Plato’s theory of education and its contemporary relevance: A Critical Analysis

Introduction

The primary concern of this article is to highlight the notion of philosophy of education in Plato’s

The Republic, this article seeks to compare and contrast Plato’s theory of education with the

contemporary system of education. However, it will be a philosophical analysis; and the idea is

to bring out the points of similarities and dissimilarities of the two systems and likewise

showcasing the problems of the same. Also the effort will be to give a remedy of the problems

that we’ll come across in the contemporary system through Plato’s philosophy of education, if at

all possible. In this process there are a few questions that become imperative, they are:

Buddhism and Vedanta: Common Aspects

Ø  Buddhism and Vedanta are viewed as different stages in the development of the same central thought.

Ø  It starts with the Upanisads, and finds its indirect support in Buddha. And it is elaborated in Mahayana Buddhism. Its open revival in Gaudapada, which reaches its zenith in Sankara and culminates in the Post-Sankara.

A Note on Nirvana

Buddhism has its origin in man's realisation of a deeper truth in life which commands universality and conditions his whole existence. This deeper truth of life is called suffering. The entire existence of man is constituted, pervaded and conditioned by suffering. This is the existential situation of man. The realisation of this situation creates in man the elimination of suffering called Nirvana. It is the supreme goal of man's life of the highest value. Nirvana is defined as the case of absolute freedom from all sufferings. Nirvana is defined as the case of absolute freedom from all sufferings.

Pre-Shankara Vedanta (Gaudapada)

• The Mandukya-Karika or the Gaudapada-Karika also known as the Agama-shastra is the first available system treatise on Advaita Vedanta.
• Upanisads, Brahma Sutra and the Gita are called Prasthana-traya.
• Upanissads are regarded as Srutii by Vedantins.
• Badrayan summarizedthe teachings of Upanisads in his Brahma-sutra and developed into the school of Advaita-Vedanta bby Gaudapada.
• Gaudapada is the first systematic expounder of Advaita-Vedanta.
• Gaudapada's philosophyis essentially based on Upanisads, mainly on Mandukya, Brhadaranyaka and Chhandogya.
• Doctrine of No-Origination- ajativada. It means the world being only an appearance. Reality is no-origination and the absolute is non-dual. Gaudapada agrees with Sunyavada.
• Gaudapada agrees with the Vijanavada that the world is ultimately unreal.
• Real is pure consciousness which is pure self.
• Gaudapada identifies Unborn and non-dual with the atman or the Brahman or amatra or Turiya or Advaita which can be directly realised by Pure consciousness or Asparshayoga or Vaisharadya or amnibhava.
• Absolute manifest itself in three forms-
  (1) jagrat as vishva
  (2) Svapna as Taijasa
  (3) Susupti as Prajna
• Gaudapada represents what is best in Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu. 

Ramanuja Vedānta (Visistadvaita)

Ø  Ramanuja’s philosophy is a harmonious combination of absolutism with personal theism. This is attempt is similar to the attempts made in Gītā, Mahābhārata. This attempt took three different lines:

1.      Vais̩navism: the personal divinity was identified as Vishnu. According to this theism there are four main sects-

Five skanshas (Buddhist Philosophy)

• ·      Buddhism propounds a theory of 'no-self', which means there is no permanent self like the metaphysical or the ontological self and this theory is called 'anatman' or 'anatmavada'. It is in opposition to the theory of 'atmavada'. According to Buddhists there is no permanent self because it is a combination of five elements which is in constant change and called the Skandhas. they are as follows:

Early Buddhism

Ø  Siddhartha or Gautama Buddha was the founder of Buddhism.

Ø  Buddhism is divided into many philosophical schools and has a vast literature.

Ø  ‘Philosophy purifies none, peace alone does’.

Ø  First Buddhist council was held at Raja-grha to establish the canon of the Vinaya, the discipline or the order. It was divided into Sthavirvāda and Mahāsānghika.

The Four Nobel Truth

1.      The anti-speculative attitude: when anyone asked Buddha metaphysical questions as to whether the soul was different from the body, whether it survived death, whether the world was finite or infinite, eternal or non-eternal, etc., he avoided the discussing them.

2.      The First Noble Truth about Suffering:

Buddhism: Pratityasamutpāda in short

The enlightenment (Bodhi) of the Buddha Gautama was simultaneously his liberation from suffering and his insight into the nature of the universe – particularly the nature of the lives of ‘sentient beings’ (principally humans and animals). What the Buddha awakened to (Bodhi means ‘to awaken’) was the truth of dependent origination. This is the understanding that any phenomenon ‘exists’ only because of the ‘existence’ of other phenomena in an incredibly complex web of cause and effect covering time past, time present and time future. Because all things are thus conditioned and transient (anicca), they have no real independent identity (anatta) so do not truly ‘exist’, though to ordinary deluded minds this appears to be the case.

Effect of judiciary on the environment movement in India

In the history of environmental movements in India, the period from the 1980s onwards witnessed a peculiar phase. Following the Emergency of 1975, the judiciary had already begun to take a much greater role in the functioning of the government. Several environment matters relating land, air and water were brought to the Supreme Court through an innovative mechanism; Public Interest Litigations. In many of the pollution related cases, the courts gave sweeping orders to shift the sites of production or to shut down manufacture besides deciding on penalties, fines and compensations.

Performativity and Nature of Wittgenstein's Philosophy

Introduction

Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language.[1] During his lifetime he published just one slim book, the 75-page Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921), one article, one book review and a children's dictionary.[2]

Book Review on Tractatus Logico Philosophicus By Ludwig Wittgenstein

Introduction to the book and the author:

Tractatus-Logico Philosophicus is the only book published by German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein during his life time. Tractatus was first published in the year 1921 in German and translated in 1922 in English. Ludwig Wittgenstein is one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century.

Immanuel Kant in Short

Ø  Deontological Ethics

·         Rightness or wrongness of actions in themselves

·         In an opposition to utilitarian ethics

·         Actions based on duty

·         Rightness or wrongness of situations depend on the action that caused it

Nyaya Philosophy

Ø  Nyāya school of Indian Philosophy was founded by Gotama who is also known asAks̩apāda.

Ø  Nyāya is also known as:

1.      Pramāns̩astra: science of logic and epistemology.

2.      Hetuvidya: Science of causation

3.      Vādavidya: Science of debate

4.      anvīks̩kī: Science of critical study

5.      tarksastra: Science of reasoning

Vaisesika Philosophy

Ø Vaisesika school is next to sankhya in origin, priopr to Buddhism and Jainism.

Ø  The Vaisesika philosophy is Pluralistic Realism- diversity is the soul of universe.

Ø  Founder: Kanada also known as Kanbhuk, Uluka, Kashapa.

Ø  This shool is also known as Auluka darshana.

Ø  Prashastapada has written Padarthadharmasangraha- called bhasya or commentary on the vaisesikasutra, Vaisesikasutra written by Kanada.

Verbal Testimony- Sabda Pramana (Nyaya Philosophy)

A sentence which is a means of valid knowledge is called verbal testimony. It is the fourth kind of valid knowledge in Nyaya philosophy, it is called Sabda or agama orauthoritative verbal testimony. Its means is called Sabda. It is defined as the statement of a trustworthy person (aptavakya) and consists in understanding its meaning. A sentence is defined as a collection of words and a word is defined as that which is potent to convey its meaning. The power in a word to convey its meaning comes, according to ancient Nyaya, from God, and according to later Nyaya, from long established convention.

Verbal Testimony (Sabda epistemology of Mimamsa)

Ø  Sabda-Pramana has got the greatest importance in Mimamsa. Testimony is Verbal authority. It is the knowledge of the meanings of words.

Ø  Kumarila divides testimony into two parts:

Mimamsa School of Indian Philosophy

Ø  Mimamsa literally means ‘revered thought’ and was originally applied to the interpretation of the Vedic rituals which commanded highest reverence.

Ø  Mimamsa and Vedanta are also called allied systems. Both are based on try to interpret Vedas.

Ø  Earlier portion of Vedas i.e., the Mantra and the Bhrahman portion is calledKarmakānda- it deals with the action, rituals and the sacrifices. The later portion of Vedas i.e., Upanishads is called Jñānakānda deals with the knowledge of reality.

Indian Philosophy (Vedas, Upanishads and Carvaka)

                                     Indian Schools of Philosophy

        i.            Schools rejecting Vedic authority (Heterodox or Nastika)

Carvaka, Buddhism, Jainism

      ii.            Schools not rejecting Vedic authority (Othodox or Astika)

a)      Schools directly based on Vedic texts:

Mimamsa (It emphasizes ritualistic aspect of the Vedas)

Vedanta (It emphasizes speculative aspect of the Vedas)

b)      Schools based on independent grounds:

Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisesika

Philosophy in Brief

The word 'philosophy' consists of two Greek words, namely, 'philos' and 'sophia'. hence the etymological meaning of the term is 'the friendship or love of wisdom'. As such, a philosopher may be called a 'wise man'. However, this title is too pretentious. Therefore, Socrates defined a philosopher as 'a seeker after wisdom'. Even when so defined the term 'philosophy' does not become any more precise. the important thing is to note that philosophy seeks wisdom, and not knowledge, and not the empirical knowledge. Indian philosophers aimed at immorality and not a world of sentient happiness. (Masih, Y., A Critical History of Western Philosophy, 1994).