet), Zen Buddhism (China), Neo-Confucianism, Shinto Synthesis (Japan),
Sikh Philosophy (c. 1500 CE).
- Occidental: Patristic Philosophy (c. 400 CE), Scholasticism (c. 1000 CE), Golden Age
of Islamic Philosophy (c. 900 CE), Jewish Scholasticism (c. 1200 CE).
- Modern Era:Oriental: Japanese
Neo-Confucianism, Indian Reform Movements (e.g., Brahmo Samaj), Kyoto
School.
- Occidental: Rationalism (Descartes), Empiricism (Locke), Idealism (Kant, Hegel), Marxist
Materialism.
- Contemporary Era
(19th/20th Century onwards):Oriental: Neo-Vedanta (Ramakrishna Mission),
Modern Buddhist Philosophy.
- Occidental: Analytical Philosophy (Russell, Wittgenstein), Continental Philosophy, Philosophy of Science (Popper, Kuhn), Postmodern Philosophy, Digital Age Philosophy.
In conclusion, the briefing highlights the rich and diverse landscape of
philosophical inquiry, emphasizing its enduring relevance in understanding
reality, knowledge, and existence across different cultural and historical
contexts.
