Philosophy is done primarily through

reflection. It does not tend to rely on

experiment.
 Originally the term "philosophy" was
applied to all intellectual endeavours.
What is Western philosophy?
 All cultures — be they prehistoric,
medieval, or modern; Eastern,
Western, religious or secular — have
had their own unique schools of
philosophy, arrived at through both
inheritance and through independent
discovery.
Western philosophy has a long history,
conventionally divided into four large
eras - the Ancient, Medieval, Modern,
and Post-modern.
 Historically, the term was
recently invented to refer to the
philosophical thinking of Western
Civilization, beginning with Greek
philosophy in ancient Greece, and
eventually covering a large area
of the globe, including North
America and Australia.
Understanding East and West
How do we understand the philosophy
of a certain group of people, of a
nation?
We have to understand the psyche
or soul of the people.
To understand a philosophy, we have
to avoid inferiority and superiority
complexes.

These are the cancers of a sick

mind!
EASTERN PHILOSOPHY:

• Focus on the human person.

• Focus on the concept of oneness.
• Focus on God, kosmos, man.
• Focus on ethical standards.
In Asia, there is no dichotomy
between a way of life and a way
of thinking.
As one thinks, so one lives.
No gap exists between philosophy
and life, between contemplation
and action, between theory and
practice.
There is more peace in the Asian
mind because of the absence of
this split-level disposition. But of
course at the expense of hunger
and privation and grinding poverty.
Religion in Asia is a way of life.
Is Asia generally poor because of
religion?
Asia has the propensity to
mysticism, to super consciousness.
Historically, Asian classics predate the
oldest of Western classics.

West: Homer (1000 B.C.)

East: Middle East—Code of Hammurabi
(2050 B.C.)
East: India—Rig Veda (2000-1500 B.C.)
East: China—2698-2598 B.C.)
West: Socrates—(469-399 B.C.)
From the time of the Greek triumvirate, the
Western thinkers started to indulge in
feverish philosophical speculation.

The Asian thinkers began to diminish in

their philosophical activity.
In our present century, almost all the major
philosophical ideas emanate from
Western thinkers.
We usually resort to museums and artifacts
to understand a people, their history.

We look into their literature to know their

way of life and their values.

But more than artifacts, we should delve

beneath literature to extract their of
thinking.
Seatwork: ½ yellow paper, crosswise.

1. Think of a landmark structure of a nation

and explain its significance as regards
their thinking and behaving.
2. What is at the base of every economic
progress?