ebook img

Death, contemplation and Schopenhauer PDF

141 Pages·2007·2.054 MB·English
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview Death, contemplation and Schopenhauer

DEATH, CONTEMPLATION AND SCHOPENHAUER The connections between death, contemplation and the contemplative life have been a recurrent theme in the canons of both western and eastern philosophical thought. This book examines the classical sources of this philosophical literature, in particular Plato’s Phaedo and the Katha Upanishad and then proceeds to a sustained analysis and critical assessment of the sources and standpoints of a single thinker, Arthur Schopenhauer, whose work comprehensively pursues this problem. Going beyond the well-examined western influences on Schopenhauer, Singh offers an in-depth account of Schopenhauer’s references to eastern thought and a comprehensive examination of his eastern sources, particularly Vedanta and Buddhism. The book traces the pivotal issue of death through the whole range of Schopenhauer’s writings uncovering the deeper connotations of his crucial notion of the will-to-live. An excellent book, clear and concise without academic slang. A book for all those who expect from philosophy more than intellectual acrobatics. Günter Wohlfart University of Wuppertaal, Germany According to Raj Singh, Schopenhauer is a thinker “whose philosophical thought revolves around the pivotal issue of death.” In this work, a thoughtful examination of Socrates and the Vedantic tradition provides the background for an extensive treatment of the role of death in Schopenhauer’s work and its relation to contemplation and the contemplative life. Professor Singh’s work is searching, enlightening and revealing. David Carr Emory University, USA Raj Singh considers all of Schopenhauer’s published works, focussing on the connection between death, philosophy and the ideal philosophical life. As the first complex study to qualify Schopenhauer’s pessimism with reference to Indian thought, this book is timely in light of the recently awakened debate on Schopenhauer’s relation to eastern traditions. Matthias Kossler Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany ASHGATE NEW CRITICAL THINKING IN PHILOSOPHY The Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy series brings high quality research monograph publishing into focus for authors, the international library market, and student, academic and research readers. Headed by an international editorial advisory board of acclaimed scholars from across the philosophical spectrum, this monograph series presents cutting-edge research from established as well as exciting new authors in the field. Spanning the breadth of philosophy and related disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy takes contemporary philosophical research into new directions and debate. Series Editorial Board: David Cooper, Durham University, UK Sean Sayers, University of Kent, UK Simon Critchley, New School, USA; University of Essex, UK Simon Glendinning, London School of Economics, UK Paul Helm, Regent College, Canada David Lamb, University of Birmingham, UK John Post, Vanderbilt University, UK Alan Goldman, College of William and Mary, USA Joseph Friggieri, University of Malta, Malta Graham Priest, University of Melbourne; University of St Andrews, UK Moira Gatens, University of Sydney, Australia Alan Musgrave, University of Otago, New Zealand Death, Contemplation and Schopenhauer R. RAJ SINGH Brock University, Canada © R. Raj Singh 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. R. Raj Singh has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Ashgate Publishing Company Gower House Suite 420 Croft Road 101 Cherry Street Aldershot Burlington, VT 05401-4405 Hampshire GU11 3HR USA England Ashgate website: http://www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Singh, Ravindra Raj Death, contemplation and Schopenhauer. - (Ashgate new critical thinking in philosophy) 1. Schopenhauer, Arthur, 1788-1860 2. Death I. Title 128.5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Singh, Ravindra Raj. Death, contemplation and Schopenhauer / Ravindra Raj Singh. p. cm. -- (Ashgate new critical thinking in philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7546-6050-7 (hardcover) 1. Death. 2. Contemplation. 3. Schopenhauer, Arthur, 1788-1860. I. Title. BD444.S52 2007 193--dc22 2006026855 ISBN-13: 978 0 7546 6050 7 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire. Contents List of Abbreviations vi Prologue ix 1 The Word and the Deed of Socrates 1 2 The Katha Upanishad: An Eastern Classic on Death 13 3 Schopenhauer: Book IV of The World as Will and Representation 27 4 Schopenhauer and Indian Thought 55 5 Schopenhauer: The Supplementary Essays 73 6 Schopenhauer: The Later Essays 99 Epilogue 115 Bibliography 119 Index 121 List of Abbreviations WWR The World as Will and Representation W, I The World as Will and Representation, Vol. 1 W, II The World as Will and Representaiton, Vol. II PP, I Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. I. PP, II Parega and Paralipomena, Vol. II H N Der Handschriftliche Nachlass FRPSR On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason In memoriam Harbans Raj Singh (1918–1979) This page intentionally left blank Prologue Death and Contemplation If philosophy begins, as Aristotle says, from wonder,1 then things that strike wonder in us must be instigators of philosophical thought. Nothing causes more wonder and awe than death, the disconcerting reality of which assails every reflective mind. It is true that the evasion and dismissal of death are as commonplace as the acknowledgement in thought of death as the “only thing about which there is no uncertainty.”2 Death is never taken as a merely physical event. The why, what, wherefore and aftermath of death causes tremendous perturbation and amazement. Furthermore, it is the root of all existential anxiety (angst) that prompts humans to absorb themselves in worldliness as Heidegger explains and it is what makes the will-to-live a natural drive, as Schopenhauer upholds. Death is an issue that is ever unresolved. It is what everyone knows but no one has experienced. The amazing truth of death, its meaning and its implications have been explored not only within philosophy but also religion, literature and social sciences. The issues of death and immortality are the backbone of all major religious traditions. Various speculations concerning the meaning of death and the typical human responses to its indubitable reality are widely outlined in the poetry, fiction and non-fiction of all languages. Death and dying has emerged as a major field of inquiry within the social sciences due to its practical and therapeutic importance. Death and Philosophy It has been claimed that no other human field of inquiry and creativity is as closely allied to death as philosophy. Indeed, philosophy was conceived as wedded to death. Thus a pertinent issue at hand for us is the following: what is the connection between a thoughtful recognition of death and the activity of philosophizing? Ever since the word and deed of Socrates proclaimed the bond between death and philosophy, the theme of death has stayed with western philosophy as an essential part of its mandate. Since the nature and scope of philosophy has to be one of the foremost issues for philosophy, with an evolutionary process of its own, it is but natural that the theme of death has been embraced and treated somewhat differently in different epochs and different systems of philosophy. But no period of history has found this theme non-essential and unworthy of thought on the whole. In the eastern philosophies 1 Aristotle, Metaphysics, 982b. 2 St. Augustine, commentary on Psalm 38:19. Quoted by J. Pieper, Death and Immortality (New York: Herder & Herder, 1974), p. 17.

See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.