Nietzsche and Buddhist Philosophy, by Antoine Panaioti

Abstract

Europe’s interest in India exploded in the nineteenth century. The study of the Indian subcontinent and the Sanskrit texts, that is, the entire discipline of Indology, introduced to the West a vast, new world of philosophical and literary potential. In 1784, Sir William Jones founded the ‘Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal’, one of the earliest organisations dedicated to Indian studies. German intellectuals soon enough fell under the spell of Indian thought, quickly becoming European leaders in Sanskrit scholarship. William von Humboldt and the Schlegel brothers were Sanskrit scholars, and August Wilhelm von Schlegel became the first professor of Indology, at the University of Bonn in 1818. But arguably the most influential exponent of Indian thought in the nineteenth century was Arthur Schopenhauer. Schopenhauer did more than just interpret Indian philosophy for a European audience; he reawakened the spirit of Buddhist philosophy in the modern age. In Schopenhauer, the Indian tradition, and specifically Buddhism, became the inspiration for a highly original philosophical project.