western and eastern views of man.pdf

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A. Delinition and Nature of Philosophy The tvord philosoplty can be looked at from two aspects: its etymological and its rcal dcfinition. ., E-$mologically, philosophy comes from trvo Greek rvords , philo and sophia, n{rich nrcan . 1<irrc of wisddt7fTJtus, a philosopher is a lover of t'isdom. @r%r "*.**'*"-!' Its realdcfrnition can be stated briefly: philosoph-v is a segfct!-lor rnentingrThc n'ord "search" means to look, to find, to seek. [t connotes something morc scrious. more intcnse, nrorc of a quest. In essenee, the philosopher searches for the meaning of life - its importancc, rclcvance, signifrcance, and value. It is in the very nature of philosophy that man searches for thc meaning of himscl f and his rsorld. [n fact. it can be said that philosophy rvas bom Lhe vcry first tirnc man startcd s'ondcring at rvhat hc sarv around him. *r B. The Philosophy of Man Philosophy, as a scarch for nreaning, has ouly one obscssion: MAN. As an attcrnpt to undsrstand lrim and &e rvorld he lives in, the philosophcr cannot but start his inquiry on man. Thus, the philosophy of man isthe inq]4ry into nwn in all hi.r dimensiotts o.r pcrlror? qntl as an ,,--l---- existent bcing infrtffiV[l. It cxamines his dignry;truth. ielation rvith others and God. We may say nmn has trvo faces: that of the West and that of thc East. Far too long and too oftcn, ottly thal. of the West is exposed and scrutinized. lndeed, our vicrv of rnan is usualll. onc-sided in favor of the West. Hon'cver. looking at man irom thc pcrspcctivc of thc East is a nclconre treat that is doubly signi{icant for the Filipino. After all, he is a part of thc Oricnt morc lhan hc rcalizss. Cuided by the same vision, this chapter is devotcd to botlr aspccts: thc Western and thc Eastcrn vicw of rnan. C. The Western View of Man To the early Greeks, philosoplry rvas a supsrstarof a subject. Thw looked rvith favor n... on a total world picture, in the unity of all truths - rvhether they tvere scicnti{ic. cthical, rcligious. or aesthctic. A Grmkp/rilosophos r.vas concemed not only rvith particular typcs of knorvledgc, but tith all ttpes-" The most important Greek Philosophcrs arc Socrates, Plato, and Aristotlc. l. Socrates (470-399 B.C.) Socrateswas the son of a sculptor and a midwife" His wift, Xantippc, said to bc an ugll lvsnraR, tlore him thrm childrcn. He wmrld go !o tlre rua*etp{acc, th* agora, sficrc hc urxold discuss things. using thc qucstion and &nsu,er method. Hs wes arrestcd and conde,rnncd to dcath bccausc of tlro clrarges: {a} irnpieq," because of not woshipping the gods of thc statc and introducing ncrv and unfamiliar rvalt of norship, and (b) cornrption of the minds of the 1,ourg, rvho {lock arctrnd 23

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Page 1: Western and Eastern Views of Man.pdf

A. Delinition and Nature of Philosophy

The tvord philosoplty can be looked at from two aspects: its etymological and its rcaldcfinition.

., E-$mologically, philosophy comes from trvo Greek rvords , philo and sophia, n{rich nrcan

. 1<irrc of wisddt7fTJtus, a philosopher is a lover of t'isdom. @r%r "*.**'*"-!'

Its realdcfrnition can be stated briefly: philosoph-v is a segfct!-lor rnentingrThc n'ord"search" means to look, to find, to seek. [t connotes something morc scrious. more intcnse, nrorcof a quest. In essenee, the philosopher searches for the meaning of life - its importancc, rclcvance,signifrcance, and value.

It is in the very nature of philosophy that man searches for thc meaning of himscl f and hisrsorld. [n fact. it can be said that philosophy rvas bom Lhe vcry first tirnc man startcd s'ondcring atrvhat hc sarv around him.

*r

B. The Philosophy of Man

Philosophy, as a scarch for nreaning, has ouly one obscssion: MAN. As an attcrnpt toundsrstand lrim and &e rvorld he lives in, the philosophcr cannot but start his inquiry on man.Thus, the philosophy of man isthe inq]4ry into nwn in all hi.r dimensiotts o.r pcrlror? qntl as an

,,--l----existent bcing infrtffiV[l. It cxamines his dignry;truth.ielation rvith others and God.

We may say nmn has trvo faces: that of the West and that of thc East. Far too long and toooftcn, ottly thal. of the West is exposed and scrutinized. lndeed, our vicrv of rnan is usualll.onc-sided in favor of the West. Hon'cver. looking at man irom thc pcrspcctivc of thc East is anclconre treat that is doubly signi{icant for the Filipino. After all, he is a part of thc Oricnt morclhan hc rcalizss.

Cuided by the same vision, this chapter is devotcd to botlr aspccts: thc Western and thcEastcrn vicw of rnan.

C. The Western View of Man

To the early Greeks, philosoplry rvas a supsrstarof a subject. Thw looked rvith favor n...

on a total world picture, in the unity of all truths - rvhether they tvere scicnti{ic. cthical, rcligious.or aesthctic. A Grmkp/rilosophos r.vas concemed not only rvith particular typcs of knorvledgc, buttith all ttpes-" The most important Greek Philosophcrs arc Socrates, Plato, and Aristotlc.

l. Socrates (470-399 B.C.)

Socrateswas the son of a sculptor and a midwife" His wift, Xantippc, said to bc an uglllvsnraR, tlore him thrm childrcn. He wmrld go !o tlre rua*etp{acc, th* agora, sficrc hc urxold discussthings. using thc qucstion and &nsu,er method. Hs wes arrestcd and conde,rnncd to dcath bccauscof tlro clrarges: {a} irnpieq," because of not woshipping the gods of thc statc and introducing ncrvand unfamiliar rvalt of norship, and (b) cornrption of the minds of the 1,ourg, rvho {lock arctrnd

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Page 2: Western and Eastern Views of Man.pdf

him. He did not adnrit any guilt, he refused to be set frce by fricnds, and he dicd aftcr drinking aglass of hcmlock in the presence of friends. His last day on earth, according to Plato \\'as spcnt onlalking about the immortaliS of the soul.

The philosophical contribution of Socrates may be summariz-ed as follorvs:(a) He employed "inductive arguments and universal definitions." callcd his

method," it took the form of "dialectic" or conversation.(b) For hint, man's bodv comes from this world of mattcr, but his rcason conlcs

"practical

fronr thcUniversal Reason or Mind of thc World.

(c) In his dialectical method he sought to discover the truth. This hc did to discovcr thc goo<lIife. He strcsscd thc "valuc of the soul, in the sense of tlrc thinking and rvilling subjccianrlhe sarv clearly the importance of knorvledge, of true rvisdom, if the soul is to be propcrll'tcnded.l'

(d) To Socrates, knorvlcdge leads the way to ethical action. To hinl "krrorvledgc and virtuc arconq in the scnse that thc rvise man. hc rvho larcv's rvhat is right, rvill also do s'hat is rigtrt."

2. Plato (428-343 B.C.)

A pupil of Socrates, Plato. also had a bias against dcrnocracv. llc had an aristocraricupbringing and rvas imrncrsed in the culture of his day. Horveyer, his plan. cncouragcd b1. rclatir.cs.to cnter politics rt'as abandoned after he sarv rvhat rvas done to socratcs.

Among the salient points of Plato's philosophy are:(a) Knorvledgc is not scnse perccption, not what sinrply appcars to nrc.(1r) Liks Socrates, Plato belieras in 'lvirtue is knorv ledge." and flrc sourcc of knorvlcdgc is

virtue. It is not abstract but concrete knowledgc, not theorctical but practical knou'lcdgc.A nran must know what is good so that he rnay do good.

(c) Virtuc can be taught, and there are four cardinal virtucs: rvisd.om, courage or fo(itudc,temperance, and justicc.

In spite of Socrates' influence, Plato rvas his olul man of idcas, cspcci;rllr' in his pcriod ofmaturitr'. Proof of this is his thrce best knoun torks in dialoguc fonrr: ( I ) S)urrlxrsirrnr. u hiclrspcalis of ercrvthirtg on earth as but a shadorv of rvhat is in the rnind of Cod, tlrc beautl'of thc carthbut a shadorv of divine Bounty; (2) The Republic, rvhich is about thc statc and rhc idcalgovernmenti and (3) Phaedrus, rvhich is about the nature of love.

Plato has shor m his iutercst irr firanhas been rnadc of his theory of knowledge,

I

;

' 3. Aristotle (334-322 B.C.)

as kno\ycr and as posscssor of au furunortal soul. Muchhis rnain contribution to philosophic trurh.

; Aristotle at seventecn rvas Plato's student at the Academy wherc hc also taught until histc:achex's da:rth. Then he werit to Asia Minor, rvhere he became the tutor of Alcxardcr ofIt{acedonia- rvho bmame Alexander the &eat. Upm his rstum to Athens, ho foundcd thc school hccillcd thc'L-vceum. Hc le{t only rvhen he feared persecution kom Athcnians consumed bvahti-Macedonian feelingp upon thedeath of Alexander. He dicd at thc agc of 62.

' Ariststle u'as the nrost prolific of the Greek philosophcrs. His philosophy rvas largclvill{luenced by tlrrce factors in his life: (l) his father, a court physician, frorn riho,n hc golhis

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Page 3: Western and Eastern Views of Man.pdf

intcrest in biolory and science in goreral; (2) Plato and his stay at the Acadcml'; and (3) Alcxgdcrthe Great, rvho furthered his interest in botany and zoology rvhich he studicd to knorv nran bcttcrand rvho got him involved in the constitution and tlre gorr.n*ent of the Greck statcs. Such bcirrgthc case, he was scientist and philosopher, as well as researcher, rwitcr, and tcachcr. It rcrnainsfor Arisnoile, to delure nurn as a rotional animal. His ideas on alinost cvcrything tlrat conccrns manhave influenced Thomas Aquinas as well as philosophers beyond ure tuiaalci g... ioi,i,rr, n1onis not the center of the u3iverse. Man is only a part of it; it is the cosrnos that is thc focal point.Tltis is Aristotle's so-called "geocentric spherical system."

Among the salient points of Aristotle's philosophy are:(a) Knorvledg. comes from the senses and can be true in itself.(b) Reality consists of matter and form, and matter is a contiuuous

becoming.proccss ol' dcvcloping or

(c) There is a First Cause, source of all change, but is unchangcablc itself. This. for him, isGod.

(d) Tlre goal of human life is happiness. This can be reached through nrodcration or tlcavoidancc of extrcmss. -. q

(e) Logic rvould enable man to perceivc that thc ideal state is onc governed b1. a rulc of larr.,a statc ruled by the middle class.

D. The Eastern View of Man

There arc four great systems of phitosophy in the East that dcals nith thc traditionalconccpt of man: Hinduism and Buddhisnl for hdia; and Confucianism and Taoisrn. for Chirra.

l. The Hindu View of Man

All lndian thoughts have as their fountainhead - tlglpgoisfuds,-Thc fundarr"rcnral crmccprfound in the Upanishads is &at underlying the externalToild of change thcre is unehangcablcreality rvhich is ider:tical with that rvhich underlics the esscnce of man. This urrchangcablcicalitl.is Bralrman and that rvhich underlies the essence of man is Atman. Thc main rciching of thcUpanishads is that Atman is Brahman. What is Brahman? Brahrnan is ttrc ground of all things.It is the Absolute (Pure Consciousness) that goes beyond the heart of nran. lVhat is Atman?

Atman is the higher aspect of the "soul," the principle of life. It is thc inmost cssencc in man.Horvever, man is seen as consisting of five sheaths:

(a) Annamayatman, &e self dependent on food- This is the rnatcrial laycr of man bcltcr knorrras the physical or corporeal self.

ib) Pranarnayatman, the self as vitar breath.. This is the biological la1cr.(c) Manonrayatman, the self consisting of will. This is ttrc psfchotogical la1cr.(d) Vijnamamal'atman, the self oriconsciousness. This is the intcllcctual lar.cr: and(e) Anandamayatnran, the finar edsence ofthc serf as pure briss.

Thes€ sheaths are considd es dark coverings ofignoraece that lic undcrncath the r.-lrolcg*jtd rurrld. Only nhur this has beer;'tom away can-the trie sclf, rrolriclr is Atman idcntilid rvirtrBratrrman, be knorvrL To reach the Abs, rlute Mar" tlre petretd man, one must somchorv discard allthe sheaths of man for &ese are noi the true.self, the Atman, lrt onty supcrirnpositions orcontingcnt manifcstations of Bralrma,l. Thus, the final goal of rnan is to inow thc irue rcalitS. -Brahnran' The only rvay to dessoy igporaflffi is by trrorvlige- This is acquircd througlr the praaiccof Yoga ' Mditation, Concentration, and Absorytion ilr thc Brahman. Thus. onc obtainsSelf-Realization.

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Page 4: Western and Eastern Views of Man.pdf

2. The Buddhist View of Man

Throughout his life, the Buddha constantly reminded his disciplcs of thc transitorincss ofall phenomena, He pointd oul. that all conditioned things or phenomcnal proccsscs. rncntalas n'cllas material are impermanent or transient and subject to arising and passing arval'. What isirnportant is for man to realize that man is also subiect to thc samc lg,:_!l$ Ap:"Slq ,qllS+tgjl,g!.being!. The paradigm of reality f"ffi,cffiffiE;iio" t hich-Eiirffi

I-rnmediately by its consequerce, not substance as it is in the Upanishads. Hence, thc fundamcntalconccpt running through Buddhism is that rvhatever exists changcs. Existencc hcrc mcarrs thccapacity of producing everything.

Man, and everything in the rvorld is analyzed under two catcgories:(a) lN{!!A- rvhich literally means name but is usually fanslated into Englisir as "mind." It is

uscd as a collective name that rcfers to thc psychological and mcntal aspccts of thc humanbcing; and

(b) "Rqp$" rvhich lilerally means form but is translated into English as "lnattcr" or "bodl'." Itd'...ry,-ts used as a collective name that describes tlre physical4spccts of bcing.

Thus, "nama-rupa" taken together cornprises the psychophvsical organism rrfiichcottstitutcs a person or a scparate or distinct individual. Buddhism considers "nama" and "rupA" asintcrdepcndent. Thcy belong to each other in an integral mBnncr. This divisiolt of nran and othcrbeings in the rvorld inl"o lt,o categories is only the first step in thc arrall'sis of thc sclf.

The ncxt step is the analysis of man and lhe things cxisting in thc rvorld as a stream of fir'ccotlioincd currcnts, th" nfryflf}glqp$. These arc:

(a) Matter.(b) Scnsation.(c) Pcrccption.(d) Mental constructs, arrd(c) Consciousrless.

None of thesc eletnents is pcmrauent, hence, man has no abiding support undcrl;-ing thcsEcaln. Thcre is no soul. Whcn [re livc aggrqgatcs come togcthcr, thcy takc a ccrtain fonn or shapcand rvhat is fbrnred is given a namc. Thus, wc have nanrs and fornr but uhcn thc elctrrcrrtsdisintegratg Lhere is no "nama-rupa,u no pcrson, no cgo. "These ph-vsicnl fornr arc likc foanr:s$tsatiotts, like bubbles; pcrceptions,like mirage; mental mnstructs, like thc flimsy trunk of banalraplant: and consciousness, like phantonrs" (Samyutta Nikaya lll).

The conccpt of no soul (anatta) is tied up with thc concept of inrpcrmancncc (anicca) andhas a direct bearing sn the concept of suffering (dutrkha). The thrce go togcthcr. Thc s.ordsu{fering is an inadequate translation of &e term "dukkha.n lt is a n'ord thrlt dcscribcs thcprcdicament in udrich man is bound by conditional cxistence. trt is the dcsire to exist, to rc-mrist. anrlto continue to exist rvhich arises as a result of the belief in a permancnt self or soul. This is,thereforg bassd on ignorance. It is by ignorance tlrat one dcsireq or thirsts to exist. llcncc, toeliminate odukkhd' which in effect meaos the elimination of the notisn of tlre sel;; it is ncccssarythat ore comes to a uue urrderstarding of the real nature of {he sclf - that is, {hcrc;is no pcrmancntsclf. i

I

So, whatcorrxpose

tcndcnry to trook upon things ns pennaddfri

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ffifpErmancnt" Becarisc of this \r'rorig

Page 5: Western and Eastern Views of Man.pdf

\'ic$',nlansufIbrs.Heis.boundbyignorance,sothefinalgoalof@to frec himself from the bonds ofigiorance

'f"things and that heit nE$q-qygi!-S Beiie;g rhffi#.r Ni*r*, rvhictr is rtrc cxri,ctiorro ;ffidtdy yoga or deep mcditation.

3. The Confucianist View of Man

confucius (551-478 B.C-), caUed the grgaj Chinese sage, has been for somc 2.500 ycars,the "bible" of the East for his moiat teachings which are chiefly;r.d; n*"rr"rrrri., i,lllan. t, -^-J ' -'

The ideal soallr.ch.r|ese Philosophy is to form men u,ho can.v the trvin charactcristics of"sageliness l'ithin and kingliness rvithout.'i This is to say that in t i, sagclincss *,itlrin, mannglincts lvithout, man functions in socicty. ln othcrn"ords, tjrc ideal man shouiil-lffi,rvhat is ,igrr't ana co.reci ,ra ffil ,o *"chinese ideal' Confucianism is essentialty

"ihicut;.and i" tr,itryli.il];;il'jffi;il"'iil*r*o

from politics' Thus, rnan is regarded as ainoral being and u r&J'J u.ing. For confucius, a rrucman is a noble rnan (chun-tzu| a superior man, a man of utt .ounJ u?rtr..' irir"l,l.*"d .oposscss the four virtues of Confucianism, namely:(a) Humanheartcdness (ar), consideration for oihers; loving othcrs; doing to othcrs rvhat vourvish o{rcrS to do tO 3,Ou.

r -a sv.rl, rv vlrrwr r rrrl

(b) Righteousness (vi), doing t'vhat one ought to do; doing acts that are obligatorv *.ithout apersonal utilitmian end in vierv; aoing the dgllt and prftrthing rvithout rcgand of persorralproht.

1c) futual or propnety (li), humbling oneself to pay respect to others; putting others hrst andoneselfsecond: and(d) wisdorn (chic). the understading of the other threc *irtues.

Mencius'thcory of human nature is intimal.ely ticd-up lvith this. According to Mcncius,hunran nature is originallygood. To support his theory, t tencius spealis of thc four bcginningstlrat belonged to man's original nature,,ra*"ty,(a) The feeling of comrniseration, the begirning of the virtue of humanhcartcdncss: man tcndsto slmpathiz* rvith his fellowmen.(b) Thc fceling of sharnc anrl dislike, the beginning of righteousncss; man tcnds to bc ashamcdof evil and dislike evil.(c) The" feeting of nrodesty and yielding torvards the good, ttre beginning of ritual or propriely:

1d) Thc scnse cfright and *rong

tr4an is naturaltt,endo*rcd wirh the q.rlldgt "{1"!"r

jr.lighllg al naturc possess Lhcsc fourbcginnings' Thcse four bgsinninss difterentiate rnan from the bcasi It is expectd tlat man shoulddefelop tlrese lour beginnlrgs be"uus* it is only througi trteir oeveroenrcnt that man is tnrly a nran.Through &e &ll devetroprnart of his nahrre man cannff only know *eavcn (univcmc) bdt can also

4. TheTaoist View of Man

=**"*xffitr*',,lf:ffiffiil,27

Page 6: Western and Eastern Views of Man.pdf

"]uo.'l The "Tao" is generally understood as the Porver or the Principlc behind a.ll thin&s. lt is

pokoken ofol re " and "Yang";- the cosmic principlcs of'fomcs r,vhere "Yin" signifies fcrhirTffrry,, pai'sivib, , sofuicss and thc like: rvlrilc""1n*" signifies masculinity, activity, warmth, brightness, hardness and the tike. The "thrcei rcfcrsto the "Tao," the "Yin" and the "Yaog-" Through the interaction o[rhq,'yiq]-ardrhc_"yans-,, auf3ngJa

,

@xrodumd. When a *a, isTffiffis in f,inr "yin" nnilfrffi*and mental faculties ftat make him superior to beasts and birds. Man should strivc to be a ',man ofT1o" - a sage, a perfect man. A sage is one who has a completc understanding of thc naturc ofthings. To understand nature, one has to lurorv the invariable or abiding Laru oiNatrre. To do someans to be enlightened.

Thc fint thing that man must know is that things are ever changeable and changing but thclaws that govern this charrge of things are not Lhemselves changeablc. Taoisnr rnaintains that thcsagexho has a complete understanding of the nature of things thcreby has no cmotiorrs. This is tosa.v that hc is not bothcred by cnrotions but enjoys peacebf soul.

'lhe sage is no longer a{Iected by ttre changes of the world. ln this rvay, hc is not dcpcndcntupon external things and hence tlrey do not limit his happiness. As such, he is said lo harc actrio caabsolute happirress. He is perfectly happy because he transcends lhe ordinary distinctions betrvccnthe sclf and the u'orld, the''nle" and the "non-me." Therc is nolv an idcnti{ication of man rvitlt thcuoiverse. To acirieve this,frilleeds k ro*i-J$lnd understanding of still a highcr lcvcl. Taoisurspeaks of tr,r'o levels of knorvlcdgg namely:

(a) TheJ"qverlevel the finitc point of vierv r,vhen rnan sees distinctions bctnccn rigtrt andu"rong; and

(b) The.Hi.gher lcr':.!, thc highcr point of vierv s,hen man sees things in the light o[Hear.cn,that is frorn thdpoiut of vierv of the.Tao"

Frorn the vieu'point of dle "Tao," &ings though di{Icrurt are unitcd and bcconrc olrc. Ttrus,altlrough all the tlrings di{fcr, lhcy are aliks in that &ey alt constitutc something and arc good forsnrncthing. They equalty come from the "Tao." In order to be one with tlrc Creat One (uiilcrsc;,thc sage has to transcct'ld and forge{. firc distinctions betlvccn &ings. Tlrc rr-a' to do this is to discardknowlcdgc and the nrethod used by Taoists for achieving ,'sagcliness *,ithin.,,

Thc task of knowledge in thc ordinary senso is to makc distinctions; ro knou,a thing is toknorv the di{ferencc bctrywn it and other things Thercfore, to discard knox;ledgc mcans to torgctthese distinctions. This is to say that at first sagcs had knowldge, Ihc),kngv dislinctions, but la{crIranscsnded this knowldge to go kyond distinctions. This kno\r!'ledg. bqo,.d distinctiors is *.hatTaoists called'No'L-norvledgd'or "latorvledge u,hich is not knolrlcdie." In surn, Taoisrn statcs tlratevcry man can bc a sage.

Thus, rve realizc tltat rvhether Indian or Chinesg the conccpt of man is the same, that is,to bc*omc a pcrfmt man. The four systems difter only in thc approach torvards the attainmcnt ofthcir goal.

Yo; frgmfito,thereddiitcs lhqse':'liom thr,ec"thqrc contcs all t[ipgs." T6c

fus t{Bcing} the tollvo",are 'ffin" -an(i'."Yanguj- the cosmic principlcs ofifics fcrhirrlffB', pai$ivity, col&ess. darknessl sofurcss and lhe like. u,trite

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