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Early Pyrrhonism As a Sect of Buddhism? a Case Study in the Methodology of Comparative Philosophy
Comparative Philosophy Volume 9, No. 2 (2018): 1-40 Open Access / ISSN 2151-6014 www.comparativephilosophy.org EARLY PYRRHONISM AS A SECT OF BUDDHISM? A CASE STUDY IN THE METHODOLOGY OF COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY MONTE RANSOME JOHNSON & BRETT SHULTS ABSTRACT: We offer a sceptical examination of a thesis recently advanced in a monograph published by Princeton University Press entitled Greek Buddha: Pyrrho’s Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia. In this dense and probing work, Christopher I. Beckwith, a professor of Central Eurasian studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, argues that Pyrrho of Elis adopted a form of early Buddhism during his years in Bactria and Gandhāra, and that early Pyrrhonism must be understood as a sect of early Buddhism. In making his case Beckwith claims that virtually all scholars of Greek, Indian, and Chinese philosophy have been operating under flawed assumptions and with flawed methodologies, and so have failed to notice obvious and undeniable correspondences between the philosophical views of the Buddha and of Pyrrho. In this study we take Beckwith’s proposal and challenge seriously, and we examine his textual basis and techniques of translation, his methods of examining passages, his construal of problems and his reconstruction of arguments. We find that his presuppositions are contentious and doubtful, his own methods are extremely flawed, and that he draws unreasonable conclusions. Although the result of our study is almost entirely negative, we think it illustrates some important general points about the methodology of comparative philosophy. Keywords: adiaphora, anātman, anattā, ataraxia, Buddha, Buddhism, Democritus, Pāli, Pyrrho, Pyrrhonism, Scepticism, trilakṣaṇa 1. INTRODUCTION One of the most ambitious recent works devoted to comparative philosophy is Christopher Beckwith’s monograph Greek Buddha: Pyrrho’s Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia (2015). -
Reading Plato with Charmadas (Cic
Reading Plato with Charmadas (Cic. De Or. 1.45-47) Evidence for the reading of Plato in the New Academy is sparse, and our understanding of how sceptical Academics interpreted Plato is limited (Glucker 1978: 31–64; Barnes 1991; Annas 1992; Tarrant 2000). Concerning Arcesilaus’ interpretation of Plato, Crassus in his history of the schism between oratory and philosophy notes how Arcesilaus found akatalepsia (the view that, according to infallibilist criteria of knowledge, nothing is known) in various dialogues of Plato and other Socratic works (Cic. De Or. 3.67). Frequent accusations that Arcesilaus foisted his own view on philosophical predecessors in order to gain from their authority confirm, at least, that Arcesilaus upheld sceptical readings of Plato (Plut. Col. 1121f-1122a; Cic. Luc. 15). Those charitable to the Academy, both ancient and contemporary (e.g. Cic. Luc. 74; Cooper 2004), have reconstructed responsible sceptical readings of Plato, such that the Academic’s aim in reading Plato is not to take advantage of its founder’s authority. Cicero’s depiction of when Crassus read Gorgias with the Academic Charmadas in 110BCE (De Or. 1.45-47) is all the more interesting given this paucity of evidence. Even if entirely fabricated, the account is authored by a self-professed Academic and, therefore, merits analysis for the Academy’s view about reading Plato. Against the competing interpretations of Lévy (2005), Hösle (2008), and, most recently, Altman (2016), I defend the position of Dörrie (1987) that Charmadas read Plato sceptically. I argue that only a reading which makes a distinction between Socrates as Plato’s mouthpiece and Plato as the author, where Socrates is dogmatic while the author is aporetic, makes proper sense of Crassus’ judgment that he both disagreed with Plato and admired him for his rhetorical skill. -
Cyrenaics and Epicureans on Pleasure and the Good Life: the Original Debate and Its Later Revivals
Cyrenaics and Epicureans on Pleasure and the Good Life: The Original Debate and Its Later Revivals Voula Tsouna Both ancient and modern historians of philosophy contrast the ethics of the Cyrenaics and the Epicureans with each other. And although this opposition often derives from doxographical interventions, there is no doubt that it reflects a historical fact, namely a longstanding and persistent rivalry between the two schools. Philosophical as well as chronological factors appear to have favored its development: both schools posit pleasure as the supreme good and pain as the supreme evil. And they temporally overlap: Epicurus was a near contem- porary of the later Cyrenaic sects, whose leaders were Paraebates, Theodorus, Anniceris, and Hegesias. As for the last known representatives of these sects, they coincide in time with Epicurus’s immediate successors. The purpose of this paper is to lay out the initial controversy and exam- ine its revivals in the late Hellenistic and Roman eras. Part One offers some necessary background about the earlier stages of interaction between the two schools. Part Two explains how the Academics Cicero and Plutarch appeal to the Cyrenaic doctrine in order to pursue their own anti-Epicurean agendas. Parts Three and Four examine the ways in which two late Epicurean authors, Philodemus (first century BCE) and Diogenes of Oinoanda (second century CE), target the Cyrenaics for their own philosophical and dialectical purposes. Part Five argues that both the original debate and its reenactments qualify as cases of philosophical polemics. Also, it speculates on the reasons why the Epicureans and their critics resurrect the Cyrenaics to advance their own aims. -
Skepticism and Pluralism Ways of Living a Life Of
SKEPTICISM AND PLURALISM WAYS OF LIVING A LIFE OF AWARENESS AS RECOMMENDED BY THE ZHUANGZI #±r A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN PHILOSOPHY AUGUST 2004 By John Trowbridge Dissertation Committee: Roger T. Ames, Chairperson Tamara Albertini Chung-ying Cheng James E. Tiles David R. McCraw © Copyright 2004 by John Trowbridge iii Dedicated to my wife, Jill iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In completing this research, I would like to express my appreciation first and foremost to my wife, Jill, and our three children, James, Holly, and Henry for their support during this process. I would also like to express my gratitude to my entire dissertation committee for their insight and understanding ofthe topics at hand. Studying under Roger Ames has been a transformative experience. In particular, his commitment to taking the Chinese tradition on its own terms and avoiding the tendency among Western interpreters to overwrite traditional Chinese thought with the preoccupations ofWestern philosophy has enabled me to broaden my conception ofphilosophy itself. Roger's seminars on Confucianism and Daoism, and especially a seminar on writing a philosophical translation ofthe Zhongyong r:pJm (Achieving Equilibrium in the Everyday), have greatly influenced my own initial attempts to translate and interpret the seminal philosophical texts ofancient China. Tamara Albertini's expertise in ancient Greek philosophy was indispensable to this project, and a seminar I audited with her, comparing early Greek and ancient Chinese philosophy, was part ofthe inspiration for my choice ofresearch topic. I particularly valued the opportunity to study Daoism and the Yijing ~*~ with Chung-ying Cheng g\Gr:p~ and benefited greatly from his theory ofonto-cosmology as a means of understanding classical Chinese philosophy. -
The Impact of Aenesidemus Upon Fichte and Schopenhauer
Richard Fincham 97 Pli 10 (2000), 96-126. subject from both object and subject and is referred to both".4 Fichte shows that although this may suffice as the first principle of theoretical knowledge, it cannot be the first principle of all philosophy.s Therefore, for Fichte, principles of theoretical knowledge can only be satisfactorily grounded upon the self qua reflective consciousness of Kantian and Reinholdian transcendental idealism once the existence of such reflective The Impact of Aenesidemus upon Fichte and consciousness is itself grounded upon an absolute foundation. It is of Schopenhauer course in response to this perceived requirement that Fichte constructs a system of transcendental idealism which asserts that the self itself conceived of as primordially an absolute self-reverting activity - should RICHARD FINCHAM be the absolute foundation of all philosophy. This article will show why it is that for Fichte, 'reflective consciousness', which for Kant was the ground of all explanation, becomes conceived of as itself requiring explanation. It will be argued Fichte's reconfiguration of Kantian transcendental idealism is motivated that this is due to an engagement with a sceptical attack upon the by an engagement with two specific 'commentaries' upon it. Firstly, transcendental idealism of Kant and Reinhold named after (and Fichte was clearly convinced by Reinhold's complaint that the Critique's supposedly expounded by) the neo-Pyrrhonean sceptic Aenesidemus, principles can only "become universally binding"l by being grounded [I which was published anonymously in 1792, but was later revealed to be upon a universally valid and indubitable "self-explanatory,,2 foundation, the work of G. -
3 Arcesilaus and Carneades
C:/ITOOLS/WMS/CUP/552750/WORKINGFOLDER/BCP/9780521874762C03.3D 58 [58–80] 24.9.2009 7:15AM harald thorsrud 3 Arcesilaus and Carneades Arcesilaus initiated a sceptical phase in the Academy after taking over in c. 268 BCE. He was motivated in part by an innovative reading of Plato’s dialogues. Where his predecessors found positive doctrines to be systematically developed, he found a dialectical method of arguing and the sceptical view that nothing can be known (akatalêpsia, De Or. 3.67,seeDL4.28, 4.32). He also advanced this conclusion in opposition to the ambitious system of the Stoics, claiming further that the appropriate response to the pervasive uncertainty generated by his method is the suspension of judgement (epochê). Arcesilaus’ dialectical method was practiced without significant modification in the Academy until Carneades, who became head sometime before 155 BCE.1 Carneades both continued and strength- ened Arcesilaus’ method (ND 1.11, Acad. 2.16, see also Acad. 1.46, and Eusebius, Praep. evang. 14.7.15). Sextus marks the change by referring to Plato’s Academy as Old, Arcesilaus’ as Middle, and Carneades’ as New (PH 1.220). Since the main interpretative issues regarding both Arcesilaus and Carneades depend on the concepts of akatalêpsia and epochê,we must try to determine what they mean, how they are related, and what attitude the Academics take towards them – i.e. in what sense, if any, are these their sceptical doctrines? iarcesilaus The view that Arcesilaus derived from Plato’s dialogues might have taken one of two very different forms. He might have discovered some arguments that show knowledge is not possible. -
The Conversion of Skepticism in Augustine's Against the Academics the Conversion of Skepticism in Augustine"S Against the Academics
THE CONVERSION OF SKEPTICISM IN AUGUSTINE'S AGAINST THE ACADEMICS THE CONVERSION OF SKEPTICISM IN AUGUSTINE"S AGAINST THE ACADEMICS BY BERNARD NEWMAN WILLS, B.A., M.A. A THESIS Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor ofPhilosophy McMaster University C Copyright by Bernard Newman Wills DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (2003) McMaster University (Religious Studies) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: The Conversion of Skepticism in Augustine's Against the Academics AUTHOR: Bernard Newman Wills, B.A., M.A. SUPERVISOR: Dr. P. Travis Kroeker NUMBER OF PAGES: v, 322 ABSTRACT This thesis examines Augustine's relation to Academic Skepticism through a detailed commentary on the dialogue Against the Academics. In it is demonstrated the significance of epistemological themes for Augustine and their inseparability from practical and religious concerns. It is also shown how these issues unfold within the logic ofAugustine's trinitarianism, which informs the argument even ofhis earliest works. This, in turn, demonstrates the depth of the young Augustine's engagement with Christian categories in works often thought to be determined wholly, or almost wholly, by the logic of Plotinian Neo-Platonism. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Travis Kroeker for his advice and considerable patience: my readers Dr. Peter Widdicome and Dr. Zdravko Planinc: Dr. David Peddle for several useful suggestions and general encouragement: Dr. Dennis House for teaching me the art of reading dialogues: Mr. Danny Howlett for his editorial assistance: Grad Students and Colleagues at Memorial University of Newfoundland and, in a category all their own, my longsuffering wife Jean and three boisterous children Kristin, Jeremy and Thomas. -
History and Theory of Philosophy
FEDERAL STATE BUDGETARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION "BASHKIR STATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY" OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTHCARE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION (FSBEI HE BSMU MOH Russia) HISTORY AND THEORY OF PHILOSOPHY Textbook Ufa 2020 1 UDC 1(09)(075.8) BBC 87.3я7 H90 Reviewers: Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Head of the department «Social work» FSBEI HE «Bashkir State University» U.S. Vildanov Doctor of Philosophy, Professor at the Department of Philosophy and History FSBEIHE «Bashkir State Agricultural University» A.I. Stoletov History and theory of philosophy:textbook/ K.V. Khramova, H90 R.I. Devyatkina, Z.R. Sadikova, O.M. Ivanova, O.G. Afanasyeva, A.S. Zubairova-Valeeva, N.R. Mingazova, G.R. Davletshina — Ufa: Ufa: FSBEIHEBSMUMOHRussia, 2020. – 127 p. The manual was prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard of Higher Education in specialty 31.05.01 «General Medicine» the current curriculum and on the basis of the work program on the discipline of philosophy. The manual is focused on the competence-based learning model. It has an original, uniform for all classes structure, including the topic, a summary of the training questions, the subject of essays, training materials, test items with response standards, recommended literature. This manual covers topics related to the periods of development of world philosophy. Designed for students in the specialty 31.05.01 «General Medicine». It is recommended to be published by the Coordinating Scientific and Methodological Council and was approved by the decision of the Editorial and Publishing Council of the BSMU of the Ministry of Healthcare of Russia. -
Hegel's Critique of Ancient Skepticism
Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Philosophy Theses Department of Philosophy Summer 8-1-2012 Hegel's Critique of Ancient Skepticism John Wood Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/philosophy_theses Recommended Citation Wood, John, "Hegel's Critique of Ancient Skepticism." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2012. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/philosophy_theses/113 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Philosophy at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Philosophy Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HEGEL’S CRITIQUE OF ANCIENT SKEPTICISM by JAY WOOD Under the Direction of Dr. Sebastian Rand ABSTRACT Recent work on the philosophy of G.W.F. Hegel has emphasized his interest in skeptical concerns. These contemporary scholars argue that, despite common opinions to the contrary, Hegel actually had a very keen interest in skepticism, one that informed and motivated much of his overall project. While I welcome this recent literature, I argue here that contemporary scholars have overemphasized the importance of skepticism for Hegel. By looking closely at Hegel’s arguments against skepticism in the Phenomenology of Spirit, I argue that Hegel’s anti-skeptical arguments are in fact major failures. Hegel’s failure is at odds with the emphasis that contemporary literature places on Hegel’s interests in skepticism. For a philosopher who was supposedly centrally concerned with skeptical issues, Hegel sure does not act like it. I conclude that the tension here is the result of contemporary scholars’ overemphasis of the role that skepticism plays in Hegel’s project. -
Michel De Montaigne and the Politics of Skepticism
CHAPTER FOUR MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE AND THE POLITICS OF SKEPTICISM When Henri Estienne and Gentian Hervet brought out Latin trans lations of the work of Sex tus Empiricus in 1562 and 1569, they fig uratively set off a bombshell of ideas that had been virtually for gotten by the learned world.1 Michel de Montaigne holds a crucial place in the history of skepticism in early modern Europe because he was one of the most influential members of the first generation to become reacquainted with the work of Sex tus Empiricus. The politics of this great Gascon writer of the sixteenth century was above all a politics of human fallibility. Again and again, Montaigne's observations and recommendations concerning govern ment and politics focus on the weaknesses and limitations of human beings. This vision of fallibility, in turn, is best understood as a development of key categories, strategies, and vocabulary of the ancient skeptics. If it can be established that Montaigne's politics of human fall ibility belongs in the tradition of skepticism, this will be an im portant corrective of recent work that casts his politics as largely Stoic or Epicurean. In addition, if it can be shown that Montaigne's politics of skepticism was neither wholly conservative nor glibly liberal, another set of common assumptions will be undermined. Fi nally, a careful analysis of Montaigne's work is significant in itself as an example of one of the forms that a skeptical politics can take. The ancient skepticism that had come down to Montaigne consist ed largely of the writings of Diogenes Laertius and Cicero, along with the new translations of Sextus Empiricus. -
The Nous: a Globe of Faces1
THE NOUS: A GLOBE OF FACES1 Theodore Sabo, North-West University, South Africa ([email protected]) Abstract: Plotinus inherited the concept of the Nous from the Middle Platonists and ultimately Plato. It was for him both the Demiurge and the abode of the Forms, and his attempts at describing it, often through the use of arresting metaphors, betray substantial eloquence. None of these metaphors is more unusual than that of the globe of faces which is evoked in the sixth Ennead and which is found to possess a notable corollary in the prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the four living creatures. Plotinus’ metaphor reveals that, as in the case of Ezekiel, he was probably granted such a vision, and indeed his encounters with the Nous were not phenomena he considered lightly. Defining the Nous Plotinus’ Nous was a uniquely living entity of which there is a parallel in the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel. The concept of the Nous originated with Anaxagoras. 2 Although Empedocles’ Sphere was similarly a mind,3 Anaxagoras’ idea would win the day, and it would be lavished with much attention by the Middle and Neoplatonists. For Xenocrates the Nous was the supreme God, but for the Middle Platonists it was often the second hypostasis after the One.4 Plotinus, who likewise made the Nous his second hypostasis, equated it with the Demiurge of Plato’s Timaeus.5 He followed Antiochus of Ascalon rather than Plato in regarding it as not only the Demiurge but the Paradigm, the abode of the Forms.6 1 I would like to thank Mark Edwards, Eyjólfur Emilsson, and Svetla Slaveva-Griffin for their help with this article. -
Kantian Psychologism
Kantian Psychologism Kantiaans Psychologisme (met een samenvatting in het Nederlands) Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de door Peter Sperber Promotor: Prof.dr. P.G. Ziche Copromotor: Dr. D.K.W. van Miert Copyright © 2017 by Peter Sperber All rights reserved Cover art: Rabih Mroué Leap Year´s Diary, 2006-2016 Collage on paper 23 x 16,5 cm, framed Courtesy the artist & Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg / Beirut ISBN 978-94-028-0665-6 Printed by Ipskamp Printing To my parents, for everything Acknowledgments During the four years in which I wrote the present dissertation, I was very fortunate to have many people in my life who, directly or indirectly, contributed to my research in important ways. To begin, I am incredibly grateful to my supervisor, Paul Ziche. Not only did he hire me four years ago, without which there would not have been a dissertation in the first place, but during these years, Paul also turned out to be the most entrusting and supportive supervisor a doctoral candidate could wish for. Though I probably took the research project in a very different direction than he envisioned when he first wrote the funding proposal, he always made me feel like I had complete freedom in following my own research interests, which was incredibly motivating. Perhaps even more importantly, Paul was never narrowly focused on the research alone, but also encouraged me to develop myself more broadly, both as a scholar and as a person, and provided all the support that I could possibly have hoped for. Finally, it has been a pleasure to work with him academically.