Work & Academics

This paper will discuss three philosophical writings, one each from the Indian, Western, and Chinese traditions, each one dealing with our views of our selves. The first piece, Sri Aurobindo’s The Reincarnating Soul, is representative of Indian philosophy and gives us a discussion of the human soul and its relationship to the universe. The second piece representative of Western philosophy is an excerpt of Jean-Paul Sartre’s Existentialism, which discusses ideas of atheism and self-determinism. Finally, I will use a summarization of Mencius’ Human Nature is Good to represent Chinese philosophy that ascribes human nature to man, and not a heavenly being.

I will begin by summarizing the three pieces, in the above-mentioned order, then discuss similarities and differences between the pieces and their implications to society. As stated before, all pieces deal with our views of our selves—but they also carry implications about the role of the individual in society or in the universe. While looking at the ideas of these essays on an individual level I can find points of personal disagreement, taking all three together does have considerable value to life. If anything, they should encourage us all to be a little less selfish in our manners.

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Comparative World Philosophies

Sri Aurobindo’s The Reincarnating Soul is an attempt to find the proper point from which we should start our discussion of the possibility of reincarnation. He feels that “human thought” for most people has resorted to “a rough and crude acceptance of unexamined ideas.”  This observation holds even truer when the ideas require “subtle thinking” and “precision.” We can manage thought about evident, tangible things, but Sri Aurobindo feels that out of “impatience,” in almost a lazy manner, we are contented with accepting crude ideas.

Reincarnation is one such subject. Sri Aurobindo feels that the idea of reincarnation as popularized by contemporary thought has become popularized in a crude, misleading manner. The popular idea is that of a reincarnating soul, where “the soul is reborn into a new body.” The questions often stop here, with no thought given to the definition of a soul. Is the soul Purusha (Person, or Atman)? Does Purusha simply take up a new body and bring along with it the old personality of the “now discarded physical frame?”

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Comparative World Philosophies

John Stewart Mill, an Englishman, lived during the first three quarters of the 19^th century. Although not a professional philosopher, he was a well-respected writer of his time, touching on many subjects. His essay On Liberty, is a good example of his ability to work through questions in a reasonable manner. At the center of Mill’s essay is an exploration of the entitlement of governments and society to assert power on the individual—to interfere “with the liberty of action of any of their number.” Mill asserts that the only time our liberty—both individual and collective—should be sacrificed or interfered with, is when not sacrificing our liberty would result in harm to others. Our individual well being is not reason enough for us to exert our power to limit someone else’s liberty. As Mill writes, “The only part of the conduct of anyone, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others.”

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Questions:

• Why do religions exist? Give at least three possible reasons, and defend them with good arguments.
• List, and briefly describe, five characteristics that are typically associated with a religion.
• What are the four Vedas about? Describe them in detail.
• Define the concept of maya, and describe the impact of this concept on the Hindu understanding of death.
• Describe three of the yogas and explain how they function within Hindu practice.
• List the Four Noble Truths. Explain how they illustrate the practical nature of Buddhist teaching.
• Describe two typical practices associated with Zen and explain how they relate to the goal of achieving enlightenment.
• Explain the yin and yang, using examples as necessary to illustrate your explanation.
• What is the Tao Te Ching and what role has it played in the Taoist religion?
• Explain the ideal of wu wei.

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Globalization and Transnational Social Movements

Introduction

Disneyland. I think that many of us have been there at some point in our lives. The wonderfully entertaining characters from our television screens come to life in front of us. Incredible rides swish us through space, seeming to defy gravity. Cotton candy, hot-dogs, soda pop, music, clothing, family entertainment…. I think that it is almost safe to say that this place has it all.

At least it has always seemed to want it all. As far back as the creation of Disney, there have been parodies concerning Disney’s desire to have it all. Al Capp, in his humorous hillbilly comic strip “Lil Abner,” commented in the early years of Disney’s attempt to do the impossible: bring cartoon characters to life. One of these characters was a homely pig, of which there was only one live one left in existence. In his desperate attempt to maximize his profits by exploiting the pig ( “Just think how inexpensive it would be to keep the pig!” says Mr. Yapp, the Walt parody, in one of the panels), Mr. Yapp did all he could to steal the pig from its owners—even if this meant tidily “disposing” of them.

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