Why Did Philosophical Discussion Die in the East?
The Indian philosophy was quite advanced for its time. Vedas, Puranas (Mahabharata), Buddhism, Jainism, a thousand different schools of Hinduism, each with unique, rich ideas. They also had a healthy discussion dissecting and challenging each other.
Then it all just.... stopped.
Now, we all (Indians and Sri Lankans) simply sing praises of the 2000-year-old ideas. We don't challenge them or critically discuss them. Even the laypeople give terminology and explain the scriptures to each other, but refuse to consider the possibility that they might be wrong (or incomplete) and discuss possible alternatives.
Why did this happen? Why did we stop?
Remember, west or east... We all ask the same question. "What is ethical?" "How should I live?". Even in the west, they seek answers to these exact questions through philosophy.
2000 years ago, their philosophy was not as rich as the Indian one. But they kept challenging their own ideas. They built and broke definitions, concepts... It happened even in the middle ages, through theology, within the loose limits of biblical scriptures. They discussed and challenged different definitions of the nature of god. Then during the renaissance, the discussion became more secular.
Spinoza, Kant, Nietzsche, Camus... Moral relativism, utilitarianism, value theory, existentialism...
A healthy, ongoing discussion, challenging each other, coming up with thought experiments, hypothetical questions. Not just singing praises, reading parables or creating new parables to reiterate and appreciate 2000-year-old ideas.
My question is on two levels:
- Why did we stop? In the past 2000 years, why didn't we generate a Kant or Camus? A mainstream "philosopher" who challenged the doctrine and put forward fresh theories?
- As laypeople who are interested in philosophy, why aren't we discussing them right now? Why don't we pit these against Buddhism and Hinduism and see how they fare?
First posted on Facebook (see comments too): facebook.com/abarajithan11/posts/10219620918785022
