The Image of Philosophy in Indian Culture: Etymology and Untranslatability of Terms

Hanna Hnatovska

doi:10.29202/fhi/13/2

Abstract

The Image of Philosophy in Indian Culture: Etymology and Untranslatability of Terms

Highlights

The instruction to “justify” the search for philosophical thought in Eastern cultures only by the presence of direct analogs with the categorical apparatus of Western philosophy is vulnerable and imperfect
Can we find in the vocabulary of the creative work of Indian thinkers a term which without any caveats translates the European term philosophy? This question has been the subject of scientific research throughout the whole history of Indology in the “Western world.”
The subject of our study is the etymology and specificity of the translation of the terms: anvīkṣiki, darśana, vidyā, tarkavidyā, tarka, tattvajñāna, jñāna, tattvavidyā, tattva, tārkikatva, indriyāsaṅga, with the purpose to clarify the differences, which can be translated as philosophy

Summary

Introduction

The instruction to “justify” the search for philosophical thought in Eastern cultures only by the presence of direct analogs with the categorical apparatus of Western philosophy is vulnerable and imperfect. As a key language of the Indian spiritual tradition, offers us, in particular, the following terms: darśana (Sanskrit Devanagari — दर्शन); anvīkṣiki (Sanskrit Devanagari — अन्वीक्षिकी); vidyā (Sanskrit Devanagari — विद्या); tarkavidyā (Sanskrit Devanagari — तर्कविद्या); tattvajñāna (Sanskrit Devanagari — तत्वज्ञान); tattvavidyā (Sanskrit Devanagari — तत्त्वविद्या); tārkikatva (Sanskrit Devanagari — तार्किकत्व); indriyāsaṅga (Sanskrit Devanagari — इन्द्रियासङ्ग). This list is probably not exhaustive, but we can take it as a basis for research as the most indicative one. The subject of our study is the etymology and specificity of the translation of the terms: anvīkṣiki, darśana, vidyā, tarkavidyā, tarka, tattvajñāna, jñāna, tattvavidyā, tattva, tārkikatva, indriyāsaṅga, with the purpose to clarify the differences, which can be translated as philosophy

Аnvīkṣiki and Darśana

Vidyā and complex terms

Conclusions

& References