Wednesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. CT
August 19 – September 9 (4 classes)
From the Upanishads to Plato, from the Buddhist teaching of no-self to Greek conceptions of the soul, this four-part course will explore the many profound resonances between the Indian and Hellenic philosophical traditions on topics such as reality, selfhood, knowledge, and liberation. Starting with pre-Socratic thinkers and progressing to the Neoplatonists, Greek philosophy will be brought into dialogue with such Indic intellectual traditions as Vedanta, Jainism, Buddhism, Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, and Mimamsa.
Member Rate: $70 • Standard Rate: $80
Registrants will receive on-demand access to recording(s) that can be viewed for four weeks following the conclusion of the program. Late registrants will receive recording links to all missed sessions.
Jeffery D. Long, Ph.D., is the Carl W. Zeigler Professor of Religion, Philosophy, and Asian Studies at Elizabethtown College, where he has taught since receiving his doctoral degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School in 2000. He is the author of such books as Jainism: An Introduction, Hinduism in America: A Convergence of Worlds (which won the DANAM Book Award in 2021), and Discovering Indian Philosophy. He has spoken at a wide array of venues, including the Parliament of the World’s Religions, the United Nations, the University of Chicago, Yale University, Princeton University, Delhi University, Rutgers University, and Vedanta Societies, as well as Hindu and Jain temples and centers around the world. He has also appeared in documentaries for PBS and the History Channel.
Course Topics
- Historical Context: Ancient India and Ancient Greece / The Shape of Reality
After first examining the cultural and historical contexts in which ancient Greek and Indian philosophy emerged, we shall dive into the question of the nature of reality itself. Is reality ultimately one? Is it many? What is the relationship between the one and the many? And what bearing do our answers to these questions have on our understanding of the good life and the purpose of human existence? How have thinkers like Parmenides, Heraclitus, Plato, Shankara, Nagarjuna, and Umasvati shed light upon these questions?
- The Self: Soul, No Self, and Personal Identity
Who am I? “Know thyself” is one of the most powerful unifying injunctions that ties Indian and Greek thought together. In many ways, the question of who and what we are echoes the question of reality itself. Are we one eternal being passing through many ephemeral transformations? Or is it ephemeral transformation all the way down? The shared Indian and Greek concepts of rebirth, or reincarnation, will be discussed in this session, as well as the more basic ontological question of what, precisely, it is that is reborn.
- Knowledge and Wisdom: How Do We Know the Truth?
This session will explore the ways in which Greek and Indian thinkers have approached the question of epistemology: How do we know? Indian pramana theory will be examined and brought into conversation with the epistemologies of Plato, Aristotle, and the skeptics of ancient Greece, along with Buddhist and Jain epistemology and the concept of direct yogic perception.
- Liberation and the Good Life: Moksha, Eudaimonia, and Philosophical Practice
Both the ancient Indians and the ancient Greeks conceived of philosophy not simply as an exercise in abstract thought, but as a way of life. In our last session, we will examine how various thinkers from both traditions conceive of the relationship between the life of the intellect and the question of the good. What is the highest goal to which human beings can aspire? And how can we attain it? Indic concepts such as moksha and yoga will be brought into conversation with the Platonic, Stoic, and Epicurean traditions of Greece. We will conclude our course by reflecting together upon the relevance of all these thinkers to our lives in the present day.
Program Format
This is a live, interactive online program that will also be recorded. Registrants will receive on-demand access to recording(s) following the conclusion of the program.
Join online via a Zoom link that will be emailed during the week before the program.
Please download Zoom for free at zoom.us/download and test your connection at zoom.us/test. For further information, check out www.theosophical.org/FAQ or email webinars@theosophical.org.