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Wk 01 Mon, Jan 4

Syllabus, etc.

Goals Readings Assignments Grading Gen’l Guidelines

1:1 Meeting Sign-up Introductions

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Texts

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Readings for WedOnline: Eastman on academic philosophy, ultimate

purpose Perett’s “Introduction” to Indian

Philosophy Potter on Karma

– 1964: Karma as a natural principle– 1980: Details for Yoga & Advaita theories

Feedback due by* 11:30 WFor each reading: [Top] 3-3-3a. Key points?b. Difficult / Puzzling? c. Worthy of further discussion?WOTD nomination?

⁕ I’m “offline” 9:15-11:30, earlier submissions will get greater attention…

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Reflection Due Sat 10am*Reflection Cues: Is the critique of academic philosophy put forth in Eastman

(2014) fair? Why or why not? How might the Eastman & Perett papers affect how you

engage with the material of this course?

What are the two most important takeaways of Potter (1964)?

What are the two most important takeaways of Potter (1980)?

How do the two Potter papers reinforce / diverge from one other?

Perspectives…

Stephan Pastis, Pearls Before Swine, 7-7-2012

Scott Adams, Dilbert, 12-26-2016

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Course Title Deconstructed:“Karma, Dharma and Free Will

in Indian Philosophy”

Karma Dharma Free Will

“Indian” – next slide “Philosophy”

Indian vs. Hindu Sanskrit Sindhu =

river or ocean. Persian hindū =

inhabitant of Hind, country through which the river Sindhu (Indus) flows = non-Muslims living in the Indus Valley

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“Upaniṣad, Gītā, Kṛṣṇa” or“Upanishad, Gita, Krishna”?

Diacritics – what & why? Sanskrit phonology

– 14 vowels– 33 consonants

Importance of “sound” Bottom line – Survival Guide

Sounds like … Sounds like …a u in but, a in chamaleon j hard, as in just

ā father jh lodge-hut

ai as in aisle k as kart

au as in loud ṃ nasalization of preceding vowel

bh club-hut ṅ ~ n

c church ṇ ~ n

ch birch-hut ñ like Spanish niña

ḍ ~ d o as in go

ḍh ~ mud-hut ṛ as in river

e say, longer Spanish e ś shun

g hard, as in get, go ṣ shun

gh log-hut ṭ ~ t

ḥ echo of preceding vowel ṭh ~ ant-hill

i pin u pull

ī machine ū rūleSurv

ival G

uide

to P

ronu

ncia

tion

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Origins of Vedic Culture? Sanātana dharma, eternal dharma

• Dharma = religion, law, morality, order, justice, ethics, merit, duty …

Considered anādī, beginning-less Revealed to ṛṣi-s, “seers”

Some historical evidence however…

2600-1600 BCE Indus Valley Civilization

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Hints of Early Religion?

Harappan “Priest” Proto Shiva?

Aryan Invasion/Immigration Theory

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1500-500 BCE. Vedic corpus “composed” – śruti

Veda from √vid, to know

Maintenance of cosmic order

“sacrifice” to Agni,fire god transports offerings to other gods.

Brāhmins Date controversy

Vedas 4 Vedas:

• ṚgVeda – collection of hymns sung during rituals

• SāmaVeda – chants sung during Soma ritual• YajurVeda – prose formulas, mantras• AtharvaVeda – collection of charms & spells

for every purpose (health, wealth, sorcery)

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Vedic corpus Brāhmaṇas – “theological textbooks”

explaining all aspects of Vedic rituals Āraṇyakas – wilderness texts discussing

more secret & ‘dangerous’ rituals Upaniṣads 600 BCE – beg. CE – secret

teachings, beginnings of philosophical speculations: where do we come from, why are we here, where do we go after death?

500 BCE - 400 CE: Challenges

Heterodox challenges to Vedic system– 450-370 BCE: The

Buddha, SiddārthaGautama

– 599–527 BCE: Mahāvīra, Jain Tīrthaṅkāra

Weaken Hinduism Six Hindu Schools of

Philosophy develop in response

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400 BCE-200 CE: Development of the Rāmāyaṇa epic

400 BCE-400 CE: Development of the Mahābhārata epic

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200 BCE-100 CE: Bhagavad Gītā, Song of the Lord

More than the Vedas, this is the text studied by the average Hindu

smṛti (as opposed to śruti)

confirmation of śruti, Vedic dharma, Upaniṣads

Message of Kṛṣṇa, reconciling the conflict between doing one’s duty and following one’s desires

At the same time… 200 BCE-400 CE: Dharma-śāstras

• texts prescribing authoritative code of ethics for all of society

1-200 CE: Yoga Sūtras of Pātañjali• text on meditation• 8 limbs: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma,

pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi

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Hndu Philosophical Schools 6 orthodox schools, ~200 BCE

• Sāṃkhya & Yoga – inert matter, spirit and their admixture

• Nyāya & Vaiśeṣika – logic, atomism• Mīmāṃsā & Vedānta – Vedic exegesis,

Upaniṣadic thought

Today, only Vedānta and Nyāya schools survive, rest absorbed

Heterodox Schools Buddhism

– Abhidharma– Yogācāra– Mādhyamika

Jainism

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Bhakti, devotion & surrender Seeds in MB, Gītā Purāṇas Starts to come to

the fore around 7th

cent.

Some Key Terms Karma Dharma Rebirth / Reincarnation Free Will Fatalism

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Karma from √kṛ, to do, act = action, or its performance = practice of religious duty = result of action

– good karma = puṇya, bad karma = pāpa– both = bondage

OED: “The sum of a person's actions in one of his successive states of existence, regarded as determining his fate in the next; hence, necessary fate or destiny, following as effect from cause.”

Dharma Moral and religious duty Law Custom Good deeds, Merit Virtue Right, n. or adj. Justice

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Rebirth / Reincarnation

Belief that karma is carried forward through successive lifetimes

Liberation, mokṣa = freedom from rebirth

Free Will Same as Freedom?

– Political Freedom vs. Control over one’s actions Up-to-us-ness of choice / action Moral implications?

– Kleptomania Self-determination vs. Determinism Causal Determinism = Pre-determined

– Incompatibilism– Libertarianism– Scepticism

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p. 19, Thomas Pink. 2004. Free Will: A VSI. OUP.

Determinism Any event is an effect of a prior series of

effects “Clockwork Universe” Implications for moral responsibility?

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Fatalism Belief that deliberation and action are

pointless The future will be the same no matter

what we do. “It is fated” E.g., falling sick → recovery

Rejected by Determinists

Another Perspective…

New Yorker, 3-30-2015