Universe and Inner Self in Early Indian and Early Greek Thought :

Richard Seaford

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN:
  9781474411004
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Ancient & Classical Philosophy

From the sixth century BCE onwards there occurred a revolution in thought, with novel ideas such as such as that understanding the inner self is both vital for human well-being and central to understanding the universe. This intellectual transformation is sometimes called the beginning of philosophy. And it occurred – independently it seems - in both India and Greece, but not in the vast Persian Empire that divided them. How was this possible? This is a puzzle that has never been solved. This volume brings together Hellenists and Indologists representing a variety of perspectives on the similarities and differences between the two cultures, and on how to explain them. It offers a collaborative contribution to the burgeoning interest in the Axial Age and will be of interest to anyone intrigued by the big questions inspired by the ancient world.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Notes on contributors
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 The common origin approach to comparing Indian and Greek philosophy: Nick Allen
• 2 The concept of ṛtá in the Ṛgveda: Joanna Jurewicz
• 3 Harmonia and ṛtá: Aditi Chaturvedi
• 4 Ātman and its transition to worldly existence: Greg Bailey
• 5 Cosmology, psyche and ātman in the Timaeus, the Ṛgveda and the Upaniṣads: Hyun Höchsmann
• 6 Plato and yoga: John Bussanich
• 7 Technologies of self-immortalisation in ancient Greece and early India: Paolo Visigalli
• 8 Does the concept of theōria fit the beginning of Indian thought?: Alexis Pinchard
• 9 Self or being without boundaries: on Śaṅkara and Parmenides: Chiara Robbiano
• 10 Soul chariots in Indian and Greek thought: polygenesis or diffusion?: Paolo Magnone
• 11 ‘Master the chariot, master your Self’: comparing chariot metaphors as hermeneutics for mind, self and liberation in ancient Greek and Indian Sources: Jens Schlieter
• 12 New riders, old chariots: poetics and comparative philosophy: Alexander S. W. Forte and Caley C. Smith
• 13 The interiorisation of ritual in India and Greece: Richard Seaford
• 14 Rebirth and ‘ethicisation’ in Greek and South Asian thought: Mikel Burley
• 15 On affirmation, rejection and accommodation of the world in Greek and Indian religion: Matylda Obryk
• 16 The justice of the Indians: Richard Stoneman
• 17 Nietzsche on Greek and Indian philosophy: Emma Syea
• Bibliography
• Index