Philosophy PDF - Origins, Branches, and Indian Philosophy

Philosophy The term “philosophy” comes from the Greek language. It consists of two words:philos, (love, or philia –friendship, affection привязанность) and sophos (learned scholar ученый муж, sage, or sophia - wisdom, knowledge, talent). A brief etymological interpretation sounds like“love wisdom”...

Philosophy The term “philosophy” comes from the Greek language. It consists of two words:philos, (love, or philia –friendship, affection привязанность) and sophos (learned scholar ученый муж, sage, or sophia - wisdom, knowledge, talent). A brief etymological interpretation sounds like“love wisdom”. The first who used this word was Pythagoras. He did not dare (не отважился) to call himself as wise man,in his view: it is only God is wise, there’s only God’s wisdom. So, here one of the first symbols of wisdom, philosophy – Iris, (the rainbow as a bridge between earth people and sky gods). Plato began to widely use the term “philosophy” in his “Dialogues”. Then, Aristotle believed that philosophy begins with wonder. (удивление) Interpretation of the wisdom of Democritus rightly points out (указывает) that philosophy can not be reduced to knowledge, but to wisdom. For, as pointed out by another ancient Greek philosopher – Heraclitus, “knowledge of much doesn’t teach to be wise”. Descartes saw the real beginning of philosophy in doubt. Philosophical knowledge is knowledge of a hole (целое),integrity of the hole. “The world as a whole” – that could be defined as the subject of philosophy. The hole combines, integrates parts, provides them into unity. It is clear that only something in common and significant can ensure (обеспечивать) unity of the objects. Three objects of cognition:Human,Society,World. Philosophical studies: Ontology – study of being Gnoseology – theory of cognition Epistemology – study of knowledge Logic – study of thinking Philosophical anthropology – study of human Social philosophy – philosophy of society Ethics – study of morality Praxeology/praxiology – study of human activity Axiology – study of values Aesthetics – study of beauty Futurology – study of the future Hermeneutiqucs – study of interpretation Ontology (ὄντος, ontos, ‘being’ or ‘that which is’) + (λόγος, ‘logical discourse’) Main question: “What exists?” Directly ontology is about “the world as whole”. Gnoseology (γνῶσις, ‘cognition’) + (λόγος, ‘logical discourse’) Main question: “How can I know?” Gnoseology is about “the mechanism of cognition”. Epistemology (ἐπιστήµη, ‘cognition’) + (λόγος, ‘logical discourse’) Main question: “What do I know?” Epistemology is about “the result of cognition”. Logic (λογική, ‘correct reasoning’) Main question: “What are the laws thinking?” Logic is about “correct reasoning, thinking”. Philosophical anthropology (ἄνθρωπος, ‘human’) + (λόγος, ‘logical discourse’) Main question: “Who/what is human?” Philosophical anthropology is about “the essence of human being”. Social philosophy (socium, ‘society’) Main question: “What is society?” Social philosophy is about “the essence of human society”. Ethics (ἠθική, ἦθος ‘character’, ‘custom’) Main question: “How should I behave in society??” Ethics is about “the human behaviour”. Praxeology (πρᾶξις, ‘deed’, ‘action’) + (λόγος, ‘logical discourse’) Main question: “What is the essence of human actions?” Praxeology is about “the aims of human activity” Axiology (ἀξία, ‘value’, ‘worth’) + (λόγος, ‘logical discourse’) Main question: “What is value?” Axiology is about “the values and benefits of human acivity”. (Aesthetics αἴσθησις, ‘feeling’, ‘sensual perception’) Main question: “What is beauty?” Aesthetics is about “the perceptional preferences of humans”. Futurology (futurum, ‘future’) + (λόγος, ‘logical discourse’) Main question: “How to predict future?” Futurology is about “the expectations of future”. Hermeneutics (ἑρµηνεύω, ‘translate’, ‘interpret’) Main question: “How do we understand reality?” Hermeneutics is about “the interpretation of the surrounding world”. Ancient Indian philsosphy In the West, the term Eastern (Oriental) philosophy refers verybroadly to the various philosophies of “the East”, namely Asia, including China, India, Japan, Persia and other areas. Civilization of ancient India is the synthesis of local cultures and alien people from the North – Aryans. Indian philosophy is divided into 3 main periods: 1) Vedic (1500–500 BC). 2) Classical (Brahmin-Buddhist) (500 BC – 1000 AD). 3) Postclassical (Hindu) (from 1000 AD). There are four Vedas: Ancient Indian philosophy begins with the most ancient sacred texts – the Vedas.The word «veda» means «knowledge» and comes from «vid-», (Sanskrit «know»), that reconstructed from Proto-Indo-European root «weid (to see or to know). «Weid-» is source of English word «wit», as well as the Latin «vision». At the heart of cosmos there is an eternal substance – Brahman. It is identical to the eternal inner core of the individual Atman. The world and its phenomena are considered as the improvement of the primary entity (Purusha).Purusha is also understood to be the first person,which consists of castes. There are 4 castes (VARṆA – color, quality) in Indian society: - Brahmins (white color) – Vedic scholars, sages,priests, teachers. - Kshatriyas (red color) – governors, rulers, warriors, administrators. - Vaishyas (yellow color) – agriculturalists, landowners, merchants. - Shudras (black color) – peasants, lowest laborers,servants. -Paraiahs Universal law, which operates in the past, present and future called karma. The 1st law is the law of cause and effect. What goes around comes around. The 2nd law is the law of creation. We are part of life; therefore, the accumulated karma of members of a society also affects the development of whole society. The 3rd law is the law of humility (смирение). Its essence is that only by accepting a situation can a person change it. The 4th law is the law of growth. A person must change something first of all in him- herself. Changing her-himself from the inside, s-he changes his-her life and from the outside, thus acting on the environment. The 5th law is the law of responsibility. What happens to a person in his-her life depends on his-her actions in past and present lives. The 6th law is about communication. Everything that we do in the present or the past has an impact on our environment and our future. The 7th law is the law of focus. You can’t think of two things at the same time. The 8th law is the law of thanksgiving. Here we are not talking about gratitude (благодарность) to someone/thing specific, but in general – to the whole world. The 9th law is here and now. It is the concentration of thought on the present. The 10th law is the law of change. The situation will be repeated in different forms until you learn the necessary lesson from it. The 11th law is the law of patience and remuneration (терпение и вознаграждение). In order to get what you want, you need to use diligence (усердие), and then the desired reward(вознаграждение) will be available. The 12th law is the law of meaning and inspiration. The fact that you have invested a lot of energy plays a big role in your life,and vice versa. The result of the law of karma is samsara. Samsara (transmigration and wandering of the soul) consists in the ongoing rebirth of a person, where each new birth is a merit for previous life’s achievementsor a punishment for sins. If a person adheres to a strict asceticism, his samsara ceases (прекращается), and he reaches a state of nirvana, that means fading.Cessation (прекращение) of rebirth is called moksha. In the Indian religious pantheon, Trimurti is also an important element. Trimurti (Sanscrit: trimūrti – “three faces”) is a triad that unites the three main deities of the Hindu pantheon: - Brahma (the Creator), - Vishnu (the Guardian), - Shiva (the Destroyer) All these three ‘faces’ are united into a single whole, representing the spiritual principle – Brahma(n).