|
Presenting a collection of articles and links on philosophy,
especially geared towards Theosophy. The focus will be predominantly
on the philosophical school of phenomenology. The six reasons
for this you can read in the article "The
Relevance of Phenomenology for Theosophy."
In short they are:
1) The need of a critical evaluation and appropriation
of post-Blavatskyan Western thought, especially phenomenology
in its many variations, because with its rich and fruitful
insights and methods phenomenology can be important for
a deeper understanding of relevant theosophical themes.
2) Phenomenological philosophy can bring to Theosophy a
deeper philosophical self-understanding by helping it towards
understanding and re-experiencing its own roots and origin
of its meaning.
3) Theosophy should present its own spiritualized interpretation
of phenomenology. Or, as one Master said: "The crest
wave of intellectual advancement must be taken hold of and
guided into spirituality."
4) Phenomenology does explicate, develop and apply a special
power, which should be further explored as asked for in
the third object of the Theosophical Society. It is the
power of having philosophical insights or 'intuiting essences,'
but now in a way in which 'having an insight' has come,
within western philosophy, to an unprecedented level of
self-evident self-understanding.
5) There are five specific reasons why Phenomenology and
Krishnamurti are relevant to each other, and in their relationship
are relevant to Theosophy.
6) Western and Asian scholars point out and/or fruitfully
use phenomenology as a tool for a deeper understanding of
Asian philosophy and religious experiences. As Theosophy
intends to make the rich heritage of eastern thought available
to the West, phenomenology can be of great help in facilitating
that agenda.
Because Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger can be seen
as the two founding fathers of the different streams within
phenomenology the initial focus will be on the work of these
two thinkers and also on some general introductions to this
school of thought. Therefore for the novice I would suggest
to begin with the following introductory articles:
Phenomenology.
Encyclopedia article by David Woodruff Smith.
What
is Phenomenology? Introductory article by Lester Embree.
Phenomenology
of Religion. Article by A. Scott Moreau..
Edmund
Husserl. Article at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Martin
Heidegger. Article at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
For a more serious introductory investigation of phenomenology
I would suggest the following books:
Robert Sokolowski, Introduction to Phenomenology
Robert Sokolowski, Husserlian Meditations: How Words
Represent Things
Don Ihde, Experimental Phenomenology: An Introduction
Dermot Moran, Introduction to Phenomenology
The more advanced adventurers should proceed straight to
the texts of the founding fathers themselves, which can
be read either by themselves or with a supporting text.
Dermot Moran and Timothy Mooney (eds.) The Phenomenology
Reader
Edmund Husserl, Cartesian Meditations: An Introduction
to Phenomenology
[Can be read in conjunction with chapters 4 and 5 of Paul
Ricoeur's Husserl: An Analysis of His Phenomenology]
Edmund Husserl, "Phenomenology"
in Encyclopaedia Britannica (1927
Edmund Husserl, "Pure
Phenomenology, Its Method and Its Field of Investigation"
Martin Heidegger, Being and Time
[Can be read in conjunction with Hubert L. Dreyfus Being-in-the-World:
A Commentary on Heidegger's Being and Time, Division I]
Martin Heidegger, History of the Concept of Time: Prolegomena
Martin Heidegger, The Basic Problems of Phenomenology
In order to deepen and test one's understanding of Husserl
and Heidegger I found the following studies of immense help:
Elizabeth Stroker, Husserl's Transcendental Phenomenology
Theodore Kisiel, The Genesis of Heidegger's Being and
Time
Theodore Kisiel, Heidegger's Way of Thought: Critical
and Interpretive Signposts
I would like to make clear that the frequency of Heidegger's
and Kisiel's name popping up is partially due to the fact
that providence put me in a position, such that I had the
immense pleasure and honor of having studied phenomenology
with the eminent Heidegger scholar Professor Theodore Kisiel
at Northern Illinois University for a couple of years.
As every intense human endeavour has its own complicated
aspects, those possibly coming with the study of philosophy
should be pointed out as a kind of warning. First of all,
even as everybody philosophizes one way or the other and
our world view is saturated with philosophical ideas, which
trickled down throughout the ages, the study of philosophy
is not a necessity to understand one's own thoughts. Second,
even as everybody has metaphysical convictions with possibly
deep philosophical implications--again--one doesn't need
to study philosophy to understand one's own convictions.
But for some philosophy is imperative. For them the paths
of devotion, action and the reading of sacred texts do not
suffice. They just have to deepen their understanding and
insights. That's their action, their devotion. The fruits
of this study are often deeply satisfying and sometimes
even transformative. At the same time for some it can be
very frustrating, confusing or just seemingly futile. If
you feel compelled, give it a try, and if the philosophy
bug has bitten you, come to terms with it, enjoy it, and
put it to good use.
In closing I like to present a little list of possible
investigations, which might already have been undertaken,
or which someone or I might still do.
1) Blavatsky's use of western philosophers in her writings.
Pythagoras, Plato, Neo-Platonists, Bruno, Spinoza and Kant
are prominent in her writings. Some studies have been done
in this regard and I might report on those in the future.
2) Possible patterns of development of certain Mahatmas
with two or more reincarnations as philosophers like Saint
Germain as Proclus, Roger Bacon and Francis Bacon, and Kuthumi
as Pythagoras and Nagarjuna.
3) A phenomenological investigation of the foundations of
the parapsychological sciences. The work of Gerda Walthers
might be a good starting point. See her "A
Plea for the Introduction of Edmund Husserl's Phenomenological
method into Parapsychology." Report no. 44, Proceedings
of the International Conference of Parapsychology, Utrecht,
1953.
4) A more strict philosophical evaluation of the meaning
of the perceived parallels between physics and mysticism
as popularized in books like Fritjof Capra's The Tao
of Physics and Gary Zukav's The Dancing Wu-Li Masters.
|
