Philosophy Now Forum

at this time, I am deep into the study of the eastern philosophy...
and I see some connections within the two, eastern philosophy
and western philosophy.... but I can see the value of both and
perhaps it is time to unify the two into one overall philosophy....

the west is outward driven... we focus on the world/universe to
see what it is and how it affects us whereas in the east, it
is inward driven...to see the path forward in bringing about
a unity of soul with the universe....the eastern philosophies
are about returning the soul to its original place.. seeking out
the unity of soul and the universe around us...

and what it is needed is to unite the two philosophies into one...
to hold onto the west fascination with the outside world and
the eastern goal of the unity of soul and the universe.....

and how do we accomplish such a grand goal? Well by first of all,
understanding that the western philosophy and eastern philosophy
do have common ground...that we have needs, biological and
psychological needs that must be fulfilled...

of the two, eastern philosophy tends to be more pessimistic..
the concern of lot of eastern philosophy is with this idea of suffering...
and how to end the suffering in our existence...the Buddhist believe
that by ending desire, we end suffering... for much of our suffering
comes from our endless desires of material goods and seeking out love
and hoping for eternal life..... to desire is to suffer.... at least that
is what the east believes....but to my mind at least...
biologically, we are going to suffer in any case.... we grow old
and we have diseases and we finally die... and in those ''suffering''
there is nothing we can do about it and that is our starting point...
there is nothing we can do about our biologically suffering...
and we suffer from psychological needs too..
one of the primary needs of all human beings is love..
and we suffer if we lack in love, one to love and one for us to love...
and within the east, the thought is, if we remove this desire for
love, we will end suffering... but for me anyway, we also
lose the best of what it means to be human.... love brings out
the best in us, most of us anyway, and that is part of the failure
of the eastern philosophy... it denies vastly important parts
of being human.... yes, in love, I may suffer and frankly, that
is quite often the price of finding love... and suffering is worth finding love...
for within love, we find a reason for existence...that many other goals
don't find....the trinkets of existence for example....
which definitely bring about suffering... in the eastern way.....

so, what is called for is a union of eastern philosophy with its emphasis on
the inner world and the west with its emphasis on the outer world...

it was one thought that evil and good were two distinct and opposite
beliefs, but on further thought, good and evil are two sides of
the same coin, and later, good and evil are just the same concept....
and as we move on the road/path of existence in seeking out our
own journey from animal to animal/human to becoming fully human,
we will discover that life is the union of both the eastern philosophy
and the western philosophy....once we properly understand that
all philosophy, western and eastern, is just a path for us into
the future... what we are and what we are meant to be..
all of it is just an exploration of the possibilities of existence...

Kropotkin

Peter Kropotkin wrote: ↑Sun Sep 10, 2023 4:39 pm at this time, I am deep into the study of the eastern philosophy...

and what it is needed is to unite the two philosophies into one...
Kropotkin

The enquiry drove Pirsig mad.

in thinking about one of the primary questions of the west,
''How do I find Happiness" ..... how would that question
fit into eastern thinking? I would become happy by adapting
some philosophical practice such as seeking out pleasure or
by practicing asceticism... or one of the other ''schools''
of Greek philosophy.... but the question that we should be asking is
this, "why is happiness the goal of existence, why not another value"

In the west, we seek out our own individual happiness by some engagement
with actions, like skepticism, or Epicureanism, or Stoicism...
but in the east, they begin with Tao... or as we might call it order... the way...
in the west, we seek out our own individual happiness, whereas in the east,
fitting into the state or society or family is the path.. finding our path within
some sort of following the Tao or Rig (as in Veda) which is the Indian word for order...
and that is the eastern path to existence.. following the order or path...
being within the family or society or the state.. and not individually as the
west would have it....

in the east, human beings are thought of in the larger context of the society,
the state... the eastern way of thinking is far more collective, as part of
something, whereas in the west, we are individually based... we think of
going out and slaying the dragon as individuals... not as part of the society
or state...

the question of ''what am I to do" as Kant would say it, would in the east,
have the answer be, follow the way, the Tao, the answer for the east is
collective based, and in the west, it would be individually based...
in the east, they would say, ''What are we to do?"

the west needs to think more in terms of the whole, the entire
society/state and the east needs to think more in terms of the
individual..... some meeting ground in the middle....

as I have stated many times, the question, ''what am I to do" can also
be asked, ''what are we to do?" any individual question can also be
asked about us collectively..

think about the writings of Plato or Aristotle... they seek individual
answers, not collective answers... and so, from the very beginning of
philosophy, we are staked to thinking about philosophy from an
individual standpoint, not a collective one...
or think about Descartes... "I think therefore I am''
if that isn't individualism at work, I don't know what is....

so, how do we go from an atomistic, western philosophy
to the eastern collective philosophy and then how do we get
the east to move more toward the western philosophy which
is individually grounded... ''I think therefore I am''

where is the middle ground in between the collective east
and individualistic west?

Kropotkin

Walker wrote: ↑Mon Sep 11, 2023 10:21 am

Peter Kropotkin wrote: ↑Sun Sep 10, 2023 4:39 pm at this time, I am deep into the study of the eastern philosophy...

and what it is needed is to unite the two philosophies into one...
Kropotkin

The enquiry drove Pirsig mad.

K: Pirsig was diagnosed with schizophrenia... and that sounds more like
an illness that he was born with.. and not coming from any study of
philosophy...

Kropotkin

Peter Kropotkin wrote: ↑Mon Sep 11, 2023 4:03 pm
K: Pirsig was diagnosed with schizophrenia... and that sounds more like
an illness that he was born with.. and not coming from any study of
philosophy...

Kropotkin

"Causes - Schizophrenia

The exact causes of schizophrenia are unknown. Research suggests a combination of physical, genetic, psychological and environmental factors can make a person more likely to develop the condition.

Some people may be prone to schizophrenia, and a stressful or emotional life event might trigger a psychotic episode.

However, it's not known why some people develop symptoms while others do not."

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/condit ... %20episode.