Philosophy in the South Asian Subcontinent: A Unity in Maladjustment
ABSTRACT: Philosophy in the south Asian subcontinent differs from Western philosophy in the following three ways: (1) it is based upon religion; (2) love of tradition becomes an obstacle for philosophical development; and (3) authority is accepted as a source of knowledge. I argue that future philosophical development demands that the above three differences be removed. Furthermore, philosophers from the subcontinent must concentrate on contemporary issues.
If I ask myself about the extent of the philosophical heritage, which I may claim to have inherited from the past, I shall find myself in a difficulty in finding a precise answer. If I look back for my heritage, beyond fifty years towards the past, I shall find that the past heritage to which I belong, incidentally coincides with that of the South Asian subcontinent. In the context of philosophy, that heritage is what we find mainly in the traditions of the Vedic philosophical schools (specially the Vedanta school), Buddhism and Jainism. These philosophical traditions are also considered as oriental philosophies. An orientalistic outlook in the context of these philosophical traditions may find it difficult to draw a line of demarcation between the past and the present status of these traditions. It is my intention to draw attention to the fact that, in the context of philosophy, our past heritage is in a sense an obstacle to our future progress; and to this extent, our heritage and our future are in a unity in maladjustment.
I shall draw attention to some historical situations, and some claims of heritage based on these situations. It is claimed that, it is possible 'to trace the rise of philosophy to a period earlier than the Greeks...'. (1) This claim may lead to wonder whether Thales is the father of philosophy. In this context it is further claimed that: 'The first Greek thinker whom we can appropriately describe as a philosopher was Thales', and that 'When, however, we look at India of the sixth century B.C., we see a completely different picture. ... It was not a case of the dawn of philosophy as in Greece but what may be described as the full glow of philosophical day'. (2)
What implications are meant to follow from such claims? Can we say that
W. T. Stace is wrong in claiming that Thales is the father of philosophy? (3) Should one rather say that Thales is in fact the father of western philosophy only?
John Osborne, a young scientist working to predict the severity and the time of the radiation cloud, faces the truth of the situation on a daily basis and has accepted it with little difficulty compared to other characters, including one of his peers who never accepted it and tried to prove the winds would not blow the cloud down to the southern hemisphere, despite all evidence contrary. By living the truth and accepting what he’ll have to do when the time comes, John Osborne becomes the happiest of the characters in the novel, though he is alone in his suicide, not going to his still-living mother or his distant relative Moira for the companionship of family, participating in debauchery, creaking the rules of the old world, or turning to alcohol or drugs for chemical euphoria. Instead, he finds his happiness in achieving his dreams.
The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people that lived in the area of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th century. It is said that Aztecs came from a place called Aztlan. Aztlan was the Aztec's homeland, nobody knows exactly where it was, but it is believed that Aztlan lies somewhere to the north of Mexico. Some experts claim that Aztlan is a mythical place. According to Aztec legends Huitzilopochtli, their god of war and of the sun, told them to leave Aztlan and to wander until they saw an eagle on a cactus budding out of a rock and eating a snake. The Aztecs traveled many years to find the legend that Huitzilopochtli had told. They left Aztlan in the 12th century. They built their settlements in the Valley of Mexico by Lake Texcoco. There were other Indian tribes living in the area when the Aztecs arrived. The Aztecs called their settlement Tenochtitlan. By the time they settled after two centuries of voyage they called themselves by a different name, the Mexica, but the term Aztec has been used as a ...
Yu, Han. “Memorial on Buddhism”. Making of the Modern World 12: Classical & Medieval Tradition. Trans. Richard F. Burton. Ed. Janet Smarr. La Jolla: University Readers, 2012. 111-112. Print.
Even with the negative and positive functions of No Child Left Behind, there are many areas that still need to ironed out. Under the Obama administration several states have received a waiver from No Child Left Behind, “with this waiver students will still be tested annually. But starting this fall, schools in those states will no longer face the same prescriptive actions spelled out under No Child Left Behind” (Feller & Hefling, 2012). Since 2007, the law has been up for review, but due to opponents of the law there has not been an agreement reached and the law continues to stress our schools and children out. We can only hope that when this law is reviewed and agreed upon that it really is in the best interest of our children and the nation as a whole.
From the perspective of the Aztecs, sacrificing their people’s lives and worshipping gods served a greater purpose. To elaborate, the Aztecs believed that the gods had sacrificed their own lives so that the humans could live, and naturally, the Aztecs felt in debt of the gods. This was the reason for the many sacrifices and offerings given towards gods. Another contributing factor was that the Aztec lived in constant fear that the world would come to an end. As a result, their religion’s key focus, was on keeping nature in balance, and to do so, they need to keep the gods happy. Therefore, the reason behind worshipping and sacrifices was so that the Aztec’s could live in harmony with nature and their gods.
Center for. “The Mystery of Aztec Sacrifices.” Wilson Quarterly 2.4 (2000):110. History Reference Center. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
In order for the gods to be satisfied; and in order for the people of this great civilization to survive and live a steadfast, healthy, and rewarding life, a human sacrifice must be given to the gods. In order for this great civilization to prosper and grow there must be a human sacrifice offered up unto the gods. In order for the sun to keep burning and producing light and heat, which is necessary for our crops, agriculture, and all of life, there must be human sacrifice given to the gods. Thankfully, in today’s society this is not the case and people no longer believe that sacrificing a living human being is what makes the world go around. However, in the ancient Aztec civilization ranging from approximately 1100 to 1522 B.C.E. this is how the world revolved and without this procedure and practice all of human kind would fall and disappear within a short amount of time and the gods as we know would shun civilization forever. This practice of offering human sacrifice was very vital to the Aztec civilization and plays a very significant role within the military, political, and religious practices, as well as having a profound impact on the social structure of Mexica, and has had varied explanations far and near from scholars who have studied what seems to be inexplicable practices of the Aztec civilization.
There were sacrifices where the Aztecs would have sacrificed animals instead of humans and sacrifices where humans would purposely cut themselves to offer their blood to their gods usually to clear a blood-debt or for worshipping.
Aztec citizens are well known as being a vicious type of humans that would go to extremes for their Gods’ including Human sacrifice and Cannibalism. Human sacrifice was not new when the Aztecs started, the act of Human sacrifice actually began in the Olmec Civilization. Although, the Olmec civilization started the ritual, most people think of the Aztecs as being the innovator of Human Sacrifice. This thought began because of how often the Aztecs would Sacrifice, the vast amounts of those sacrificed and how planned the sacrifices would be. The Aztec actually had a lunar calendar that planed the whole years Human sacrifices and there celebrations. Aztecs would have a calendar
Aztecs would use human sacrifice as a way to nourish the gods. They believed that they owed everything to the gods because the gods sacrificed themselves for the people. An important belief to the Aztecs was the “Legend of the Five Suns.” In this legend it was believed that the gods all sacrificed themselves for the human race. There are many different gods that the Aztecs believed in, and each of those gods required a different form of sacrifice. Some different sacrifices were women should be skinned, men should be burned, ones heart should be extracted, a maid should be sacrificed, one should be drowned, or one should be starved. This is only a short list of the many methods Aztecs used to provide a sacrifice to the gods. This type of behavior can be compared to religious practices seen in today’s society. Many religious people today have at least one god. In order to keep their god happy they go to worship and pray to that god habitually. Of course this isn't as violent and brutal as what the Aztecs did but we must understand that is what they believed in. They believed that their gods wanted sacrifices so that is what the Aztecs gave them. Today many people also believe that their actions will determine whether they will be blessed by their god or granted entry into heaven when they die. The Aztecs had beliefs similar to this as
Imagine living in a city called Tenochtitlan were your main power is blood from human sacrifice. The aztecs were creating a remarkable world-class society in the americas. The years were 1350 to 1519. The place was roughly the site of present-day Mexico City. Frequently, we begin our study of the aztecs in 1519 because that is the year Hernan Cortes and 500 conquistadors first entered the Aztec capital of tenochtitlan. The restatement of the question still remains as What should the historians focus on more: aztec agriculture or human sacrifice? We should emphasize human sacrifice for these three reasons: large scale, spiritual connection, and motive for war and expansion.
Why did the culture and customs require human blood to survive? How did high Aztec society view these sacrifice? These answers are easy to obtain using anthropology and archeology and historical documents from the time such as the infamous letters of Cortez. To the first question o why did the Aztecs practice human sacrifice to understand the reasons one must understand their epic religious beliefs. The Aztecs thought the world would end if they did not sacrifice human blood to their gods. The Gods were always locked in an epic battle and needed human blood to keep the universe from being destroyed. According to Aztec mythology, this world was the fifth and last universe so human blood was needed to continue the universe and prevent its destruction. The world had been destroyed four times before by the gods and it was up to the Aztecs who thought they were in the center of the world to stop its
Randolph, K., & Wilson-Younger, D. (2012). "Is No Child Left Behind Effective For All Students?" Parents Don't Think So. Online Submission.
Dr. James seeked that the Greek Philosophy is just stolen Egyptian Philosophy. Way before it actually reached Athens, the teachings called the Egyptian Mysteries got to other lands first. The history of the Greek philosophy was a compilation and plan executed by Aristotle at his school. Greek Philosophy as it was called and it different to the Greeks as the way they live. The period between 640-322 B.C. was the time period of Greek Philosophy and its external and internal wars was just not suitable for producing philosophers.
Western philosophy has three fundamental eras. These are the ancient era, medieval era, and the modern era. The ancient era mostly incorporates the works of Roman and Greek thinkers, some of whom were influenced by mainly by the developments in Mesopotamia and Egypt. During the ancient period, Greek philosophy was dominant and most creative. The Romans also contributed their part, but they were primarily building on what the Greeks had come up with earlier. The Romans did not add any substantial part that could give them the recognition of Greek caliber. Medieval philosophy was heavily reliant on Christianity. It did have el...