Two Paradigms of the Subject: Indian and European Traditions in Search of Supreme Being

The article compares how traditional Indian and European philosophies conceive of the subject. In most classical Indian systems—Advaita Vedānta, Yoga, Sāṁkhya, Vaiśeṣika, and Buddhism—the subject (ātman, puruṣa) is strictly separate from the external world, bodily and psychic elements, thinking, intellect, and emotions; in Vaiśeṣika even consciousness is external to the subject. Both traditions originally shared a strong soteriological intention, viewing the inner core as a connecting element toward a higher state. European philosophy, by contrast, long attributed to the subject (as 'soul') qualities like thinking, reasoning, sense perception, emotions, and memory, often highlighting the rational and intellectual element as the principal connection to the divine.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The article examines approaches to understanding the subject in traditional In­dian and European philosophy. The author draws on concepts from Advaita Vedānta, Yoga, Sāṁkhya, Vaiśeṣika, and Buddhism, highlighting their common cultural core. The article notes that in most classical Indian systems, the subject (ātman, puruṣa) was considered as strictly separated from the external world, the bodily and psychic elements (understood as a part of natural world), think­ing, intellect and emotions. In the Vaiśeṣika system, even consciousness was viewed as a quality external to the subject. Both traditions, European and Indian, initially had a strong soteriological intention, and the inner core of human being was considered to be the connecting element helping to attain the higher state of existence. In both India and Europe, various means have been proposed for this purpose, such as intellectual understanding, the way of knowledge as in­sight, psychotechnical methods, and mysticism. In contrast to Indian philosophy, European philosophy over a long period of time attributed to the subject, under­stood as ‘soul’, such qualities as thinking, reasoning, sense perception, emotions, memory and the like. All these qualities were believed to be that which connects man with the divine, and it was the rational and intellectual element in man that has been often highlighted as the principal one in European thought.