PHIL 213 Class notes, Week II, Lecture 1
Three Ways of Being in Early Indian Philosophy
- Ascetic - Path of Self Disicipline and Denial: Holy Seeker; Sage;
Yogi
- Householder - Symbolized by Arjuna the Warrior. Battlefield taken
literally. "Battlefield" of life
- Trickster, Transgressor - Krishna and the Milk Maidens (Gopis);
liberation an the passion of faith without an object of attachment
I. Review
Four-step logic (Tetralemma; Catus-koti)
Rig Veda, Bhagavad Gita, Gita Govinda (next time)
Ascetic, Householder/Warrior, Trickster/Transgressor
II. Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) -
Teleological Suspension of the Ethical (suspending ethics for a
higher goal)
Danish Philosopher and Theologian
Background of Thought
Works in Own Name: Explicit Christian Writings and Sermons
Pseudonymous Works: Fear and Trembling, Sickness Unto
Death, and other works of philosophy of religion
The Story of Abraham and Isaac: Kierkegaard's reading of 1) renouncing
the finite in favor of the infinite, and 2) leaping back into the
finite world.
The Knight of Resignation and the Knight of Faith
Resignation of the Finite -> Reside in the Infinite; Paradox; Leap
of Faith into the Finite
III. Comparisons with the story of
Krishna and Arjuna from the Bhagavad Gita
Awareness -> Karma -> Liberation/Knowledge or Gnosis
(transcendental knowing or wisdom)
Key Terms:
Brahman-atman, karma, moksa, jnana
Path of Holy Seeker, Path of Warrior/Householder