![]() ![]() The king of serpents guides the boat, which is said to have also contained seeds, plants, and animals saved by Manu from the flood.įigure 1.2 This painting, from the late eighteenth century, depicts the first man, Manu, guiding seven sages through floodwaters, with the aid of the king of serpents. The stories of the rishis are part of the teachings that constitute spiritual and philosophical practice in contemporary Hinduism.įigure 1.2 depicts a scene from the Matsya Purana, where Manu, the first man whose succession marks the prehistorical ages of Earth, sits with the Seven Sages in a boat to protect them from a mythic flood that is said to have submerged the world. They derive their wisdom, in part, from spiritual forces, but also from tapas, or the meditative, ascetic, and spiritual practices they perform to gain control over their bodies and minds. The rishis tended to live monastic lives, and together they are thought of as the spiritual and practical forerunners of Indian gurus or teachers, even up to today. ![]() ![]() But they are partly mythic figures as well, who are said to have descended from the gods and whose reincarnation marks the passing of each age of Manu (age of man or epoch of humanity). The Seven Sages are partially considered wise men and are said to be the authors of the ancient Indian texts known as the Vedas. The Seven Sages, or Saptarishi (seven rishis in the Sanskrit language), play an important role in sanatana dharma, the eternal duties that have come to be identified with Hinduism but that predate the establishment of the religion. In classical Indian philosophy and religion, sages play a central role in both religious mythology and in the practice of passing down teaching and instruction through generations. The Sages of India, China, Africa, and Greece There are some examples of women who made contributions to philosophy and the sage tradition in Greece, India, and China, but these were patriarchal societies that did not provide many opportunities for women to participate in philosophical and political discussions. The overview of the sage tradition that follows will give you a taste of philosophy’s broad ambitions as well as its focus on complex relations between different areas of human knowledge. What unites these figures is that they demonstrate a willingness to be skeptical of traditions, a curiosity about the natural world and our place in it, and a commitment to applying reason to understand nature, human nature, and society better. Sages are sometimes associated with mathematical and scientific discoveries and at other times with their political impact. The sage tradition provides an early glimpse of philosophical thought in action. But the earliest Greek philosophers were not known as philosophers they were simply known as sages. The word philosophy derives from ancient Greek, in which the philosopher is a lover or pursuer ( philia) of wisdom ( sophia). The historical origins of philosophical thinking and exploration vary around the globe. One way to begin to understand philosophy is to look at its history. Nevertheless, in this chapter, we can make some progress on these questions by (1) looking at past examples of philosophers, (2) considering one compelling definition of philosophy, and (3) looking at the way academic philosophers today actually practice philosophy. There are no easy answers to the questions of what philosophy studies or how one does philosophy. This open-endedness makes philosophy a somewhat awkward and confusing subject for students. Whereas other disciplines allow for basic assumptions, philosophers cannot be bound by such assumptions. Because of its very nature, philosophy considers a range of subjects, and philosophers cannot automatically rule anything out. So the content available for philosophy is both broad and deep. The world includes nature, consciousness, morality, beauty, and social organizations. In fact, to do so is itself a philosophical activity, since philosophers are attempting to gain the broadest and most fundamental conception of the world as it exists. Summarize the broad and diverse origins of philosophy.Describe philosophy as a discipline that makes coherent sense of a whole.Explain the connection between ancient philosophy and the origin of the sciences.Identify sages (early philosophers) across historical traditions.By the end of this section, you will be able to: ![]()
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