Philosophy is the science of sciences. Its subject matter is the complete range of scientific phenomenon. Its aim is to connect all these into a consistently complete, to dive far into the truths underlying them and to set upon the first principles which shape the basis of scientific certainty. Hence philosophy is certainly drawn into the difficulty of ultimate realities like nature, mutual relation and origin. The word Vedanta is a combination of ‘Veda’ and ‘anta’ which means ‘Veda-end’. And also the appendix to the Vedic hymns. Vedanta can also be secondhand as a noun to explain one who has learned all four of the earliest Vedas. Four Vedas are Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda. In the former writings Sanskrit Vedanta clearly mentioned to the Upanishads which is the most theoretical and philosophical of the Vedic texts. Still in the medieval age of Hindusim the word Vedanta came to close to the school of philosophy that explained the Upanishads. As the section of Vedas, Vedanta is a scripture and therefore it is identical with the Upanishads. Nevertheless the word anta in Vedanta meaning end came evenly to mean conclusion or purport. The end of all Vedic, were they thought joining with Brahman who is the absolute being. In the latter sense accordingly in the sense of purport of the Vedas it was the Upanishads another time which were called Vedanta’s. Although the word came increasingly to mean something actually different from closely connected to the Upanishads.
All the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy admit in thinking of the soul as not only immortal but also as endless. The reasoning of the materialists like Charvakas amount to this that, however consciousness is unseen in external objects, it develops i...
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... so far as its individual explanation is concerned. Although they are by no means lost in consequences of this limited disappearances and do not end to determine waking life. Now after considering all these facts we know that we have at present no recollection of any earlier state of existence does not find that it will never appear to our memory. Alike if it should so occur that such facts will never recur to us under any means it would not follow that they not at all occurred and are not deciding our present life.
In our present life we have lose and gain regularly in result of action which we have completely forgotten but which have still left lasting effects on our individuality. There can be no injustice in our taking pleasure and suffering the fruits of actions set in previous states of existence. And which though forgotten now have yet formed us what we are.
“In the West, we think of each human life as solid and discrete, beginning at conception and ending at death. The Buddhist view is of waves appearing and disappearing endlessly on a great ocean of life energy. When cause and effect combine in a certain way, a wave arises, appearing...
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal." - Albert Pike
The relation of consciousness to the material world is puzzle, which has its origin in dualism, a philosophy of mind which posits their fundamental separation. Dualism, in turn, has its roots in folk wisdom. The belief that humans are more than bodies and that there is something in human nature that survives bodily death has its origins in prehistory; it becomes explicit in the mythology of Ancient Egypt and Assyria and was formulated into a philosophical position in the Platonic thought of Ancient Greece. But the contemporary view that the interaction of consciousness with matter poses a problem which may be beyond scientific understanding can be traced to a clearer formulation of dualism proposed by Descartes.
Underlying each of these claims is the theme of the unification of body and mind into a state of consciousness which greatly facilitates clarity and order in one's awareness. Through the deep periods of rest achieved during levels of transcendental consciousness, t...
The 'doctrine of recollection' states that all true knowledge exists implicitly within us, and can be brought to consciousness - made explicit - by recollection. Using the Platonic concepts of 'Forms', 'particulars', 'knowledge' and 'true opinion', this essay explains what can or cannot be recollected, why all knowledge is based on recollection, and why the doctrine does not prove the soul to be immortal.
In his sixth meditation must return to the doubts he raised in his first meditation. In this last section of his sixth meditation he deals mainly with the mind-body problem; and he tries to prove whether material things exist with certainly. In this meditation he develops his Dualist argument; by making a distinction between mind and body; although he also reveals their rather significant relationship.
In this term paper, I have tried to tackle the metaphysical issues of consciousness by first defining consciousness and doing a thorough study about the term. Then I proceeded to the metaphysical aspects of consciousness, examining and understanding them.
..., we must thank God for making this happen, because for good or for worst this has made us who we are today, a way of defining our actions. Somehow, it serves as an example of not making the same mistake again for when we commit a mistake the first time is okay to consider it an error but when we make the same mistake twice is no longer a mistake, is an option.
ABSTRACT: In this essay I examine the relationship between Sartre's phenomenological description of the "self" as expressed in his early work (especially Being and Nothingness) and elements to be found in some approaches to Buddhism. The vast enormity of this task will be obvious to anyone who is aware of the numerous schools and traditions through which the religion of Buddhism has manifested itself. In order to be brief, I have decided to select specific aspects of what is commonly called the Theravadin tradition as being representative of Buddhist philosophy. By choosing to look primarily at the Theravadin tradition, I am by necessity ignoring a vast number of other Buddhist approaches. However, in my view, the Theravadin sect presents a consistent Buddhist philosophy which is representative of many of the major trends within Buddhism.
It is Benatar’s belief that when people defend the notion that its better to exist than to never have come into existence, they do so using arguments that appeal to pleasures outweighing pain. For example, let us take the expression it is better to have loved and lost than to have n...
Thus, story and memory remove humans from the horrible brevity of mortal life by bringing existence into a realm outside of time. Humans die, but through story their fellow humans can make them immortal. Even amidst life’s tragedies, stories allow us to transform what seems an unbearable reality into something deeply beautiful. And yet their power is not merely retrospective since stories impose moral responsibility on our every action. Forgetting, therefore, is among the worst evils; not only because of the “moral perversity” it permits, but also because of the meaning it denies.
In Chapter 13 of Concerning the Soul, Avicenna argues that, because the soul is incorruptible, it does not die with the death of the body. He then presents two arguments to support the conclusion that, upon death, the soul does not die. It is my intent to explain the general structure of the “absolutely incorruptible” argument that Avicenna gives for the immortality of the soul, and to give a critical assessment of that argument.
In a time where science and materialism reign, the topic of the soul is rarely mentioned, ostensibly left in the past with the philosophers of old. Nichols, however, candidly broaches this difficult topic and gives new life to the argument that humans do indeed have an immaterial, immortal soul. Nichols summarizes several popular arguments for the existence of the soul as he builds his own argument, which discusses a soul as limited in relation to its environment as well as a soul that is one with the mind and a controller of the body. He discusses both the strengths and challenges to his argument, offering rebuttals to the challenges. Because this soul is the organizing principle of the body it is involved in the Resurrection as well, bridging the gap between the material and spiritual worlds. However, I disagree with Nichols’ assessment, instead choosing the side of materialism where an immaterial soul does not exist.
But, “human persons have an ‘inner’ dimension that is just as important as the ‘outer’ embodiment” (Cortez, 71). The “inner” element cannot be wholly explained by the “outer” embodiment, but it does give rise to inimitable facets of the human life, such as human dignity and personal identity. The mind-body problem entails two theories, dualism and physicalism. Dualism contends that distinct mental and physical realms exist, and they both must be taken into account. Its counterpart (weak) physicalism views the human as being completely bodily and physical, encompassing no non-physical, or spiritual, substances.
The word “philosophy” is derived from two roots that are “philo” and “Sophia.” Philo means love whereas Sophia means wisdom. Therefore, philosophy means the love of wisdom. In actual practice, philosophy entails study of, pursuit, and enquiry into wisdom. A good number of great philosophers have referred to philosophy as the art of thinking. Others have only defined it as the systematic study of human feelings and thoughts.