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129-601: Antiquity Medieval Early modern Modern Iran India East-Asia Self-realization is a term used in Western philosophy , psychology , and spirituality ; and in Indian religions . In the Western understanding, it is the "fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one's character or personality" (see also self-actualization ). In Jainism , self realization is called Samyak darshan (meaning right perception) in which

258-469: A bridge between analytic and continental philosophy. The three major contemporary approaches to academic philosophy are analytic philosophy , continental philosophy and pragmatism . They are neither exhaustive nor mutually exclusive. Karma Antiquity Medieval Early modern Modern Iran India East-Asia Karma ( / ˈ k ɑːr m ə / , from Sanskrit : कर्म , IPA: [ˈkɐɾmɐ] ; Pali : kamma )

387-491: A building-block of an ethical theory. The third common theme of karma theories is the concept of reincarnation or the cycle of rebirths ( saṃsāra ). Rebirth is a fundamental concept of Hinduism , Buddhism , Jainism, and Sikhism. Rebirth, or saṃsāra , is the concept that all life forms go through a cycle of reincarnation, that is, a series of births and rebirths. The rebirths and consequent life may be in different realm, condition, or form. The karma theories suggest that

516-479: A few schools in Hinduism such as Charvakas (or Lokayata) abandoned the theory of 'karma and rebirth' altogether. Schools of Buddhism consider karma-rebirth cycle as integral to their theories of soteriology . The Vedic Sanskrit word [[[:wikt:कर्मन्#Sanskrit|kárman-]]] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script ( help ) ( nominative kárma ) means 'work' or 'deed', often used in

645-574: A man himself sows, so he himself reaps; no man inherits the good or evil act of another man. The fruit is of the same quality as the action. The 6th chapter of the Anushasana Parva (the Teaching Book), the 13th book of the Mahabharata , opens with Yudhishthira asking Bhishma : "Is the course of a person's life already destined, or can human effort shape one's life?" The future, replies Bhishma,

774-403: A man of bad acts, bad; he becomes pure by pure deeds, bad by bad deeds; And here they say that a person consists of desires, and as is his desire, so is his will; and as is his will, so is his deed; and whatever deed he does, that he will reap. The theory of karma as causation holds that: (1) executed actions of an individual affects the individual and the life he or she lives, and (2)

903-445: A new groundwork for studying metaphysics. Although Kant held that objective knowledge of the world required the mind to impose a conceptual or categorical framework on the stream of pure sensory data—a framework including space and time themselves—he maintained that things-in-themselves existed independently of human perceptions and judgments; he was therefore not an idealist in any simple sense. Kant's account of things-in-themselves

1032-594: A perfect island using the same steps of reasoning (therefore leading to an absurd outcome ). Boethius also worked on the problem of universals , arguing that they did not exist independently as claimed by Plato, but still believed, in line with Aristotle, that they existed in the substance of particular things. Another important figure for scholasticism, Peter Abelard , extended this to nominalism , which states (in complete opposition to Plato) that universals were in fact just names given to characteristics shared by particulars . Thomas Aquinas , an academic philosopher and

1161-458: A person attains extrasensory and thoughtless blissful experience of the soul. In the Hindu understanding, self-realization is liberating knowledge of the true self, either as the permanent undying Purusha or witness-consciousness , which is atman (essence), or as the absence ( sunyata ) of such a permanent self. Merriam Webster's dictionary defines self-realization as: Fulfillment by oneself of

1290-490: A principle of psychology and habit. Karma seeds habits ( vāsanā ), and habits create the nature of man. Karma also seeds self perception , and perception influences how one experiences life-events. Both habits and self perception affect the course of one's life. Breaking bad habits is not easy: it requires conscious karmic effort. Thus, psyche and habit, according to Potter and Coward, link karma to causality in ancient Indian literature. The idea of karma may be compared to

1419-427: A separate self, as explicated in the teachings of anatman and sunyata , self-realization is a contradictio in terminis for Buddhism. Though the tathagatagarbha-teachings seem to teach the existence of a separate self, they point to the inherent possibility of attaining awakening , not to the existence of a separate self. The dharmadhatu-teachings make this even more clear: reality is an undivided whole; awakening

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1548-527: A simple fallacy: that because something that is true proves useful, that usefulness is an appropriate basis for its truthfulness. Pragmatist thinkers include Dewey, George Santayana , and C. I. Lewis . Pragmatism was later worked on by neopragmatists Richard Rorty who was the first to develop neopragmatist philosophy in his Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (1979), Hilary Putnam , W. V. O. Quine , and Donald Davidson . Neopragmatism has been described as

1677-807: A simple life free from all possessions. The Cyrenaics promoted a philosophy nearly opposite that of the Cynics, endorsing hedonism , holding that pleasure was the supreme good, especially immediate gratifications; and that people could only know their own experiences, beyond that truth was unknowable. The final school of philosophy to be established during the Classical period was the Peripatetic school , founded by Plato's student, Aristotle . Aristotle wrote widely about topics of philosophical concern, including physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, aesthetics, poetry, theater, music, rhetoric, politics, and logic. Aristotelian logic

1806-467: A society, but not to the degree of absolute rule. Jean-Jacques Rousseau meanwhile argued that in nature people were living in a peaceful and comfortable state , and that the formation of society led to the rise of inequality . The approximate end of the early modern period is most often identified with Immanuel Kant's systematic attempt to limit metaphysics, justify scientific knowledge, and reconcile both of these with morality and freedom. Whereas

1935-404: A violent and anarchic, calling life under such a state of affairs "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short". To prevent this, he believed that the sovereign of the state should have essentially unlimited power. In contrast, Locke believed the state of nature be one where individuals enjoyed freedom, but that some of that (excluding those covered by natural rights ) had to be given up when forming

2064-427: Is (1) the executed action as a consequence of that activity, as well as (2) the intention of the actor behind an executed action or a planned action (described by some scholars as metaphysical residue left in the actor). A good action creates good karma, as does good intent. A bad action creates bad karma, as does bad intent. Difficulty in arriving at a definition of karma arises because of the diversity of views among

2193-625: Is a fact, while reincarnation is a hypothesis; and Creel (1986) suggests that karma is a basic concept, rebirth is a derivative concept. The theory of 'karma and rebirth' raises numerous questions – such as how, when, and why did the cycle start in the first place, what is the relative Karmic merit of one karma versus another and why, and what evidence is there that rebirth actually happens, among others. Various schools of Hinduism realized these difficulties, debated their own formulations – some reaching what they considered as internally consistent theories – while other schools modified and de-emphasized it;

2322-518: Is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions , the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect , often descriptively called the principle of karma , wherein individuals' intent and actions (cause) influence their future (effect): Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths , while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and worse rebirths. In some scriptures, however, there

2451-403: Is attained by realizing one's true identity as Ātman, and the identity of Atman and Brahman, the complete understanding of one's real nature as Brahman in this life. This is stated by Shankara as follows: I am other than name, form and action. My nature is ever free! I am Self, the supreme unconditioned Brahman. I am pure Awareness, always non-dual. Since Buddhism denies the existence of

2580-537: Is both a function of current human effort derived from free will and past human actions that set the circumstances. Over and over again, the chapters of Mahabharata recite the key postulates of karma theory. That is: intent and action (karma) has consequences; karma lingers and doesn't disappear; and, all positive or negative experiences in life require effort and intent. For example: Happiness comes due to good actions, suffering results from evil actions, by actions, all things are obtained, by inaction, nothing whatsoever

2709-443: Is both controversial and highly complex. Continuing his work, Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Friedrich Schelling dispensed with belief in the independent existence of the world, and created a thoroughgoing idealist philosophy. The most notable work of absolute idealism was G. W. F. Hegel 's Phenomenology of Spirit , of 1807. Hegel admitted his ideas were not new, but that all the previous philosophies had been incomplete. His goal

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2838-431: Is broached in the form of a question, oppositional responses are given, a counterproposal is argued and oppositional arguments rebutted. Because of its emphasis on rigorous dialectical method, scholasticism was eventually applied to many other fields of study. Anselm of Canterbury (called the 'father of scholasticism') argued that the existence of God could be irrefutably proved with the logical conclusion apparent in

2967-510: Is considered the gateway to moksha , liberation/freedom from rebirth. This state is attained when the Kundalini force pierces through the Sahasrara chakra at the crown of the head. The realization of Self, Parashiva , considered to be each soul's destiny, is attainable through renunciation, sustained meditation and preventing the germination of future karma (the phrase "frying the seeds of karma"

3096-457: Is disputed. The term " modern philosophy " has multiple usages. For example, Thomas Hobbes is sometimes considered the first modern philosopher because he applied a systematic method to political philosophy. By contrast, René Descartes is often considered the first modern philosopher because he grounded his philosophy in problems of knowledge , rather than problems of metaphysics. Modern philosophy and especially Enlightenment philosophy

3225-472: Is distinguished by its increasing independence from traditional authorities such as the Church, academia, and Aristotelianism; a new focus on the foundations of knowledge and metaphysical system-building; and the emergence of modern physics out of natural philosophy. Some central topics of Western philosophy in its early modern (also classical modern) period include the nature of the mind and its relation to

3354-494: Is enjoyed. If one's action bore no fruit, then everything would be of no avail, if the world worked from fate alone, it would be neutralized. Over time, various schools of Hinduism developed many different definitions of karma, some making karma appear quite deterministic, while others make room for free will and moral agency. Among the six most studied schools of Hinduism, the theory of karma evolved in different ways, as their respective scholars reasoned and attempted to address

3483-485: Is its principle of causality . This relationship between karma and causality is a central motif in all schools of Hindu , Buddhist , and Jain thought. One of the earliest associations of karma to causality occurs in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad verses 4.4.5–6: Now as a man is like this or like that, according as he acts and according as he behaves, so will he be; a man of good acts will become good,

3612-466: Is knowledge of witness-consciousness , the true self which is separate from delusion and identification with mental and material phenomena. In Shaivism , self-realization is the direct knowing of the Self God Parashiva . Self-realization ( nirvikalpa samadhi , which means "ecstasy without form or seed," or asamprajñata samādhi) is considered the ultimate spiritual attainment. Self-realization

3741-514: Is known as the " Hegelian dialectic ". Philosophers influenced by Hegel include Ludwig Feuerbach , who coined the term "projection" as pertaining to humans' inability to recognize anything in the external world without projecting qualities of ourselves upon those things; Karl Marx ; Friedrich Engels ; and the British idealists , notably T. H. Green , J. M. E. McTaggart , F. H. Bradley , and R. G. Collingwood . Few 20th-century philosophers embraced

3870-528: Is no link between rebirth and karma. Karma is often misunderstood as fate, destiny, or predetermination. The concept of karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in many schools of Indian religions (particularly in Hinduism , Buddhism , Jainism , and Sikhism ), as well as Taoism . In these schools, karma in the present affects one's future in the current life as well as the nature and quality of future lives—one's saṃsāra . This concept has also been adopted in Western popular culture, in which

3999-641: Is not accessible to mortals. Following the end of the skeptical period of the academy with Antiochus of Ascalon , Platonic thought entered the period of Middle Platonism , which absorbed ideas from the Peripatetic and Stoic schools. More extreme syncretism was done by Numenius of Apamea , who combined it with Neopythagoreanism . Also affected by the Neopythagoreans, the Neoplatonists , first of them Plotinus , argued that mind exists before matter, and that

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4128-461: Is not always associated with religious ceremonies; its predominant association with ritual in the Brāhmaṇa texts is likely a reflection of their ritualistic nature. In the same vein, sukṛta (and subsequently, puṇya) denotes any form of "merit," whether it be ethical or ritualistic. In contrast, terms such as pāpa and duṣkṛta consistently represent morally wrong actions. The earliest clear discussion of

4257-411: Is not so much a philosophy or a theology as a methodology , as it places a strong emphasis on dialectical reasoning to extend knowledge by inference and to resolve contradictions . Scholastic thought is also known for rigorous conceptual analysis and the careful drawing of distinctions. In the classroom and in writing, it often takes the form of explicit disputation ; a topic drawn from the tradition

4386-405: Is not strictly deterministic, but incorporated circumstantial factors such as other Niyamas . It is not a rigid and mechanical process, but a flexible, fluid and dynamic process. There is no set linear relationship between a particular action and its results. The karmic effect of a deed is not determined solely by the deed itself, but also by the nature of the person who commits the deed, and by

4515-593: Is often used) Ātman is the first principle in Advaita Vedanta , along with its concept of Brahman, with Atman being the perceptible personal particular and Brahman the inferred unlimited universal, both synonymous and interchangeable. The soteriological goal, in Advaita, is to gain self-knowledge and complete understanding of the identity of Atman and Brahman . Correct knowledge of Atman and Brahman leads dissolution of all dualistic tendencies and to liberation . Moksha

4644-409: Is one of the four incomprehensible subjects (or acinteyya ), subjects that are beyond all conceptualization, and cannot be understood with logical thought or reason. Nichiren Buddhism teaches that transformation and change through faith and practice changes adverse karma—negative causes made in the past that result in negative results in the present and future—to positive causes for benefits in

4773-473: Is one of the oldest world philosophies that separates body ( matter ) from the soul ( consciousness ) completely. Individual conscience and individual consciousness are central in the Jain philosophy . Self-realization is one of the major pre-requisites to attain ultimate enlightenment and liberation ( moksha ). Self-realization means peeling away fabricated layers of one's own personality to understand and experience

4902-413: Is so because the ancient scholars of India linked intent and actual action to the merit, reward, demerit, and punishment. A theory without ethical premise would be a pure causal relation ; the merit or reward or demerit or punishment would be same regardless of the actor's intention. In ethics, one's intentions, attitudes, and desires matter in the evaluation of one's action. Where the outcome is unintended,

5031-458: Is the eternal greatness of the Brahmin. He does not increase by kárman, nor does he become less. His ātman knows the path. Knowing him (the ātman) one is not polluted by evil karman. The Vedic words for "action" and "merit" in pre-Upaniṣadic texts carry moral significance and are not solely linked to ritual practices. The word karman simply means "action," which can be either positive or negative, and

5160-446: Is the realization of this whole. Sikhism propounds the philosophy of Self-realization. This is possible by "aatam-cheennea" or "Aap Pashaanae", purifying the self from the false ego: 'Atam-cheene' is self-analysis, which is gained by peeping into one's self in the light of the teachings of Sri Guru Granth Sahib . It is the process of evaluating and analyzing oneself on the touchstone of 'naam simran' which if practised, pierces into

5289-488: Is the visible or invisible effect that is typically immediate or within the current life. In contrast, a samskara ( Sanskrit : संस्कार ) is an invisible effect, produced inside the actor because of the karma, transforming the agent and affecting his or her ability to be happy or unhappy in their current and future lives. The theory of karma is often presented in the context of samskaras . Karl Potter and Harold Coward suggest that karmic principle can also be understood as

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5418-445: Is thereby explained by reference to actions in his present or in previous lifetimes. Karma is not itself ' reward and punishment ', but the law that produces consequence. Wilhelm Halbfass notes that good karma is considered as dharma and leads to punya ('merit'), while bad karma is considered adharma and leads to pāp ('demerit, sin'). Reichenbach (1988) suggests that the theories of karma are an ethical theory . This

5547-459: Is triggered by objects existing in the external world, with thought being a kind of computation. John Locke was another classic empiricist, with his arguments helping it overtake rationalism as the generally preferred approach. Together with David Hume , they form the core of 'British empiricism'. George Berkeley agreed with empiricism, but instead of believing in an ultimate reality which created perceptions, argued in favour immaterialism and

5676-476: Is usually considered to begin around the pivotal year of 1781, when Gotthold Ephraim Lessing died and Immanuel Kant 's Critique of Pure Reason appeared. The 19th century saw the beginnings of what would later grow into the divide between Continental and analytic traditions of philosophy, with the former more interested in general frameworks of metaphysics (more common in the German-speaking world), and

5805-421: Is water") His use of observation and reason to derive this conclusion is the reason for distinguishing him as the first philosopher. Thales' student Anaximander claimed that the arche was the apeiron , the infinite . Following both Thales and Anaximander, Anaximenes of Miletus claimed that air was the most suitable candidate. Pythagoras (born c.  570 BCE ), from the island of Samos off

5934-445: The unmoved mover . His ethical views identified eudaimonia as the ultimate good, as it was good in itself. He thought that eudaimonia could be achieved by living according to human nature, which is to live with reason and virtue, defining virtue as the golden mean between extremes. Aristotle saw politics as the highest art, as all other pursuits are subservient to its goal of improving society. The state should aim to maximize

6063-849: The Platonic Academy and Platonic philosophy . As Socrates had done, Plato identified virtue with knowledge . This led him to questions of epistemology on what knowledge is and how it is acquired. Socrates had several other students who also founded schools of philosophy. Two of these were short-lived: the Eretrian school , founded by Phaedo of Elis , and the Megarian school , founded by Euclid of Megara . Two others were long-lasting: Cynicism , founded by Antisthenes , and Cyrenaicism , founded by Aristippus . The Cynics considered life's purpose to live in virtue, in agreement with nature, rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, and fame, leading

6192-540: The Sophists comprised teachers of rhetoric who taught students to debate on any side of an issue. While as a group, they held no specific views, in general they promoted subjectivism and relativism . Protagoras , one of the most influential Sophist philosophers, claimed that "man is the measure of all things", suggesting there is no objective truth. This was also applied to issues of ethics, with Prodicus arguing that laws could not be taken seriously because they changed all

6321-422: The karma-theory or the law of karma . In the context of theory, karma is complex and difficult to define. Different schools of Indology derive different definitions for the concept from ancient Indian texts; their definition is some combination of (1) causality that may be ethical or non-ethical; (2) ethicization, i.e., good or bad actions have consequences; and (3) rebirth. Other Indologists include in

6450-432: The ontological argument , according to which God is by definition the greatest thing in conceivable, and since an existing thing is greater than a non-existing one, it must be that God exists or is not the greatest thing conceivable (the latter being by definition impossible). A refutation of this was offered by Gaunilo of Marmoutiers , who applied the same logic to an imagined island, arguing that somewhere there must exist

6579-433: The problem of evil , just war and what time is. On the problem of evil, he argued that evil was a necessary product of human free will . When this raised the issue of the incompatibility of free will and divine foreknowledge , both he and Boethius solved the issue by arguing that God did not see the future, but rather stood outside of time entirely. An influential school of thought was that of scholasticism , which

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6708-437: The schools of Hinduism ; some, for example, consider karma and rebirth linked and simultaneously essential, some consider karma but not rebirth to be essential, and a few discuss and conclude karma and rebirth to be flawed fiction. Buddhism and Jainism have their own karma precepts. Thus, karma has not one, but multiple definitions and different meanings. It is a concept whose meaning, importance, and scope varies between

6837-484: The valuation of pure pleasure in Bentham's work, Mill divided pleasures into higher and lower kinds. Logic began a period of its most significant advances since the inception of the discipline, as increasing mathematical precision opened entire fields of inference to formalization in the work of George Boole and Gottlob Frege . Other philosophers who initiated lines of thought that would continue to shape philosophy into

6966-448: The " real self " and the "ideal self". Gerda Boyesen , the founder of biodynamic psychology, developed her salutogenic view on the primary personality and the secondary personality. Roberto Assagioli developed his approach of psychosynthesis , an original approach to psychology. Assagioli's original approach is one that is dynamic and continuous, rather than one that can be reached at a "final destination" or completed. Jain philosophy

7095-592: The 17th century, in figures such as Francisco Suárez and John of St. Thomas . During the Middle Ages, Western philosophy was also influenced by the Jewish philosophers Maimonides and Gersonides ; and the Muslim philosophers Alkindus , Alfarabi , Alhazen , Avicenna , Algazel , Avempace , Abubacer , and Averroes . The Renaissance ("rebirth") was a period of transition between the Middle Ages and modern thought, in which

7224-589: The 20th century include: Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that began in the United States around 1870. It asserts that the truth of beliefs consists in their usefulness and efficacy rather than their correspondence with reality. Charles Sanders Peirce and William James were its co-founders and it was later modified by John Dewey as instrumentalism . Since the usefulness of any belief at any time might be contingent on circumstance, Peirce and James conceptualized final truth as something established only by

7353-512: The Buddhist path, as exemplified in the Noble Eightfold Path , shows us the way out of samsara . The cycle of rebirth is determined by karma, literally 'action'. Karmaphala (wherein phala means 'fruit, result') refers to the 'effect' or 'result' of karma. The similar term karmavipaka (wherein vipāka means 'ripening') refers to the 'maturation, ripening' of karma. In

7482-400: The Buddhist tradition, karma refers to actions driven by intention ( cetanā ), a deed done deliberately through body, speech or mind, which leads to future consequences. The Nibbedhika Sutta , Anguttara Nikaya 6.63: Intention ( cetana ) I tell you, is kamma. Intending, one does kamma by way of body, speech, & intellect. How these intentional actions lead to rebirth, and how

7611-760: The Formless Lord through self-realization. Indirectly it means that self-realization leads to God-realization. Guru Nanak says, Those who realize their self get immersed in the Lord Himself. He who realizes his self, comes to know the essence. Western philosophy The scope of ancient Western philosophy included the problems of philosophy as they are understood today; but it also included many other disciplines, such as pure mathematics and natural sciences such as physics , astronomy , and biology ( Aristotle , for example, wrote on all of these topics). The pre-Socratic philosophers were interested in cosmology ;

7740-539: The Great 's army where Pyrrho was influenced by Buddhist teachings, most particularly the three marks of existence . After returning to Greece, Pyrrho started a new school of philosophy, Pyrrhonism , which taught that it is one's opinions about non-evident matters (i.e., dogma ) that prevent one from attaining ataraxia . To bring the mind to ataraxia , Pyrrhonism uses epoché ( suspension of judgment ) regarding all non-evident propositions. After Arcesilaus became head of

7869-566: The Pithia's claim. Socrates developed a critical approach, now called the Socratic method , to examine people's views. He focused on issues of human life: eudaimonia , justice , beauty , truth , and virtue . Although Socrates wrote nothing himself, two of his disciples, Plato and Xenophon , wrote about some of his conversations, although Plato also deployed Socrates as a fictional character in some of his dialogues. These Socratic dialogues display

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7998-661: The Socratic method being applied to examine philosophical problems. Socrates's questioning earned him enemies who eventually accused him of impiety and corrupting the youth. For this, he was tried by the Athenian democracy, was found guilty, and was sentenced to death. Although his friends offered to help him escape from prison, Socrates chose to remain in Athens and abide by his principles. His execution consisted of drinking poison hemlock . He died in 399 BCE. After Socrates' death, Plato founded

8127-442: The Western understanding of the self, though alternative theories have also been developed by others. Jung developed the notion of individuation , the lifelong process in which the center of psychological life shifts from the ego to the self. Erikson described human development throughout one's lifespan in his theory of psychosocial development . Winnicott developed the notion of the true self , while Horney had two views of our self:

8256-422: The academy, he adopted skepticism as a central tenet of Platonism , making Platonism nearly the same as Pyrrhonism . After Arcesilaus, Academic skepticism diverged from Pyrrhonism. The Academic skeptics did not doubt the existence of truth ; they just doubted that humans had the capacities for obtaining it. They based this position on Plato's Phaedo , sections 64–67, in which Socrates discusses how knowledge

8385-427: The accessibility of the former, arguing that it could in fact be accessed. The experience of will was how this reality was accessible, with the will underlying the whole of nature, with everything else being appearance. Whereas he believed the frustration of this will was the cause of suffering, Friedrich Nietzsche thought that the will to power was empowering, leading to growth and expansion, and therefore forming

8514-475: The aspirant becomes a witness to the external world, body, thoughts, emotions, and beliefs, rather than identifying with them. For instance, instead of saying, "I ate food," the aspirant would perceive the action as "I witnessed matter (food) entering matter (body)." This awareness helps to understand that the body and its experiences are temporary and separate from the true self. Asti is the deeper awareness that follows, where one recognizes and becomes aware of

8643-451: The avoidance of pain" as the ultimate goal of life, but noted that "We do not mean the pleasures of the prodigal or of sensuality . . . we mean the absence of pain in the body and trouble in the mind". This brought hedonism back to the search for ataraxia . Another important strand of thought in post-Classical Western thought was the question of skepticism . Pyrrho of Elis , a Democritean philosopher, traveled to India with Alexander

8772-434: The basis of ethics. Jeremy Bentham established utilitarianism, which was a consequentialist ethic based on 'the greatest happiness for the greatest number', an idea taken from Cesare Beccaria . He believed that any act could be measured by its value in this regard through the application of felicific calculus . His associate James Mill's son John Stuart Mill subsequently took up his thought. However, in contrast to

8901-459: The body as a vessel for the soul. In Jainism, karma is portrayed as invisible particles of subtle matter that adhere to a living organism or Jiva . These particles come together to form a film of negativity and darkness around the soul that obscures the true consciousness, making the Jiva lose touch with its original essence as a soul . These karmic particles tend to attract similar particles which cause

9030-512: The body, the implications of the new natural sciences for traditional theological topics such as free will and God, and the emergence of a secular basis for moral and political philosophy. These trends first distinctively coalesce in Francis Bacon 's call for a new, empirical program for expanding knowledge, and soon found massively influential form in the mechanical physics and rationalist metaphysics of René Descartes . Descartes's epistemology

9159-561: The circumstances in which it is committed. Karmaphala is not a "judgement" enforced by a God, Deity or other supernatural being that controls the affairs of the Cosmos. Rather, karmaphala is the outcome of a natural process of cause and effect. Within Buddhism, the real importance of the doctrine of karma and its fruits lies in the recognition of the urgency to put a stop to the whole process. The Acintita Sutta warns that "the results of karma"

9288-539: The coast of Ionia, later lived in Croton in southern Italy ( Magna Graecia ). Pythagoreans hold that "all is number", giving formal accounts in contrast to the previous material of the Ionians. The discovery of consonant intervals in music by the group enabled the concept of harmony to be established in philosophy, which suggested that opposites could together give rise to new things. They also believed in metempsychosis ,

9417-421: The concept of apatheia to personal circumstances rather than social norms, and switched shameless flouting of the latter for a resolute fulfillment of social duties. The ideal of 'living in accordance with nature' also continued, with this being seen as the way to eudaimonia, which in this case was identified as the freedom from fears and desires and required choosing how to respond to external circumstances, as

9546-639: The context of Srauta rituals. In the Rigveda , the word occurs some 40 times. In Satapatha Brahmana 1.7.1.5, sacrifice is declared as the "greatest" of works; Satapatha Brahmana 10.1.4.1 associates the potential of becoming immortal ( amara ) with the karma of the agnicayana sacrifice. In the early Vedic literature, the concept of karma is also present beyond the realm of rituals or sacrifices. The Vedic language includes terms for sins and vices such as āgas, agha, enas, pāpa/pāpman, duṣkṛta, as well as for virtues and merit like sukṛta and puṇya, along with

9675-487: The core tenets of German idealism after the demise of British idealism. However, quite a few have embraced Hegelian dialectic, most notably Frankfurt School critical theorists , Alexandre Kojève , Jean-Paul Sartre (in his Critique of Dialectical Reason ), and Slavoj Žižek . A central theme of German idealism, the legitimacy of Kant's " Copernican revolution ", remains an important point of contention in 21st-century post-continental philosophy . Late modern philosophy

9804-399: The cycle reach the realm of gods, those who do not continue in the cycle. The concept has been intensely debated in ancient literature of India; with different schools of Indian religions considering the relevance of rebirth as either essential, or secondary, or unnecessary fiction. Hiriyanna (1949) suggests rebirth to be a necessary corollary of karma; Yamunacharya (1966) asserts that karma

9933-481: The definition that which explains the present circumstances of an individual with reference to his or her actions in the past. These actions may be those in a person's current life, or, in some schools of Indian traditions, possibly actions from their past lives; furthermore, the consequences may result in the current life, or a person's future lives. The law of karma operates independent of any deity or any process of divine judgment. A common theme to theories of karma

10062-419: The early developments in each tradition incorporated different novel ideas. For example, Buddhists allowed karma transfer from one person to another and sraddha rites, but had difficulty defending the rationale. In contrast, Hindu schools and Jainism would not allow the possibility of karma transfer. The concept of karma in Hinduism developed and evolved over centuries. The earliest Upanishads began with

10191-655: The emergence of new philosophies, including Pyrrhonism , Epicureanism , Stoicism , and Neopythagoreanism . Platonism also continued but came under new interpretations, particularly Academic skepticism in the Hellenistic period and Neoplatonism in the Imperial period. The traditions of Greek philosophy heavily influenced Roman philosophy. In Imperial times, Epicureanism and Stoicism were particularly popular. The various schools of philosophy proposed various and conflicting methods for attaining eudaimonia . For some schools, it

10320-860: The essence being a combination of matter and form, similar to the Aristotelian view. For humans, the soul is the essence. Also influenced by Plato, he saw the soul as unchangeable and independent of the body. Other Western philosophers from the Middle Ages include John Scotus Eriugena , Gilbert de la Porrée , Peter Lombard , Hildegard of Bingen , Albertus Magnus , Robert Grosseteste , Roger Bacon , Bonaventure , Peter John Olivi , Mechthild of Magdeburg , Robert Kilwardby , Henry of Ghent , Duns Scotus , Marguerite Porete , Dante Alighieri , Marsilius of Padua , William of Ockham , Jean Buridan , Nicholas of Autrecourt , Meister Eckhart , Catherine of Siena , Jean Gerson , and John Wycliffe . The medieval tradition of scholasticism continued to flourish as late as

10449-487: The events that happen after a person's actions may be considered natural consequences of those actions. The term karma ( Sanskrit : कर्म ; Pali : kamma ) refers to both the executed 'deed, work, action, act' and the 'object, intent'. Wilhelm Halbfass (2000) explains karma ( karman ) by contrasting it with the Sanskrit word kriya : whereas kriya is the activity along with the steps and effort in action, karma

10578-430: The father of Thomism , was immensely influential in medieval Christendom . He was influenced by newly discovered Aristotle , and aimed to reconcile his philosophy with Christian theology . Aiming to develop an understanding of the soul , he was led to consider metaphysical questions of substance , matter, form, and change. He defined a material substance as the combination of an essence and accidental features, with

10707-499: The forces of Love and Strife, creating the mixtures of elements which form the world. Another view of the arche being acted upon by an external force was presented by his older contemporary Anaxagoras , who claimed that nous , the mind , was responsible for that. Leucippus and Democritus proposed atomism as an explanation for the fundamental nature of the universe. Jonathan Barnes called atomism "the culmination of early Greek thought". In addition to these philosophers,

10836-432: The future, final settlement of all opinion. Pragmatism attempted to find a scientific concept of truth that does not depend on personal insight (revelation) or reference to some metaphysical realm. It interpreted the meaning of a statement by the effect its acceptance would have on practice. Inquiry taken far enough is thus the only path to truth. For Peirce commitment to inquiry was essential to truth-finding, implied by

10965-441: The future. In Jainism , karma conveys a totally different meaning from that commonly understood in Hindu philosophy and western civilization. Jain philosophy is one of the oldest Indian philosophy that completely separates body (matter) from the soul (pure consciousness). In Jainism, karma is referred to as karmic dirt, as it consists of very subtle particles of matter that pervade the entire universe. Karmas are attracted to

11094-421: The idea and hope that inquiry is not fruitless. The interpretation of these principles has been subject to discussion ever since. Peirce's maxim of pragmatism is, "Consider what effects, which might conceivably have practical bearings, we conceive the object of our conception to have. Then, our conception of these effects is the whole of our conception of the object." Critics accused pragmatism falling victim to

11223-481: The idea of rebirth is to be reconciled with the doctrines of impermanence and no-self , is a matter of philosophical inquiry in the Buddhist traditions, for which several solutions have been proposed. In early Buddhism, no explicit theory of rebirth and karma is worked out, and "the karma doctrine may have been incidental to early Buddhist soteriology." In early Buddhism, rebirth is ascribed to craving or ignorance. Unlike that of Jains, Buddha's teaching of karma

11352-488: The ideas may have developed in the " shramana " traditions that preceded Buddhism and Jainism . Others state that some of the complex ideas of the ancient emerging theory of karma flowed from Vedic thinkers to Buddhist and Jain thinkers. The mutual influences between the traditions is unclear, and likely co-developed. Many philosophical debates surrounding the concept are shared by the Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist traditions, and

11481-638: The individual. Another causality characteristic, shared by karmic theories, is that like deeds lead to like effects . Thus, good karma produces good effect on the actor, while bad karma produces bad effect. This effect may be material, moral, or emotional – that is, one's karma affects both one's happiness and unhappiness. The effect of karma need not be immediate; the effect of karma can be later in one's current life, and in some schools it extends to future lives. The consequence or effects of one's karma can be described in two forms: phala and samskara . A phala ( lit.   ' fruit' or 'result ' )

11610-529: The inflow of auspicious and inauspicious karmic matter into the soul ( Āsrava ). This leads the organism to fall into the bondage of lust, worldly pleasures, ego, hatred, jealousy, anger, etc. Thus self-realization paves the way to simply reverse this process and help the seeker to decipher absolute truth on their own. Jainism firmly rejects the belief of a creator, and that one being is solely responsible for his thoughts, actions, and their consequences. In Hinduism , self-realization ( atma-jnana or atmabodha )

11739-423: The intentions of an individual affects the individual and the life he or she lives. Disinterested actions, or unintentional actions do not have the same positive or negative karmic effect, as interested and intentional actions. In Buddhism, for example, actions that are performed, or arise, or originate without any bad intent, such as covetousness, are considered non-existent in karmic impact or neutral in influence to

11868-420: The internal inconsistencies, implications and issues of the karma doctrine. According to Professor Wilhelm Halbfass , The above schools illustrate the diversity of views, but are not exhaustive. Each school has sub-schools in Hinduism, such as that of non-dualism and dualism under Vedanta. Furthermore, there are other schools of Indian philosophy, such as Charvaka (or Lokayata; the materialists ), that denied

11997-528: The karma doctrine is in the Upanishads . The doctrine occurs here in the context of a discussion of the fate of the individual after death. For example, causality and ethicization is stated in Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.2.13: Truly, one becomes good through good deeds , and evil through evil deeds . Some authors state that the samsara (transmigration) and karma doctrine may be non-Vedic, and

12126-468: The late 18th and early 19th centuries. It developed out of the work of Immanuel Kant in the 1780s and 1790s. Transcendental idealism , advocated by Immanuel Kant, is the view that there are limits on what can be understood since there is much that cannot be brought under the conditions of objective judgment. Kant wrote his Critique of Pure Reason (1781) in an attempt to reconcile the conflicting approaches of rationalism and empiricism, and to establish

12255-605: The latter focusing on issues of epistemology, ethics, law and politics (more common in the English-speaking world). German philosophy exercised broad influence in this century, owing in part to the dominance of the German university system. German idealists , such as Johann Gottlieb Fichte , Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling , Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel , and the members of Jena Romanticism ( Friedrich Hölderlin , Novalis , and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel ), transformed

12384-421: The medieval interest in metaphysics and logic, the humanists followed Petrarch in making humanity and its virtues the focus of philosophy. At the point of passage from Renaissance into early/classical modern philosophy, the dialogue was used as a primary style of writing by Renaissance philosophers, such as Giordano Bruno . The dividing line between what is classified as Renaissance versus modern philosophy

12513-516: The mind gave people the perception of cause and effect . Many other contributors were philosophers, scientists, medical doctors, and politicians. A short list includes Galileo Galilei , Pierre Gassendi , Blaise Pascal , Nicolas Malebranche , Antonie van Leeuwenhoek , Christiaan Huygens , Isaac Newton , Christian Wolff , Montesquieu , Pierre Bayle , Thomas Reid , Jean le Rond d'Alembert and Adam Smith . German idealism emerged in Germany in

12642-407: The moral responsibility for it is less on the actor, even though causal responsibility may be the same regardless. A karma theory considers not only the action, but also the actor's intentions, attitude, and desires before and during the action. The karma concept thus encourages each person to seek and live a moral life, as well as avoid an immoral life. The meaning and significance of karma is thus as

12771-452: The nature and origin of the universe, while rejecting unargued fables in place for argued theory, i.e., dogma superseded reason, albeit in a rudimentary form. They were specifically interested in the arche (the cause or first principle) of the world. The first recognized philosopher, Thales of Miletus (born c.  625 BCE in Ionia ) identified water as the arche (claiming "all

12900-450: The need to address theological problems and to integrate the then-widespread sacred doctrines of Abrahamic religion ( Judaism , Christianity , and Islam ) with secular learning. Some problems discussed throughout this period are the relation of faith to reason , the existence and unity of God , the object of theology and metaphysics , the problems of knowledge, of universals, and of individuation. A prominent figure of this period

13029-409: The need to find a route from the private world of consciousness to the externally existing reality was widely accepted until the 20th century. A major issue for his thought remained in the mind–body problem , however. One solution to the problem was presented by Baruch Spinoza , who argued that the mind and the body are one substance . This was based on his view that God and the universe are one and

13158-681: The neutral term karman. Whatever good deed man does that is inside the Vedi; and whatever evil he does that is outside the Vedi. The verse refers to the evaluation of virtuous and sinful actions in the afterlife. Regardless of their application in rituals (whether within or outside the Vedi), the concepts of good and evil here broadly represent merits and sins. What evil is done here by man, that it (i.e. speech = Brahman ) makes manifest. Although he thinks that he does it secretly, as it were, still it makes it manifest. Verily, therefore one should not commit evil. This

13287-473: The notion of a person's 'character', as both are an assessment of the person and determined by that person's habitual thinking and acting. The second theme common to karma theories is ethicization. This begins with the premise that every action has a consequence, which will come to fruition in either this life or a future life; thus, morally good acts will have positive consequences, whereas bad acts will produce negative results. An individual's present situation

13416-454: The opportunities for the pursuit of reason and virtue through leisure, learning, and contemplation. Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great , who conquered much of the ancient Western world. Hellenization and Aristotelian philosophy have exercised considerable influence on almost all subsequent Western and Middle Eastern philosophers . The Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods saw the continuation of Aristotelianism and Cynicism , and

13545-774: The possibilities of one's character or personality. In the Western world "self-realization" has gained great popularity. Influential in this popularity were psycho-analysis, humanistic psychology, the growing acquaintance with Eastern religions, and the growing popularity of Western esotericism . Though Sigmund Freud was skeptical of religion and esotericism, his theories have had a lasting influence on Western thought and self-understanding. His notion of repressed memories, though based on assumptions that some later thinkers have questioned, has become part of mainstream thought. Freud's ideas were further developed by his students and neo-psychoanalysts. Carl Jung , Erik Erikson , Karen Horney and Donald Winnicott have been especially important in

13674-510: The quality of life was seen as based on one's beliefs about it. An alternative view was presented by the Cyrenaics and the Epicureans . The Cyrenaics were hedonists and believed that pleasure was the supreme good in life, especially physical pleasure, which they thought more intense and more desirable than mental pleasures. The followers of Epicurus also identified "the pursuit of pleasure and

13803-410: The questions about how and why man is born, and what happens after death. As answers to the latter, the early theories in these ancient Sanskrit documents include pancagni vidya (the five fire doctrine), pitryana (the cyclic path of fathers), and devayana (the cycle-transcending, path of the gods). Those who perform superficial rituals and seek material gain, claimed these ancient scholars, travel

13932-399: The rationalists had believed that knowledge came from a priori reasoning, the empiricists had argued that it came from a posteriori sensory experience, Kant aimed to reconcile these views by arguing that the mind uses a priori understanding to interpret the a posteriori experiences. He had been inspired to take this approach by the philosophy of Hume, who argued that the mechanisms of

14061-410: The realm, condition, and form depends on the quality and quantity of karma. In schools that believe in rebirth, every living being's soul transmigrates (recycles) after death, carrying the seeds of Karmic impulses from life just completed, into another life and lifetime of karmas. This cycle continues indefinitely, except for those who consciously break this cycle by reaching moksha . Those who break

14190-478: The recovery of ancient Greek philosophical texts helped shift philosophical interests away from technical studies in logic, metaphysics, and theology towards eclectic inquiries into morality, philology, and mysticism. The study of the classics and the humane arts generally, such as history and literature, enjoyed a scholarly interest hitherto unknown in Christendom, a tendency referred to as humanism . Displacing

14319-471: The same, encompassing the totality of existence. In the other extreme, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz , argued instead that the world was composed of numerous individual substances, called monads . Together, Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz are considered influential early rationalists . In contrast to Descartes, Thomas Hobbes was a materialist who believed that everything was physical, and an empiricist who thought that all knowledge comes from sensation which

14448-561: The self and washes it from within. The filth of too much of materialism goes, the self gets purified and the mind comes in 'charhdi kala/higher state of mind". This means that the self should be assessed, examined and purified, leading to self-realization and the purification of our mind. Once purified the mind helps in ushering in oneness with the Super Power as the Guru says, "Atam-cheen bhae nirankari" (SGGS:P. 415) which means that one gets attuned to

14577-451: The theory of karma-rebirth, as well as the existence of God; to this non-Vedic school, the properties of things come from the nature of things. Causality emerges from the interaction, actions, and nature of things and people, making determinative principles such as karma or God unnecessary. Karma and karmaphala are fundamental concepts in Buddhism, which explain how our intentional actions keep us tied to rebirth in samsara , whereas

14706-650: The time, while Antiphon made the claim that conventional morality should only be followed when in society. The Classical period of ancient Greek philosophy centers on Socrates and the two generations of students who followed. Socrates experienced a life-changing event when his friend, Chaerephon visited the Oracle of Delphi where the Pythia told him that no one in Athens was wiser than Socrates . Learning of this, Socrates subsequently spent much of his life questioning anyone in Athens who would engage him, in order to investigate

14835-501: The transmigration of souls, or reincarnation . Parmenides argued that, unlike the other philosophers who believed the arche was transformed into multiple things, the world must be singular, unchanging and eternal, while anything suggesting the contrary was an illusion. Zeno of Elea formulated his famous paradoxes in order to support Parmenides' views about the illusion of plurality and change (in terms of motion), by demonstrating them to be impossible. An alternative explanation

14964-411: The true nature of the soul itself. It involves a deeper reflection on the unchanging, eternal self beyond all external and internal transient phenomena. Bhed Asti allows the aspirant to connect with its true infinite knowledge-bliss consciousness. The atmārthi (aspirant) consciously reminds himself that the body is temporary and not the true self. This is done through regular reflection on the nature of

15093-417: The true self,the unchanging soul and hence the true nature of reality. The path to extrasensory experience of soul is termed as Bhed Vigyān in scriptures like Samayasāra , Gyaansaar and works of Shrimad Rajchandra . Bhed Nasti refers to the initial step in spiritual awareness where one distinguishes between the self (soul) and non-self (body, mind, soul's transient paryāys, instincts, etc). In this stage,

15222-585: The universe has a singular cause which must therefore be a single mind. As such, Neoplatonism become essentially a religion , and had much impact on later Christian thought . Medieval philosophy roughly extends from the Christianization of the Roman Empire until the Renaissance. It is defined partly by the rediscovery and further development of classical Greek and Hellenistic philosophy , and partly by

15351-457: The various traditions that originated in India, and various schools in each of these traditions. Wendy O'Flaherty claims that, furthermore, there is an ongoing debate regarding whether karma is a theory, a model, a paradigm, a metaphor, or a metaphysical stance. Karma also refers to a conceptual principle that originated in India, often descriptively called the principle of karma , and sometimes

15480-509: The way of their fathers and recycle back into another life; those who renounce these, go into the forest and pursue spiritual knowledge, were claimed to climb into the higher path of the gods. It is these who break the cycle and are not reborn. With the composition of the Epics – the common man's introduction to dharma in Hinduism – the ideas of causality and essential elements of the theory of karma were being recited in folk stories. For example: As

15609-504: The work of Kant by maintaining that the world is constituted by a rational or mind-like process, and as such is entirely knowable. Hegel argued that history was the dialectical journey of the Geist (universal mind) towards self-fulfilment and self-realization. The Geist's self-awareness is absolute knowledge, which itself brings complete freedom. His philosophy was based on absolute idealism , with reality itself being mental. His legacy

15738-534: The world existing as a result of being perceived . In contrast, the Cambridge Platonists continued to represent rationalism in Britain. In terms of political philosophy, arguments often started from arguing over the first principles of human nature through the thought experiment of what the world would look like without society, a scenario referred to as the state of nature . Hobbes believed that this would be

15867-477: Was Augustine of Hippo , one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity . Augustine adopted Plato's thought and Christianized it. His influence dominated medieval philosophy perhaps up to the end of era and the rediscovery of Aristotle's texts. Augustinianism was the preferred starting point for most philosophers up until the 13th century. Among the issues his philosophy touched upon were

15996-425: Was based on a method called Cartesian doubt , whereby only the most certain belief could act as the foundation for further inquiry, with each step to further ideas being as cautious and clear as possible. This led him to his famous maxim cogito ergo sum ('I think, therefore I exist'), though similar arguments had been made by earlier philosophers. This became foundational for much of further Western philosophy, as

16125-456: Was divided between the conservative Right Hegelians and radical Young Hegelians , with the latter including David Strauss and Ludwig Feuerbach . Feuerbach argued for a materialist conception of Hegel's thought, inspiring Karl Marx . Arthur Schopenhauer was inspired by Kant and Indian philosophy . Accepting Kant's division of the world into the noumenal (the real) and phenomenal (the apparent) realities, he, nevertheless, disagreed on

16254-457: Was presented by Heraclitus , who claimed that everything was in flux all the time , famously pointing out that one could not step into the same river twice. Empedocles may have been an associate of both Parmenides and the Pythagoreans. He claimed the arche was in fact composed of multiple sources, giving rise to the model of the four classical elements . These in turn were acted upon by

16383-437: Was the first type of logic to attempt to categorize every valid syllogism . His epistemology comprised an early form of empiricism . Aristotle criticized Plato's metaphysics as being poetic metaphor, with its greatest failing being the lack of an explanation for change . Aristotle proposed the four causes model to explain change – material, efficient, formal, and final – all of which were grounded on what Aristotle termed

16512-541: Was through internal means, such as calmness, ataraxia (ἀταραξία), or indifference, apatheia (ἀπάθεια), which was possibly caused by the increased insecurity of the era. The aim of the Cynics was to live according to nature and against convention with courage and self-control. This was directly inspiring to the founder of Stoicism , Zeno of Citium , who took up the Cynic ideals of steadfastness and self-discipline, but applied

16641-498: Was to correctly finish their job. Hegel asserts that the twin aims of philosophy are to account for the contradictions apparent in human experience (which arise, for instance, out of the supposed contradictions between "being" and "not being"), and also simultaneously to resolve and preserve these contradictions by showing their compatibility at a higher level of examination ("being" and "not being" are resolved with "becoming"). This program of acceptance and reconciliation of contradictions

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