Philosophical Tradition Research Articles

Translating Jain Philosophy at the Confluence of Persianate Hinduism

Abstract In 1796, Claude Martin (1735–1800), a wealthy French officer of the East India Company living in Lucknow, commissioned the Brahman Delārām to translate into Persian two classical texts from the Digambara Jain philosophical tradition. Using the Braj Bhāṣā commentaries composed by the seventeenth-century Jain author Hemrāj Pāṇḍe, Delārām was able to access the original Prakrit texts of the eighth- and tenth-century philosophers Kundakunda and Nemicandra via an updated vernacularized version. His translations are as an exceptional document showing the hermeneutic tools that a Persian-speaking Brahman could use to parse the doctrinal system of Jainism. Delārām’s language was markedly shaped by his familiarity with Advaita Vedānta and the “unity of being (vahdat al-vojud)” school of Sufism, focused on ontological unity. More specifically, the Sufi-Advaita idiom that developed in Persian from the early Mughal period onward functioned for Delārām as a lens through which he could engage with the doctrinal diversity of India’s religious landscape. His efforts to translate the unfamiliar and sometimes perplexing elements of Jainism reveal the complex modalities of crossing linguistic and religious boundaries through Persian in South Asia and their partial incommensurabilities.

Present Status of Inclusive Moral Education in India

A vital component of India's educational system, inclusive moral education reflects the nation's broad religious, cultural, and socioeconomic heterogeneity. To advance a thorough and unbiased moral viewpoint, it integrates teachings from several theological and philosophical traditions, including the religion of Buddhism, the Sikhism Christianity, Islam, the Hindu faith, and secular humanism. This method entails a curriculum that presents moral parables, moral dilemmas, and historical accounts that highlight the moral achievements of many cultures. Instructors are essential in helping pupils navigate morally challenging circumstances and encouraging courteous discourse. In order to create an inclusive atmosphere, professional development programs may assist instructors in addressing touchy themes including race, ethnicity, faith, and socioeconomic status. Programs that include the community and community service can assist students in putting moral principles into practice and in understanding how their actions influence other people. For comprehensive moral education to be provided, systemic prejudices and injustices must be addressed. This entails promoting gender equality, combating caste-based discrimination, and fostering an inclusive environment for marginalized communities. Utilizing technology and digital media, inclusive moral education may be promoted while offering students personalized, interactive learning opportunities. With initiatives and regulations that support tolerance, compassion, and critical thinking, the Indian government and institutions of learning are essential to the advancement of inclusive moral education. The goal of inclusive moral education is to produce socially conscious and ethically aware people who can make valuable contributions to India's heterogeneous society.

От эстетики к сомаэстетике: о формировании философской позиции Р. Шустермана

The subject of the article is neopragmatic aesthetics; its formation, methodological foundations and specificity of the object of research. To reveal the stated goal, the author turns to the works of the American philosopher Richard Shusterman, who most consistently and clearly substantiates his philosophical position. The American philosopher, despite the strong influence of the analytical school, restores the connection with pragmatism, with the aesthetics of John Dewey, points out the dead ends and problematic points of the analytical approach. The article presents the evolution of American philosophical aesthetics with an emphasis on the transitional stage from the analytic tradition to a neopragmatic one. It is shown that Shusterman’s attempt to get rid of the “Platonic stigma” in the philosophy of art is carried out at the expense of criticizing analytic aesthetics. Thus, Shusterman makes critical arguments about the established habit of identifying art in its multivariate manifestation with the notion of “high” fi ne art associated with the sublime and true art. Shusterman shifts the focus of attention from the problem of defining art to the analytics of aesthetic experience, which allows him to transform aesthetics into somaesthetics – a body-oriented, practical philosophical discipline. The author concludes that Shusterman’s concept of somaesthetics emerges in a polemic with fundamentalist foundations in aesthetics, namely, the tradition of distinguishing objects, works of art from what is not, i.e. defining art. The author notes that a key figure for the formation of the theoretical basis of somaesthetics was Shusterman’s acquaintance with the position of Noel Carroll, who moves from the search for the essence of art to the investigation of the internal standards and motives of art. Schusterman, picking up on this strategy, affirms his anti-essentialist position. In polemics with his colleagues, he shifts and rethinks the problem field of aesthetics, declaring war on “Platonism,” criticizing the Greek philosophical tradition, to which we owe the fact that practical activity has become valued much less than theoretical activity. Along with this, the author concludes about Shusterman’s sophistic strategy and logic of thinking, citing arguments from the work of postmodernist researcher Barbara Cassin.

The Changing Definition Of Human Nature From Traditional to Contemporary Approaches: A View Of Human Nature In The Philosophy Of Informatıon

The issue of what human nature is an important issue for understanding the present and building the future. The place of human beings in the universe as well as their duty, their relationship with society, and their environment has been shaped by the meaning attributed to human nature. This article examines the transformation that the understanding of human nature in traditional philosophy has undergone after the information revolution from the perspective of information philosophy. Information technologies, which have integrated into every area of our lives after the information revolution, has deeply affected our scientific, economic, intellectual, and cultural activities. With the information revolution, human nature has been redefined with its characteristics that participate in design and creation activities, thanks to its interaction abilities, which are information-processing capacities, beyond biological and spiritual characteristics. The understanding of human nature has been addressed in different historical periods since the mythological period. The subject here is to evaluate the understanding of human nature from the traditional to the present. The anthropocentric understanding of humans, traditionally defined in the context of biological, physiological, and spiritual characteristics, is defined in the philosophy of information in a holistic context as an agent with information processing capacity, an informational object. As an entity that carries and processes information, humans are evaluated in the same category as information technologies such as cybernetic systems and artificial intelligence, although they have different characteristics, as informational objects. In addition, this study aims to provide a new perspective to the literature by examining the change process in the understanding of human nature.

La transformación de la persona: fantasía o imaginación.

Several thinkers from different philosophical currents have pointed out that transhumanism is one of the most dangerous contemporary ideologies. After analyzing why a philosopher must pass a warning regarding this way of thinking and living, I offer some critical aspects against this interpretation of human transformation –the main promise of transhumanism–. I identify the philosophical roots of transhumanism above all in authors such as Nietzsche, Descartes, Freud and Marx. This philosophical tradition invoked by transhumanism proposes a certain interpretation of the imaginative faculty. It is there where this transformation into a cyborg fundamentally resides, whose absurd consequences I explain in the existential, scientific and socio-political sphere. I argue that the imaginative act of becoming a cyborg is morally, epistemologically and spiritually opposed to the act of authentic imagination. I offer a critique of this fantasy and argue that transhumanism is overcome through a total conversion of the imagination.

What do we do when we suspend judgement?

AbstractAccording to a classical view, suspension of judgement is, like belief and disbelief, a cognitive state. However, as some authors (Crawford 2022; Lord 2020; McGrath 2021a, 2021b; Sosa 2019, 2021) have pointed out, to suspend judgement is also to perform a certain mental action. The main goal of this article is to defend a precise account of the action that we take when we suspend our judgement: the Preventing Account. The Preventing Account has both the advantage of (i) accounting for familiar situations in which subjects suspend judgements and (ii) of explaining the tendency, which is widespread in the philosophical tradition (from sceptics to pragmatists), to consider suspension of judgement as something that is (at least, to some degree) difficult to achieve.

Making of Contemporary Indian Philosophy and Dilemmas of Demanded Change: A Critical Study of Swaraj in Light of Neo-Vedanta

One of the legacies of Western philosophical thought has been its evolution through movements and slogans such as modernism, postmodernism, existentialism and analyticism. These popular intellectual standpoints have contributed to making Western culture more dialogical and progressive. However, in contrast, exploration of socio-philosophical movements within the Indian philosophical tradition, except for ancient times, remains relatively uncharted territory. Acknowledging this variance, the present article investigates the evolution of contemporary Indian philosophy during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It examines the core unifying principle that bound together eminent figures such as Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, K. C. Bhattacharyya and numerous others of their category, all classified as Neo-Vedantists. Precisely, the philosophy or movement under scrutiny is Swaraj, illuminated through the lens of Neo-Vedanta, presenting a distinctive perspective on human values and change.

Влияние спекулятивной философии И. Канта на становление и концептуализацию онтологической школы Московской духовной академии

The article delves into the analysis of philosophical reception of Kantian ideas by representatives of the onto-logical school of the Moscow Theological Academy F.A. Golubinsky and V.D. Kudryavtsev-Platonov. I. Kant’s critical philosophy aroused genuine interest among professors of theological academies, since Kantian tran-scendentalism was a method rather than a competing system of philosophical metaphysics, nevertheless, at-tempts to combine the achievements of Kantian thought and theistic attitudes revealed obvious contradictions between the constants of the two systems. The influence of Kant’s critical thought on the philosophical tradition of the Moscow Theological Academy is assessed by researchers in a mixed way: they note the doctrinal ap-proach in criticizing Kantian positions, as well as the eclectic nature of academic concepts, in which thinkers tried to strike a balance between the rigor of Kantian discourse and the postulates of Orthodox Christian theism. Meanwhile, the critical assessment of the ideas and concepts of Kantian philosophy, the reinterpretation of its terms did not lead academic thinkers beyond its basic principles. The author notes the systemic nature of the influence, which consists in the branching of the method and structure of I. Kant’s speculative thought in the philosophical constructions of the ontological school.

Kudos, segments, and heatmaps

The development and utilization of social media apps creates both opportunities and ‎challenges for users, a phenomenon that includes the endurance sport community. The Strava app, ‎launched in 2009, has grown in popularity to approximately 100 million users as of March 2024. At ‎times referred to as social media for endurance athletes, Strava illustrates a specific form of virtual ‎communication worthy of examination. In this paper the aims are to: 1) describe the app features and ‎its impact on users, both the benefits and the challenges; 2) explore a number of ethical issues associated ‎with using Strava. Methods include a philosophical approach with a particular focus on the American ‎philosophical tradition (e.g., Henry David Thoreau, William James, Henry Bugbee), along with first-person ‎accounts of using Strava for running and swimming workouts.‎

Sublating Humanism

Chinese humanism developed distinctly from European humanist discourses, reflecting unique cultural and philosophical traditions. Analysing these differences can enhance our understanding of both the specific characteristics of Chinese humanism and the diverse potentialities within contemporary global humanist thought. This comparative perspective, enhanced by employing the method of sublation, underscores the planetary relevance of humanism. It demonstrates how diverse cultural perspectives enrich and broaden the scope of global discourse, leading to a more inclusive understanding of humanism worldwide. In this paper I will give a brief historical overview of the origins and development of the formation of ideas which, in China, placed the human being at the centre of culture and the cosmos. But in order to better understand the differences that demarcate Chinese views of humans and their position in the world from European ones, we will first look at how the relationship between people and the communities in which they live is structured in the Chinese tradition. We will then examine the political and philosophical currents shaping Confucian discourse and take a look on the way in which each of them contributes to the Chinese model of humanism. By applying the method of sublation, we intend to investigate how these two systems could complement and enhance each other, thereby helping to establish a foundational framework for a newly proposed transcultural planetary ethics.

Contextual disparities of “happiness” in Korean and Chinese: A quantitative analysis of “행복” and “幸福”

This study investigates the contextual disparities in the meanings of the Korean Hanja word “행복 [hɛŋbok]” and the Chinese Hanzi word “幸福 [ɕiŋ51 fu35],” both conceptualized similarly to “happiness” in English. Utilizing computational linguistics methodologies, we analyzed 192,249 instances of “행복” from the Modu Corpus and 324,585 instances of “幸福” from the CCL Corpus, employing collocation, bi-gram, and tri-gram techniques. Our analysis reveals that these words embody distinct cultural, social, and political dimensions in their respective contexts. Korean usage of “행복” shows a strong association with community well-being, social infrastructure, and educational development. Frequently co-occurring terms include “가족” (family), “교육” (education), and “사회” (society), reflecting deep-rooted Confucian values. Conversely, Chinese usage of “幸福” emphasizes national prosperity, collective harmony, and individual life quality. Common collocates include “国家” (country), “人民” (people), and “生活” (life), influenced by traditional philosophies and modern political ideologies. The research highlights significant differences in how happiness is conceptualized in relation to government policies. Korean contexts focus on specific quality-of-life improvements, evident in phrases like “행복 주택” (happiness housing) and “행복 도시” (happiness city). Chinese contexts stress the link between national development and individual well-being, as seen in expressions like “人民幸福” (people’s happiness) and “幸福生活” (happy life). These findings underscore the complex interplay between personal fulfillment and social responsibility in East Asian cultures. Our study demonstrates the effectiveness of computational linguistics in analyzing complex cultural concepts, while also revealing limitations in capturing individual subjective experiences. It contributes to contrastive lexicography between Korean and Chinese, offering insights for cross-cultural communication and policymaking in social well-being initiatives.

Разговоры на письме: эпистолярный архив Н.А. Бердяева

The essay examines the book published in 2023 “Nikolai Berdyaev: An Epistolary Conversation. Archival Materials”, containing bilateral correspondence between N.A. Berdyaev and S.L. Frank, as well as letters to Berdyaev from N.O. Lossky and Yu.M. Panebrattsev. This book covers the chronological period from 1922 to 1948, during which Berdyaev was living in exile. The main focus of the book is the correspondence between Berdyaev and Frank, which covers a wide range of topics, including the fate of Russian philosophical research abroad, educational and publishing institutions in Germany and France, as well as the daily challenges faced by Berdyaev during the 1920s and 1940s. A significant portion of the correspondence also discusses the ideas behind Berdyaev’s philosophical works, the process of preparing and publishing them, and the history of “Way” journal (1925–1940). Lossky’s letters (unfortunately, Berdyaev’s reply letters have not yet been found) are more formal and distant, but they also reflect the long-term collaboration between the philosophers, their attention to each other’s work, and their perception of the intellectual life in Soviet Russia as continuing in many ways, both in relation to the past and in connection with emigration. Of particular interest are the letters written by Yu.M. Panebrattsev (1900–1937) from Soviet Russia to Paris between 1930 and 1931, expressing the intense philosophical quest of a relatively young man seeking advice and guidance from Berdyaev. Panebrattsev’s letters provide an interesting insight into how, at the very beginning of the 1930s, he synthesized the trends of Russian idealistic philosophy from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, while also appealing to the great philosophical traditions of Europe, consciously avoiding the influence of official philosophy. The reviewed publication makes a valuable contribution not only to the study of Berdyaev’s life and works, but also to the history of the Russian emigration of the first wave

The wonder of being: Varieties of rationalism and its critique

AbstractIn his book The Culmination, Pippin leaves no doubt that he still thinks that German Idealism has achieved a level of understanding and radicality that makes its proponents the best conversational partners to develop an understanding of what philosophy is about. It is the question of the very possibility of understanding that comes to be at the center of their writings and informs every page. Yet this radicality is now seen in a different light. It is now conceived as a culmination, not of an understanding that comes to itself but of a misunderstanding that informs, unavoidably, Western philosophical tradition as a whole. The resources for the idea that there is something fundamentally wrong in the conception of what it is to be a being that is able to know anything at all Pippin finds most vividly and forcefully articulated in Heidegger. I will argue that there is something profoundly true about Pippin's idea that, at the bottom of any knowledge we have of ourselves and the world, there is something that Heidegger calls Stimmung, which is essentially non‐discursive. However, I will argue that to defend the latter thought, one has to read Heidegger's notion of Stimmung in a more radical way than Pippin seems to be willing to.

The Enneagram: Personality Testing to Improve Your Engagement with Your Team and Patients

I learned about personality testing as a psychology major in undergraduate school. There are many different methods used to identify personality types, including the Myers-Briggs, one of the most used by industry to understand an organization’s or team’s strengths and weaknesses. Enneagrams are based on an ancient philosophic tradition and are used to better understand ourselves and those around us.

ANCIENT ROOTS TO MODERN SOCIETY: INDIAS SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

Indias social transformation is a journey marked by the interplay of ancient traditions and modern influences. This paper explores the evolution of Indias social fabric from its early Vedic roots to its current standing as a dynamic and diverse society. The analysis delves into the enduring impact of religious, cultural, and philosophical traditions on contemporary social structures, highlighting how these ancient legacies have shaped the modern Indian ethos. By examining key historical milestones, such as the contribution of empires, colonialism, and the independence movement, the study reveals the complex ways in which India has navigated the challenges of modernity while preserving its rich heritage. The discussion also addresses the ongoing struggles and adaptations within Indian society, including caste dynamics, gender roles, and the quest for social equity, emphasizing the continuous process of negotiation between tradition and modernity. Through this exploration, the paper aims to provide a nuanced understanding of Indias social transformation, underscoring the nations ability to adapt and innovate while remaining rooted in its ancient cultural wisdom.Indias social transformation encompasses changes in various societal aspects, including institutions, structure, culture, and philosophy. The goals of social transformation in India are evolutionary in strategy but revolutionary in content. Leaders of the Indian independence movement understood that social structure, history, and tradition form the foundation of society, setting the parameters for social reform plans, objectives, and methods.

Social Ecologies in Court

Rather than explore personal identity from the perspective of Western philosophical traditions—which tend to regard ‘persons’ as human individuals endowed with reason, as the likes of Aristotle and John Locke would have it—this article will introduce personhood as a state of being that is, at once, variegated, culturally constructed, and notably interspecies. By drawing on three ethnographic case studies (North India, Papua New Guinea, and the Amazon), it will outline some of the ways in which ‘persons’ are shaped and reshaped through shared meaningful interactions with(in) their natural environments, hence understood differently from one culture to another. In doing so, it will show how anthropology’s distinct way of accounting for and championing cultural heterogeneity (i.e., through ‘intercultural-glocal glasses’) can bolster religious studies, for as much as the former challenges Eurocentric assumptions that have beset the latter, usually expressed as dyadic categories (e.g., human- and other-than-human entities). I propose that this cross-disciplinary dialogue—seeking to heed pluri-ontological deixis, or bringing multiple voices and life-worlds to the deliberating table—is a timely methodological move for diversifying beyond the apodictic propositions held about personhood, not only in religious studies, but also in legislative frameworks more widely.

What Dawned First: Early Buddhist Philosophy on the Problem of Phenomenon and Origin in a Comparative Perspective

This article explores the issues of phenomenon and genesis in Early Buddhist thought through a comparative analysis with the Eleatic tradition, aiming to enrich the understanding and dialogue between these philosophical and religious traditions. By examining the comparability of Buddhist thought and Parmenidean philosophy, the study challenges the notion that these traditions are fundamentally alien to each other. The focus is on the concept of genesis, not as creation from nothingness—rejected by both the Buddha and Parmenides—but as the manifestation of the world to the human observer. The article argues that the world reveals itself in particular forms and appearances, which are intimately linked to the phenomenon and its perception by humans. This process is not solely a domain of rigid logical propositions but can be expressed through mythological and religious narratives. The study posits that the poetic expressiveness found in archaic philosophies of both India and Greece provides a valid medium for engaging in philosophical discourse. By adopting this comparative and dialogical perspective, the article aims to generate new philosophical insights and inspire future philosophical inquiry. The reflection on phenomenon and genesis, framed through this comparative lens, highlights the nuanced ways in which different traditions address the nature of reality and human perception, ultimately advocating for a broader, more inclusive understanding of philosophy that transcends conventional boundaries.

Beauty Is the Gravitas Amoris: A Trinitarian Correlation of Beauty and Love

There have been many attempts to give a precise definition of beauty. In this article, I join a tradition of trinitarian reflection on beauty and attempt to add further clarity to a trinitarian definition of beauty. Beauty, in my construal, is the gravitas amoris of the triune being of love—it is, in other words, the objective attractional “force” or “weightiness” exerted by triune love on the soul by which one, if she yields to triune love, experiences the bliss and delight of triune love and is thereby drawn into deifying union. This article will proceed as follows: First, I will survey the relationship between beauty and love found in the classic philosophical tradition represented by Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus. Then, I will survey this beauty–love relation in Christian thought from Augustine, Aquinas, Ficino, Edwards, and von Hildebrand. These figures will provide supporting evidence for my construal of beauty. I then turn to the constructive task. I argue that there is an abductive fit between the features of beauty and the nature of the Trinity. In light of this fit and the sources of traditional thought above, beauty is best thought of as the gravitas amoris—the weighty impression of God’s triune love in created things that draws one into the triune life and is experienced as delight when perceived. I conclude by answering objections and reflecting on how this account reframes the transcendentals and coordinates the experience of beauty with Christian love.

Africa and the Possibility of Philosophy: Paulin Hountondji’s Intellectual Legacy

Abstract In this brief memoriam, I argue that Hountondji’s methodological concern over the possibility of African philosophy led him to query the very idea of philosophy as the search for universal knowledge. Hountondji’s lasting legacy thus consists, among other things, in challenging the image of Western philosophy as the repository of universal knowledge. To the contrary, philosophy will come into its own only through the critical construction of culturally and politically unrestricted discourse from different philosophical traditions.

Attitude in ecological evaluations of college English textbooks in China

Ecolinguistics, as an emerging paradigm in linguistic studies, provides an approach for analysing ecological constructions in texts. However, different contexts feature quite different ecological philosophical traditions. English textbooks, often including imported materials, raise consideration for its ecological suitability for different social contexts. This study examines the ecological evaluations of College English textbooks used in China to elucidate the underlying evaluations and assess them according to Chinese harmonious ecosophy. Adopting Martin and White's (2005) attitude system, this study analyses the selected textbooks from the aspects of affect, judgment and appreciation with the UAM Corpus Tool to annotate instantiations of natural resources. Semantic analyses suggest that the authorial construction of nature in textbooks propagate some inharmonious ecological worldviews. The study not only improves our understanding of stance of textbooks towards the natural world but also helps to explore the role textbooks play in ecological education.