mindmind who am i? what am i? what is it to be human? what makes me a person? what makes me me?
TRANSCRIPT
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MindMindMindMind
Who am I? What am I? What is it to be human?
What makes me a person? What makes me me?
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The Divided SelfThe Divided SelfThe Divided SelfThe Divided Self
• I think of myself as unified, as being one self.
• Yet I often feel conflict within myself.
• How is this possible?
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The Divided SelfThe Divided SelfThe Divided SelfThe Divided Self
• I must consist of different components.
I want to do a
I should do a
I don’t want to do a
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HinduismHinduismHinduismHinduism
• Hinduism is the primary religion of India.
• It regards the Upanishads (-900- -200) as sacred.
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HenotheismHenotheism
• There are many gods,• But all are forms of one being, Brahman.
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Rg VedaRg Veda
• “They have styled Him Indra (the Chief of the Gods), Mitra (the Friend), Varuna (the Venerable), Agni (Fire), also the celestial, great-winged Garutma; for although one, poets speak of Him diversely; they say Agni, Yama (Death), and Matarisvan (Lord of breath).”
• All these gods exist, but as diverse appearances of one God, “the divine architect, the impeller of all, the multiform.”
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Bhagavad GitaBhagavad Gita
• “Even those who are devotees of other gods,And worship them permeated with faith, It is only me, son of Kunti, that even theyWorship, (tho’) not in the enjoined fashion. For I of all acts of worshipAm both the recipient and the Lord. . . .”
• “I see the gods in Thy body, O God. . . .”
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Concepts of BrahmanConcepts of Brahman
• Nirguna brahman: God without attributes; neti . . . neti (not this)
• Saguna brahman: God with attributes
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Attributes of GodAttributes of God
• Abstract: • Sat: being • Chit: awareness• Ananda: bliss
• Concrete• Creator (Brahma)• Preserver (Vishnu)• Destroyer (Shiva)
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Vishnu, Shiva, BrahmaVishnu, Shiva, Brahma
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ShivaShiva
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Six orthodox schools (darshanas)Six orthodox schools (darshanas)
• Vedanta (end of Veda, or sacred knowledge)
• Samkhya (nature)• Yoga (discipline) • Purva Mimamsa
(exegesis, interpretation)
• Vaisesika (realism) • Nyaya (logic)
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VedantaVedanta
• Brahman: the Absolute, ground of all being, reality as it is in itself
• Atman: the soul.
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AdvaitaAdvaita• Nondualism: soul
(atman) = Brahman• Monism: Everything is
ultimately one• Everything is Brahman• Brahman is the child
and the elephant, you and me
• We are one with everything
• Everything is holy
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AdvaitaAdvaita
• Idealism: The world as it appears is not real
• Distinctions are illusory
• The world is maya (play, illusion)
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TheismTheism
• Dualism: soul (atman) ≠ Brahman
• Not everything is identical with everything else
• Realism: Some aspects of the world are independent of us
• At least some distinctions are real
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SamkhyaSamkhya
• “Analysis of nature”
• Dualism: reality consists of two irreducible elements:
• nature (prakrti) and
• the conscious being (purusa).
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Strands (gunas) of natureStrands (gunas) of nature
• sattva (light, clarity, intelligence)• rajas (passion, dynamism) • tamas (darkness, inertia, stupidity)
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Conscious beingConscious being
• the body and senses • the sensational or emotional mind (manas)• the ego-sense (ahamkdra)• the rational mind, or intelligence (buddhi)
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Katha UpanishadKatha Upanishad
Know thou the soul as riding in a chariot,The body as the chariot. Know thou the intellect as the chariot-driver, And the mind as the reins. The senses, they say, are the horses; The objects of sense, what they range over. The self combined with senses and mindWise men call "the enjoyer."
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Hindu SelfHindu SelfHindu SelfHindu Self
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Plato & HinduismPlato & Hinduism
• Plato's chariot has no passenger.
• Plato's horses are desire and emotion, not the senses.
• Plato’s picture is closer to the Hindu account of the strands (intelligence, passion, inertia) than to the distinction between soul, intellect, mind, and senses.
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Mind, Body, and SoulMind, Body, and Soul
• The soul is separable from body, mind, and intellect
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Separability of the soulSeparability of the soul
• Consequences:
• Enlightenment: You can detach yourself from each manifestation of nature
• Reincarnation: The soul may occupy a different body and mind.
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The self is a hierarchy The self is a hierarchy
• Great Self
• Intellect
• Mind
• Objects of sense
• Senses
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To master yourselfTo master yourself
• Higher items must control lower items firmly:
• Objects of sense —> senses: be objective, see the world as it is. Pay attention!
• Mind —> objects of sense: be active, focus!• Intellect —> mind: reason —> thoughts and
emotions• Soul —> intellect: Brahman is ultimate
reality; follow path of renunciation
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Path of desirePath of desire
• Pleasure• But the self is too
small
• Success: wealth, fame, power• Exclusive, competitive,
precarious• Insatiable• Self is too small• Rewards are ephemeral
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Path of renunciationPath of renunciation
• Duty: Service to Community
• Transitory• Imperfect• Tragic
• Liberation (moksha)
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Four waysFour ways
• Strands:• Intelligence —>
passion
• Intelligence —> inertia
• Yoga, discipline
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Four kinds of yogaFour kinds of yoga
• Jnana yoga: knowledge• Bhakti yoga: love (devotion)• Karma yoga: work• Raja yoga: meditation
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Raja YogaRaja Yoga
• Ethical restraints
• Ethical observances
• Asanas (postures)
• Breath control
• Withdrawal of the senses
• Meditation
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Meditation, 1Meditation, 1
• Concentration: “binding the mind to a single spot”
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Meditation, 2Meditation, 2
• “Meditation”: “cessation of the fluctuations of mind and (self-)awareness”
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Meditation, 3Meditation, 3
• Mystic trance: “illumination only of the object as object, empty, as it were, of what it essentially is”
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Goals of MeditationGoals of Meditation
• Aloneness (kaivalya): “reversal of the course of the strands, now empty of meaning and value”
• Liberation (mukti)
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Ethics in the GitaEthics in the Gita
• Divine command theory: God’s command is what makes right action right
• “Perform thou action that is (religiously) required”)
• Western examples (14th - 16th centuries): William of Ockham (Occam), Luther, Calvin
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What is religiously required?What is religiously required?
• Liberation: “Be thou free from the three Strands”• Ignore consequences: “On action alone be thy
interest, Never on its fruits”
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The Euthyphro ProblemThe Euthyphro Problem
• Euthyphro: What is right is what the gods love
• Socrates: Is it right because the gods love it, or
• Do the gods love it because it is right?
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Ethics and ReligionEthics and Religion
• If the gods love it because it is right, • There is an independent
standard of right and wrong
• We can describe it independently of religion
• A divine command is just a guide
• It does not define what is right
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Divine Command TheoryDivine Command Theory
• If it is right because the gods love it,• There is no
independent standard
• Ethics cannot be separated from religion
• We cannot morally evaluate the divine
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Five ethical restraintsFive ethical restraints
• Noninjury (ahimsa): Do not harm
• Property: Do not steal• Chastity: Do not
fornicate• Truthfulness: Do not lie• Lack of avarice: Do not
covet
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Five observancesFive observances
• Cleanliness• Contentment• Self-control• Studiousness• Contemplation of the
divine
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Stages of lifeStages of life
• Student• Habits, skills,
information
• Householder• Pleasure, success, duty
• Retirement• Understanding,
philosophy
• Renunciation