This is only an outline.
History is guessing, the rest is prejudice.
History is written by winners and never by the defeated. There is bias and me referring to philosophy is an escape route.
I am new to philosophy.
Questions
1. Why I am here?
Are you curious about philosophy?
2. Where I have come from?
3. Where am I going?
Failure of Philosophy is addressed, here
1.Nietzsche
God is a fiction created by humans.
When "god dies" then there is no reason to believe that god exits.
He was one of the first philosophers in modern history to challenge the Church and its Dogma.
Instinct
Survival instinct
We instinctively avoid danger.
Food is essential for our survival.
Instinct is like climate and has a set pattern.
Sex
Men have sexual instinct and drive.
Company
Women have social instinct.
Seeks a partner.
2. Emotions
Give an assessment and understanding to the current environment of ours.
Emotions are like weather and unstable.
Emotions motivate us to change and look for other available options.
3. Reason and logic
Foundation for science.
Reason and logic lead Civilizations to flourish.
We delay gratifications.
We take Calculated risk in day to day life.
Most of it is Learned through direct experience.
Ability to suppress emotions and sexual urge using reasonable control.
This is the age of rationality.
Where does philosophy fits in?
Philosophy in Greek means love of Wisdom.
First human science was philosophy.
Turkey and Ottoman Empire succeeded not by philosophy but by power, domination, violence and war.
Acute awareness of our consciousness.
Humans learned to ask the difficult questions.
Awareness of death was the critical point.
We instinctively anticipate future.
The death was the ultimate outcome.
Fear of death shaped human thinking.
Ethic of Gilgamesh!
He was looking for immortality.
He failed.
Every religion extended it to Afterlife or Rebirth.
My philosophical View on Death
I love the concept of birth, growth, development, decay and death.
If not for that this planet would be inundated with both plants and animals,
There is no competition or survival of the fittest.
No evolution or biodiversity.
No humming bird with particular beak to feed on a particular beautiful flower.
Just imaging only one sex and human robots all over this planet.
One language, one race (with very pale skin) and one type of currency.
It is what these neocolonial scum is dreaming of.
I hate that philosophy.
Besides, there are no native medicines and native doctors.
Only one type of doctors and one vaccine.
I thing pandemics are the norm and natural population control is the name of the game.
Artificial virus creation and gain in function study of CDC should not be the way, so that pharmaceutical companies could dominate the human sphere of influence.
Why are we here?
No need to bother we are already here.
What is reality?
Uncertainty is our reality.
Dhamma or Buddhism
Two fundamental themes in Dhamma are Kamma and Rebirth.
If one does not believe in either one of them, one cannot be considered as a Buddhist.
Dhamma is a belief system and not a philosophy.
It is a simple way of life with gradual ascendance to higher levels of humanity.
1. Sovan
2. Sakurudhagami
3. Anagami
4. Arhat
Dhamma is based on One Principle.
I called it the Uncertainty Principle.
The rest are all derivative of "Flux of Nature".
Dhamma asks a particular question and then gives a plausible answer.
That answer is in fact, related to living condition of the man and all beings.
By the way, anything that changes cannot be a understood as substantial.
A substantial SOUL cannot exist.
This is the fundamental difference with Hinduism.
By the way, I do not understand the spectrum of Hinduism and Creation.
Dhamma does not delve into Creation or creativity of Gods.
Endless physical phenomena are no concern for true Buddhists.
But the mental phenomena are discussed as Five Components.
Mind
1. Rupa Form
2. Vedena Sensation
3. Sanna Cognition or Thoughts
4. Sankara Desires or Mental Formations
5. Vinnana Awareness or Consciousness
I think, therefore I am, was coined by French Mathematician Rene Descartes.
This concept does not apply to Dhamma.
1. Annikka or Changing Nature or Uncertainty Principle
2. Dukka or Unsatisfactoriness of anything that eternally changing or changes that occur from moment to moment.
3. Buddhist Annata concept is that there is no self.
A substantial Soul does not exist in a changing pattern of phenomena.
Dhamma delve into the nature of Mind and Mind created Phenomena (illusion, delusion, reality and uncertainty).
Dhamma is not Open Ended as in philosophy but END Seeking endeavour.
Since, I have not reached any goals in Dhamma, I prefer the Kalama Sutta tradition of Open Inquiry.
That leaves me open to philosophy.
Whereas, in philosophy one poses a question not expecting a real answer.
There was only One Buddha but there are many philosophers in human history.
That is the beauty of philosophy.
Philosophy is based on criteria, classification, logic and reason.
This is an attempt to tabulate them from the time of Aristotle (who was killed for his views) to De Bono.
I believe the Church and Religion existed to stop Open Inquiry.
That is the trade off for humanity, if one believes in God and his Creation.
Either one believes in god or be open minded in his or her own inquiry into matter of facts.
One dogma dominated in our modern history while others were suppressed.
It does not mean that Aristotle is the beginning of philosophy but he is a reflection of the contemporary thinking as recorded by Plato.
Of course Socrates laid a firm foundation but emergence science did irreparable damage to philosophy.
Philosophy in fact, is the first order discipline.
Science and Religion are second order disciplines.
Knowledge is having the right answer for a particular question.
Wisdom on the other hand, is the ability to ask the right question at the right time not expecting, an all inclusive final answer.
The Science branched off, thinking that it would discover the ultimate truth.
Psychologist branched off, trying to find answers and DRUGS to alter the Mind Phenomena.
I consider those branching offs, were the tragedy for Philosophy.
Free thinkers were left nothing to ponder except empiricism.
Philosophical thoughts started emerging in Greece, 2500 years ago.
Initially came as Stories or
Methodology
Analytical (emerging Scientific Methods) system.
Love of Wisdom is the beginning of philosophy.
Empirical thinking was considered as emerging Science (or many other branches or various disciplines).
Philosophy is about asking the Big Questions.
Epistemology, Metaphysics, Value System and Logics were the 4 bases of Modern Philosophy.
What is the nature of Reality.
Metaphysics.
Knowing about knowing or Knowledge.
In other words Epistemology or meaning of words.
Theory of knowledge ( justified or as an opinion)
Value and theory of ethics (right or wrong) and esthetics (what is beautiful) or arts.
Logic is the fourth and is philosophers's tool.
Logic is about reasoning.
1. Get inside of an idea as charitable as possible.
2. Subjects one's understanding to critical evaluation.
Question the authority of an opinion.
3. Success of this endeavour is "How to Think" critically.
Thinking to Think is De Bono's approach.
Bahar (alien being) by Daryll Ankar
I do not know whether it is a delusional state or a logical state but he is not a philosopher.
He is a nice guy, I think, he does not mean harm
One has to believe the existence of aliens, to believe him.
This guy has the gift of the gab and the English language.
His verbal diarrhoea does not mean he is bringing out an original idea or concept.
He probably has no understanding of physical spectrum of energies and the frequency modulation.
Mind or brain has waves and they can be recorded by Electroencephalogram.
They are not like rado waves that can be regulated by receivers and emitters.
Brain waves can be recorded but cannot be captured unless it is translated and transmitted by the five senses.
That does not exclude telepathy and remote viewing.
His frequency and vibration vocabulary is annoying and misleading to a medical guy like me.
He talks about active channeling with alien beings.
1. Everything is changing (not a new discovery).
2. What you put out is what you get back.
It is cause and effect duality.
3. One and the all and all and the one.
This is the state of confusion.
Trying to put everything to a unitary module.
4. Everything is here and now.
This is the relative presence of the mind.
The mind gives the illusive presence of now.
Without the mind there is no past or present or future.
This is the mind projecting itself within an individual (Darryl Ankar).
Nothing fundamental but gives a sense of Time and Meaning to the Phenomena of Existence.
5. You exist (not a new discovery)
This in nothing but physics theory of relativity applied to mind and its behaviour.
In other words, changing nature applied to natural behaviour of mind.
I do not think one needs mediation instances to achieve this state of lucidity.
Mindful Meditation is a technique to calm the mind.
It should not be practiced without a mature master with understanding of Dhamma principles.
One can go mad, confused and delusional.
Additionally one can develop new physical diseases or activate underlying diseases.
BEWARE.
The Beginning.
1. Why am I here?
You are here because you are curious about philosophy.
2. Where I have come from?
3. Where am I going?
Humans have three tools.
1. Instinct
Survival instinct
Instinctively avoid danger.
Food
Sex
Company
2. Emotions
If instinct is like climate (stable) our emotions are like weather (regulates our daily life).
Our emotions gives us the hint of our social environment (this varies from east to the west).
Crying is accepted in the east but it is seen as a weakness in the west.
Emotions allows us to hold, stop, grow or adopt to our environment.
Our emotions are very powerful and make us to do be positive or be negative in ways we react to changing circumstances.
We were never happy the way things were and we engineered our Own Way in our history.
Communism
Socialism
Capitalism
Liberalism
Neoliberalism
Wars
Catastrophy
Evaluation
3. Company of others
Men seek sex while women seek social engagements and company.
Without these we end up lonely.
Unfortunately in the east we go for sooth seers or astrologers who are parasites of Ceylon.
Some of them especially the politicians go to the Indian Kattandiyas and Kovils.
4. Reason and Logic
Informed knowledge
Calculated risk (sovereignty, ideology and integrity)
Whereas, instinct is hard wired rationality is a learned behaviour.
It does not come from nothing but as an appropriate reaction to evolving circumstances.
War is a good example where one side tried to outmanoeuvre the other until win or stalemate ensures.
Rationality is powerful enough to overcome the emotions at a given point of time.
Delay gratification to achieve long term pleasure is another example.
This is the age of rationality.
Humans are creatures of instinct, emotion and reason.
Where does philosophy fits in?
Love of wisdom.
Philosophy is the foundation of rationality and replaced the "Three Wise Men" of the Theology.
Acute self awareness has become a reality.
Then the devastating awareness of death and the fear associated with.
Anticipate death even subconsciously.
Fear of illness, fear of injury, the fear of disability and fear of ageing.
Why death?
From doctors, healthy living experts to astrologist to sooth seers exploit this universal predicament of mankind.
Everybody is unprepared for this natural eventuality.
Epic of Gilgamesh, the king of death failed to find a solution.
Every religion extended it to Afterlife or Rebirth.
That is the beginning of all religions.
Myths and legends were created and gradually they become demigods and gods.
Two main pillars of philosophy.
1. What is really out there?
2. How we know it.
What is Reality?
Ontology
Ontology a branch of metaphysics which deals with the nature of beings.
Epistemology
Epistemology, the theory of knowledge which is either a justified belief or an opinion.
What is Reality?
The potential areas of inquiry
1. Physical World (Physics)
Galileo
2. Origin of Life (Biology)
Darwin
3. Nature of Mind (Mind)
Freud and Carl Jung
First baby born was physics.
The second baby was biology.
The third baby was psychology.
Philosophers were left almost nothing.
They can now become Real Philosophers.
What is the purpose of philosophy today?
New Philosophy is Intuition
Is the moment of insight!
New philosophy based on intuition.
Instincts are unconscious.
Intuition is between Emotion and Reason.
Provides insight and the ability to connect.
Most discoveries and inventions result from intuition.
Hit and Miss approach.
In other words, don't be rigid and bound to a dogma or don't be fluid and bound to fear and emotion.
Opens up the Free Inquiry domain.
Ontology vs Epistemology
Ontology what is and Epistemology ask how we know it.
In Ontology we say we are not animal therefore humans are sacred.
Thou shal not kill arise from that understanding.
Ontology speaks about Reality.
Epistemology is about how we gather knowledge.
Emanuel Kant has said we can never know what reality as it is.
We only know at a limited level.
Why?
Anything has to be funneled through the structured mind.
We categorize things in a structured way.
We put a structure to everything through our mind.
On the other hand Michele Foucault went bit futher and said knowledge is power. Those who in possession of science and technology has immense power over others.
There is no impartial or power free science.
The knowledge is the tool of the powerful.
In summary ontology is philosophy of existence and epistemology is the knowledge of that existence.
Metaphysics vs Physics
Physics studies the physical world.
The study of matter and universe.
Metaphysics is what is beyond matter world, like ideas, forms, soul, god and spirits.
Physicist may say mind exits in the brain while a metaphycisist may say mind exist on its own.
Reason vs Logic
Logic is the foundation on which philosophical debate can take place.
Logics gives the basic ground rules, like mathematics and relativity.
Lugwig Weinstein wanted precise meaning in communication and use of words.
Bertram Russell use mathematics in philosophy.
Logic is somewhat rigid but impartial.
Logic is outcome independent.
Logic is as in a computer algorithm and in a game of chess.
Reason is somewhat subjective.
Less scientifically vigorous.
Reason is persuasive.
Reason is very much selective.
Reason is more linguistic.
Rationalization is a negative form of persuasion.
Rationalism vs Empiricism
Rationalism is based on our prior ability to reason.
Rationalism is that we understand the world with our ability to use inbuilt reason.
In other words we have prior understanding of our nature.
Rene Descarte I think and therefore I am
Wilhelm Leibniz was a rationalist and idealist.
He excelled in mathematics and pioneered binary system which we use in computers today.
Empiricism on the other hand that we know the world through experience.
Empiricism is more British whereas rationalism is more European.
Leans to pragmatism.
John Lock and David Hume are two examples.
Fathers of liberalism and founders of enlightenment.
Emanuel Kant was a rationalist and idealist. He combined rationalism and empiricism.
That gave rise to phenomenology.
His base was the human freedom to act with moral constraints.
Political philosophy vs Ethics
Ethics is a moral system as justice in legal system.
Political philosophy is how society decides what is right and wrong.
Ethics may change.
Political study is how ethics changes with human social evolution.
Also depends on culture.
Egalitarianism vs Elitism
Idea of equality and quality.
Egalitarian philosophy has its roots in religion such as in Christianity.
All humans have equal dignity and rights.
Kalm Marx is the most famous egalitarian philosopher.
Quality for all.
Elitism on the other hand believed in running the society based on meritocracy.
Frederick Nietzsche is one who believed in meritocracy.
Privilege for the elite.
Believes in merit.
Humanism vs Utilitarianism
Istead of divine god in charge of the planet humans took control of the planet.
Humanism was born during enlightenment.
Ownership of this planet and ideas.
Utilitarianism (branch of humanism) is the concept that benefit greatest number of people.
In the time of kings majority worked for the benefit of the minority.
Jeremy Bentham and Stuart Mills.
Democracy based on majority.
Socialism based on class
Feminism based on gender.
Nationalism based on nationality.
Postmodernism vs Existentialism
Existentialism started with Nietzsche who stated that everything starts with our existence.
No god or divine essence.
Jean Paul Sartre
We are condemned to be Free.
Postmodernism which was popularized in France was interested in community and cultural groups.
Concentrate on idea of truth and social values.
Unify on the basis of individualism, freedom and materialism.
All these are European values.
All cultures are valid as European cultures.
Control through power laws, prisons, surveillance, mass education and money.
All Tools powerful to control the masses.
Western Philosophy
Concentrate on physical side and materialism.
Built rockets to conquer space.
Manufacture wars.
Pragmatic
Change the world to make it better.
Fight for justice, peace and equality.
It is about change.
Individualism, rationality and material wellbeing.
Eastern Philosophy
Concentrate on the individual.
Do meditation to conquer self.
Peaceful mind.
Spiritualism, happiness and community
Change oneself.
Accept their fate retreat to a forest.
Accepting fate.
All about mental culture.
Community spirits through individual development.
Greece and Romans
Trade
Communication
Ideas and Knowledge
Merchants were important.
Open minded to new ideas and science.
Constantly changing material available for trade.
Affected by winter.
Accumulate food for winter.
Wars always disrupted trade.
War fuels the economy.
Future became more important.
Materialism and fight for common cause.
Western philosophy is rigid.
Ate four times more protein in bread.
Developed olympic games to train soldiers.
Invade other countries.
They built big cities.
The philosophers gather in cities and debate issues.
Developed schools and universities.
Individual and self and ego.
Develop profits.
Questioning the teacher is the norm.
Good and bad are separate entities.
Progressive philosophy of science.
Idealism
Perfection
Purpose
India and China
Centered around rivers and mountains.
Agriculture could support a huge population.
Farmers were important.
Stable remained with the land.
Harder to change.
Fatalistic.
Climate also play a role.
It is warmer.
Here and now.
Great famines.
Humans were not outside of other living beings.
Vegetarianism.
Monasteries are far away from cities in the mountains.
Fluid and flexible.
Martial arts are there to discipline the body.
Avoid conflicts and non violence.
Part of nature and soul (Hinduism) merges with the universe.
Yoga and meditation of let go and ego.
Rarely questioning the teacher and treated with respect and reverence.
Good and bad are two sides of the same coin.
Purity of mind and soul.
Machiavelli
End justify the means in Prince.
Thales of Meritus
Everything is made of water.
He also made reason to predict weather.
People at that time believed that the weather was at the hands of god.
Pythagoras
Base his ideas on mathematical logic.
Parmenides
500 BC and pre- socrates.
Reality is one.
Existence is timeless and permanent.
No change possible.
Human experience gives false perception.
1. Socrates
Founder of philosophy.
Street philosopher.
Like a modern day whistleblower.
Truth most important rule of philosophy.
One evil ignorance.
One good knowledge.
Nietzsche questioned it and proposed multiple truths.
In 328 BC democrats in Greece condemned Socrates to death.
He is the father of philosophy.
Origin of modern civilization.
His death sparked an awakening that is alive to this day.
He was killed on the grounds of spreading bad ideas.
He contested the religious dogma.
The concept that god is might.
He lost his life but rationality triumphed.
This all happened city of Athens.
He is the greatest philosopher of modern human history.
Spirituality in the east and rationalism in the west.
Did not believe in face value.
He questioned everything.
Dialectical method to get to the bottom.
Modern scientific methods.
Virtue
Moderation
Justice
Courage
Goodness
Piety
What?
Where?
How?
Why?
When?
Who?
2. Plato
Torch was passed down to Plato,
Plato's ideas were closer to god and perfection within.
After the execution of Socrates he became an idealist.
Allegory of the cave.
What we see outside is a shadow of our mind.
We have an innate knowledge of the world.
Mere representation of what is inside.
We do not learn from experience.
Strong opinion on politics.
Rule as a Republic and not by a mob.
Philosophers are better suited to rule society.
Created the academy to create best minds.
Universities today are modelled by Plato's academy.
Aristotle graduated from his academy.
Perfect vision of the truth from within.
Horror movies make us to experience fear within.
3. Aristotle
Plato was an idealist but his student Aristotle was pragmatic thinker.
Truth is outside of us in the real world.
He started dissecting frogs and toads.
Real scientific inquiry.
Evidenced based and by Research.
Everything in the world can be categorised.
Knowledge based inquiry.
Humans are rationalistic.
Purpose before essence.
Utility value.
Looking for solution to problems facing mankind.
What is the purpose of civilization.
To reach perfection.
Without an end goal it is hard to motivate people.
Created a Lyceum.
A type of secondary school.
One of his students was the Alexandra the Great.
Teleology
The doctrine if design and purpose in the material world.
Epicurus
Fear of death is fundamental to human existence and to his adaptation.
He created a hippy style garden to enjoy simple happy life.
Peace and tranquility were his goals.
Entire foundation of philosophy was based on death.
Fear of death is irrational.
We do not know death.
Nobody had returned from death.
Make the most of this life.
He remained outside of western philosophy.
Too much rationalism leaves human passion and emotions aside.
Nietzsche critic.
4. Diogenes
Before delving into philosophy my approach to social life outside of family life was a touch of satire.
It hit a feverish peek having analyzed our politicians of 70 years after independence.
It is almost cynical having seen how current president come into power.
In that scenario, I love the attitude of Diogenes.
I call myself a global citizen and I do not like how human beings are treated at the border or at airports. I have crossed the sea only once by boat to Ireland and that experience was not bad.
But I prefer to be on the land than at sea.
Diogenes coined the word cosmopolitan which I really like.
He was exiled from Spinova or tip of the Greek Horn to Athenes and he was traded as slave by pirates.
He lived a simple life and it is very easy to understand how he became spiteful and distrustful of his fellow beings in Athens.
His disregard for law and ethics was manifested by sleeping on a drum in public space and eating in public.
He did not want to be a beggar on the street but a living philosopher among his fellow beings unlike his contemporaries like Socrates who lived a comfortable and respectable life.
He was a critic of Socrates.
Some call him an extreme version of Socrates but his disdain of Plato was evident.
Diogenes sought out student of Socrates, Antisthenes as a tutor.
Antisthenes was a student of Socrates but he preferred asceticism and later founded the School of Cynics.
What I really like about Diogenes was his comparison of humans to dogs.
He probably was treated like a dog but he turned table on humans by showing the innate qualities of dogs.
I fawn on those who give me anything, I yelp at those who refuse and I set my teeth in rascals.
The dog is the guard who carry the masters philosophy with dignity.
Later development of Stoicism with law and order to administer stoic principles is the later manifestation of cynicism.
In a way culture added as the cream of the ice cream.
Read Nietzsche below.
He became notorious for his philosophical stunts and carried a lamp in day time looking for a wise man (honest man).
It is very appropriate citizens in Ceylon carry a lamp looking fir a honest politician or an honest journalist reporting on facts instead of gossips.
5.Frederick Nietzsche
He is a "child" of Darwin and brother of Bismark.He ridiculed the English evolutionist and German nationalist.
1. Strength is the ultimate virtue ( survival of the fittest)
Weakness is the only faulty.
2. Good is that will win.
Bad is that gives way and fail.
Not humility but Pride.
Not altruism but resolute intelligence.
Need geniuses not masses.
Not justice but power is the arbitrator.
His father was a minister.
He attacked Christianity.
After a period of avid indulgence of wine, women and tobacco that life style disgusted him.
Life mirrored him from Arthur Schopenhauer (manifestation of blind and irrational will).
Arthur Schopenhauer
Atheistical metaphysics and ethics.
First western philosopher to assimilate Asian philosophy of asceticism, denial of self and phenomenology.
Instead of becoming a warrier he became a philologist.
Without music life is a mistake.
Will to power and overpower.
Not as a soldier but as a nurse t due to his poor eyesight.
Philology (study of languages) to philosophy.
Nietzsche's philosophy contemplates of nature of values.
On the belief that no absolute values exist.
He argued rational thinking is stale and is too rigid.
Believed in meriticracy.
2. Henri-Loise Bergson
Intuition and immediate experience is better than the abstract rationalism.
Intuition fast, instantaneous and brings us to nature while reason is slow and rigid and moving us away from nature.
Vitalism and wants to liberate from chain of reason.
Eastern Philosophy
Eastern philosophy is very rich and complex.
Lao Tze
Chinese Philosopher known for his writing,Tao Te Ching.
The Way.
Indefinable and un-namable
Enlightenment
Eternel and Nature's Way.
Spontaneous, eternal and
Natural non resistance.
Way means purposeful.
There is no purpose for life.
Live harmoniously with nature.
As the river flows.
Good and evil are two sides of the same coin.
Butterfly dream.
River is used as a metaphor for Taoism.
Tend to avoid conflicts and non confrontational.
Not going against but flowing with it.
Buddhism
Found suffering was universal.
Suffer because of our desire and greed.
Do not chase things but be happy of the moment.
Self or Ego is not real.
Kill this ego or desire.
Achieve this by meditation and mental discipline.
Confucius
How we can live politically and socially together.
Less individualistic but a collective endeavour.
How animal kingdom organizes itself.
Wars and violence.
There is confusion.
Pyramid social system.
Everyone has a place in this hierarchy.
Removing confusion was his goal.
Everybody knows his place and others place.
No confusion but order.
Like a game of chess.
Everything starts in the family.
Powerful argument against this system is the development of tyranny.
Responsibility
Duty
Most corporate structures follow rigid hierarchy.
There is room for meritocracy.
Mao Zedong
Cultural Revolution caused great pain.
Traditional hierarchy was replaced by political hierarchy.
Country is run like a company.
Many voices are suppressed.
There is traditional male dominance.
Shamanism
Way of interacting with spirit world by way of trance.
Hermeticism
Greek god Hermes and Egyptian god Thorp.
Karl Marx
Philosopher
Economist
Socialist
Historian
Journalist
Revolutionist
German
Born 1818
Died 1883 aged 65 years.
He died stateless.
Communist Manifesto in 1848
There volumes of das capital.
Marxism.
He had a doctorate in philosophy.
Political, economic and intellectual genius.
He was expelled from Germany and Belgium and settled in London.
Working Class The proletariat
Ruling Class. The bourgeoisie
Believed in slow evolution of a classless society.
Working class should organise proletariat revolution to escape from capitalist grip on industry.
He call it socio-economic emancipation.
Leninism
Marxist-Leninism
Trotskyism
Maoism
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