Absolute (philosophy): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 00:31, 16 February 2022

In philosophy, the Absolute is the term used for the ultimate or most supreme being, usually conceived as either encompassing "the sum of all being, actual and potential",^[1] or otherwise transcending the concept of "being" altogether. While the general concept of a supreme being has been present since ancient times, the exact term "Absolute" was first introduced by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and features prominently in the work of many of his followers. In Absolute idealism and British idealism, it serves as a concept for the "unconditioned reality which is either the spiritual ground of all being or the whole of things considered as a spiritual unity".^[2]

History[edit | edit source]

The concept of "the absolute" was introduced in modern philosophy by Hegel, defined as "the sum of all being, actual and potential".^[3]^[1] For Hegel, as understood by Martin Heidegger, the Absolute is "the spirit, that which is present to itself in the certainty of unconditional self-knowing".^[4] As Hegel is understood by Frederick Copleston, "Logic studies the Absolute 'in itself'; the philosophy of Nature studies the Absolute 'for itself'; and the philosophy of Spirit studies the Absolute 'in and for itself'."^[5] The concept is also found in the works of F. W. J. Schelling, and was anticipated by Johann Gottlieb Fichte.^[2] In English philosophy, F. H. Bradley has distinguished the concept of Absolute from God, while Josiah Royce, founder of the American idealism school of philosophy, has equated them.^[2]

Indian religions[edit | edit source]

The concept of the Absolute has been used to interpret the early texts of the Indian religions such as those attributed to Yajnavalkya, Nagarjuna and Adi Shankara.^[6]

In Jainism, Absolute Knowledge or Kewalya Gnan, is said to be attained by the Arihantas and Tirthankaras, who reflects in their knowing the 360 degrees of the truth and events of past, present and future. All 24 Tirthankaras and many others are Kewalya Gnani or Carriers of Absolute Knowledge.

According to Takeshi Umehara, some ancient texts of Buddhism state that the "truly Absolute and the truly Free must be nothingness",^[7] the "void".^[8] Yet, the early Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna, states Paul Williams, does not present "emptiness" as some kind of Absolute, rather it is "the very absence (a pure non-existence) of inherent existence" in Mādhyamaka school of the Buddhist philosophy.^[9]

According to Glyn Richards, the early texts of Hinduism state that the Brahman or the nondual Brahman–Atman is the Absolute.^[10]^[11]^[12]

The term has also been adopted by Aldous Huxley in his perennial philosophy to interpret various religious traditions, including Indian religions,^[13] and influenced other strands of nondualistic and New Age thought.

References[edit | edit source]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "The Absolute" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. See for the development of Hegel's idea of "the absolute." Charles Edward Andrew Lincoln IV, Hegelian Dialectical Analysis of U.S. Voting Laws, 42 U. Dayton L. Rev. 87 (2017). See Lincoln, Charles The Dialectical Path of Law, 2021 Rowman & Littlefield.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Sprigge, T. L. S. (1998). Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor and Francis. doi:10.4324/9780415249126-N001-1.
↑ Frederick Charles Copleston (1963). History of Philosophy: Fichte to Nietzsche. Paulist Press. pp. 166–180. ISBN 978-0-8091-0071-2.
↑ Martin Heidegger (2002). Heidegger: Off the Beaten Track. Cambridge University Press. pp. 97–98. ISBN 978-0-521-80507-0.
↑ Frederick Charles Copleston (2003). 18th and 19th Century German Philosophy. A&C Black. pp. 173–174. ISBN 978-0-8264-6901-4.
↑ Hajime Nakamura (1964). The Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples: India-China-Tibet-Japan. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 53–57. ISBN 978-0-8248-0078-9., Quote: "Thus the ultimate Absolute presumed by the Indians is not a personal god but an impersonal and metaphysical Principle. Here we can see the impersonal character of the Absolute in Indian thought. The inclination of grasping Absolute negatively necessarily leads (as Hegel would say) to the negation of the negative expression itself."
↑ Umehara, Takeshi (1970). "Heidegger and Buddhism". Philosophy East and West. 20 (3): 271–281. doi:10.2307/1398308. JSTOR 1398308.
↑ Orru, Marco; Wang, Amy (1992). "Durkheim, Religion, and Buddhism". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 31 (1): 47–61. doi:10.2307/1386831. JSTOR 1386831.
↑ Williams, Paul (2002). Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition. pp. 146–148.
↑ Richards, Glyn (1995). "Modern Hinduism". Studies in Religion. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 117–127. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-24147-7_9. ISBN 978-1-349-24149-1.
↑ Chaudhuri, Haridas (1954). "The Concept of Brahman in Hindu Philosophy". Philosophy East and West. 4 (1): 47–66. doi:10.2307/1396951. JSTOR 1396951., Quote: "The Self or Atman is the Absolute viewed from the subjective standpoint (arkara), or a real mode of existence of the Absolute."
↑ Simoni-Wastila, Henry (2002). "Māyā and radical particularity: Can particular persons be one with Brahman?". International Journal of Hindu Studies. 6 (1). Springer: 1–18. doi:10.1007/s11407-002-0009-5. S2CID 144665828.
↑ Huxley, Aldous (January 1, 2009). The Perennial Philosophy. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics. ISBN 9780061724947.

[CathEncy-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "The Absolute" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. See for the development of Hegel's idea of "the absolute." Charles Edward Andrew Lincoln IV, Hegelian Dialectical Analysis of U.S. Voting Laws, 42 U. Dayton L. Rev. 87 (2017). See Lincoln, Charles The Dialectical Path of Law, 2021 Rowman & Littlefield.

[sprigge-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Sprigge, T. L. S. (1998). Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor and Francis. doi:10.4324/9780415249126-N001-1.

[Copleston1963-3] Frederick Charles Copleston (1963). History of Philosophy: Fichte to Nietzsche. Paulist Press. pp. 166–180. ISBN 978-0-8091-0071-2.

[Heidegger2002-4] Martin Heidegger (2002). Heidegger: Off the Beaten Track. Cambridge University Press. pp. 97–98. ISBN 978-0-521-80507-0.

[Copleston2003-5] Frederick Charles Copleston (2003). 18th and 19th Century German Philosophy. A&C Black. pp. 173–174. ISBN 978-0-8264-6901-4.

[6] Hajime Nakamura (1964). The Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples: India-China-Tibet-Japan. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 53–57. ISBN 978-0-8248-0078-9., Quote: "Thus the ultimate Absolute presumed by the Indians is not a personal god but an impersonal and metaphysical Principle. Here we can see the impersonal character of the Absolute in Indian thought. The inclination of grasping Absolute negatively necessarily leads (as Hegel would say) to the negation of the negative expression itself."

[7] Umehara, Takeshi (1970). "Heidegger and Buddhism". Philosophy East and West. 20 (3): 271–281. doi:10.2307/1398308. JSTOR 1398308.

[8] Orru, Marco; Wang, Amy (1992). "Durkheim, Religion, and Buddhism". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 31 (1): 47–61. doi:10.2307/1386831. JSTOR 1386831.

[9] Williams, Paul (2002). Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition. pp. 146–148.

[10] Richards, Glyn (1995). "Modern Hinduism". Studies in Religion. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 117–127. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-24147-7_9. ISBN 978-1-349-24149-1.

[11] Chaudhuri, Haridas (1954). "The Concept of Brahman in Hindu Philosophy". Philosophy East and West. 4 (1): 47–66. doi:10.2307/1396951. JSTOR 1396951., Quote: "The Self or Atman is the Absolute viewed from the subjective standpoint (arkara), or a real mode of existence of the Absolute."

[12] Simoni-Wastila, Henry (2002). "Māyā and radical particularity: Can particular persons be one with Brahman?". International Journal of Hindu Studies. 6 (1). Springer: 1–18. doi:10.1007/s11407-002-0009-5. S2CID 144665828.

[13] Huxley, Aldous (January 1, 2009). The Perennial Philosophy. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics. ISBN 9780061724947.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|Concept of an ultimate being in philosophy}}
 {{About|the concept in Hegelian philosophy|the doctrine of absolute truth|Universality (philosophy)|other uses|Absolute (disambiguation)}}
+{{Too few opinions|date=August 2021}}
 {{Use American English|date=January 2019}}
 {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
-In [[philosophy]], the '''Absolute''' is the term used for the ultimate or most supreme being, usually conceived as either encompassing "the sum of all being, actual and potential",<ref name="CathEncy"/> or otherwise transcending the concept of "being" altogether. While the general concept of a supreme being has been present since ancient times, the exact term "Absolute" was first introduced by [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]], and features prominently in the work of many of his followers. In [[Absolute idealism]] and [[British idealism]], it serves as a concept for the "unconditioned reality which is either the spiritual ground of all being or the whole of things considered as a spiritual unity".<ref name=sprigge>{{cite book|last=Sprigge|first=T. L. S.|title=Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy|publisher=Taylor and Francis|doi=10.4324/9780415249126-N001-1|url= https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/absolute-the/v-1|year=1998}}</ref>
+In [[philosophy]], the '''Absolute''' is the term used for the ultimate or most [[supreme being]], usually conceived as either encompassing "the sum of all being, [[potentiality and actuality|actual and potential]]",<ref name="CathEncy"/> or otherwise [[Transcendence (philosophy)|transcending]] the concept of "[[being]]" altogether. While the general concept of a supreme being has been present since ancient times, the exact term "Absolute" was first introduced by [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]], and features prominently in the work of many of his followers. In [[Absolute idealism]] and [[British idealism]], it serves as a concept for the "unconditioned reality which is either the spiritual ground of all being or the whole of things considered as a spiritual unity".<ref name=sprigge>{{cite book|last=Sprigge|first=T. L. S.|title=Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy|publisher=Taylor and Francis|doi=10.4324/9780415249126-N001-1|url= https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/absolute-the/v-1|year=1998}}</ref>
 ==History==
@@ Line 10: / Line 11: @@
 {{See also|God|Ultimate reality|Nondualism}}
-The concept of "the absolute" was introduced in modern philosophy by [[Hegel]], defined as "the sum of all being, actual and potential".<ref name="Copleston1963">{{cite book|author=Frederick Charles Copleston|title=History of Philosophy: Fichte to Nietzsche|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P1Ai7PB_FZsC |year=1963|publisher=Paulist Press|isbn=978-0-8091-0071-2|pages=166–180}}</ref><ref name="CathEncy">{{CathEncy|wstitle=The Absolute}}</ref> For Hegel, as understood by [[Martin Heidegger]], the Absolute is "the spirit, that which is present to itself in the certainty of unconditional self-knowing".<ref name="Heidegger2002">{{cite book|author=Martin Heidegger|title=Heidegger: Off the Beaten Track|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QImd2ARqQPMC |year=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-80507-0|pages=97–98}}</ref> As Hegel is understood by [[Frederick Copleston]], "Logic studies the Absolute 'in itself'; the philosophy of Nature studies the Absolute 'for itself'; and the philosophy of Spirit studies the Absolute 'in and for itself'."<ref name="Copleston2003">{{cite book|author=Frederick Charles Copleston|title=18th and 19th Century German Philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RjWCTI0OFbgC&pg=PA173|year=2003|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-8264-6901-4|pages=173–174}}</ref> The concept is also found in the works of [[Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling|F. W. J. Schelling]], and was anticipated by [[Johann Gottlieb Fichte]].<ref name=sprigge/> In English philosophy, [[F. H. Bradley]] has distinguished the concept of Absolute from [[God]], while [[Josiah Royce]], founder of the American idealism school of philosophy, has equated them.<ref name=sprigge/>
+The concept of "the absolute" was introduced in [[modern philosophy]] by [[Hegel]], defined as "the sum of all being, actual and potential".<ref name="Copleston1963">{{cite book|author=Frederick Charles Copleston|title=History of Philosophy: Fichte to Nietzsche|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P1Ai7PB_FZsC |year=1963|publisher=Paulist Press|isbn=978-0-8091-0071-2|pages=166–180}}</ref><ref name="CathEncy">{{CathEncy|wstitle=The Absolute}} See for the development of Hegel's idea of "the absolute." Charles Edward Andrew Lincoln IV, ''Hegelian Dialectical Analysis of U.S. Voting Laws'', 42 U. Dayton L. Rev. 87 (2017). See Lincoln, Charles [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Dialectical_Path_of_Law/J-2FzgEACAAJ?hl=en The Dialectical Path of Law], 2021 Rowman & Littlefield.</ref> For Hegel, as understood by [[Martin Heidegger]], the Absolute is "the spirit, that which is present to itself in the certainty of unconditional self-knowing".<ref name="Heidegger2002">{{cite book|author=Martin Heidegger|title=Heidegger: Off the Beaten Track|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QImd2ARqQPMC |year=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-80507-0|pages=97–98}}</ref> As Hegel is understood by [[Frederick Copleston]], "Logic studies the Absolute 'in itself'; the philosophy of Nature studies the Absolute 'for itself'; and the philosophy of Spirit studies the Absolute 'in and for itself'."<ref name="Copleston2003">{{cite book|author=Frederick Charles Copleston|title=18th and 19th Century German Philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RjWCTI0OFbgC&pg=PA173|year=2003|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-8264-6901-4|pages=173–174}}</ref> The concept is also found in the works of [[Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling|F. W. J. Schelling]], and was anticipated by [[Johann Gottlieb Fichte]].<ref name=sprigge/> In English philosophy, [[F. H. Bradley]] has distinguished the concept of Absolute from [[God]], while [[Josiah Royce]], founder of the [[American idealism]] school of philosophy, has equated them.<ref name=sprigge/>
 ==Indian religions==
 The concept of the Absolute has been used to interpret the early texts of the [[Indian religions]] such as those attributed to [[Yajnavalkya]], [[Nagarjuna]] and [[Adi Shankara]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Hajime Nakamura|title=The Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples: India-China-Tibet-Japan|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sePiBcehtYcC |year=1964|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-0078-9|pages=53–57}}, Quote: "Thus the ultimate Absolute presumed by the Indians is not a personal god but an impersonal and metaphysical Principle. Here we can see the impersonal character of the Absolute in Indian thought. The inclination of grasping Absolute negatively necessarily leads (as Hegel would say) to the negation of the negative expression itself."</ref>
-In [[Jainism]], Absolute Knowledge or ''Kewalya Gnan'', is said to be attained by the [[Arihant]]as and [[Tirthankara]]s, who reflects in their knowing the 360 degrees of the truth and events of past, present and future. All 24 Tirthankaras and many others are Kewalya Gnani or Carriers of Absolute Knowledge.
+In [[Jainism]], Absolute Knowledge or ''Kewalya Gnan'', is said to be attained by the [[Arihant (Jainism)|Arihant]]as and [[Tirthankara]]s, who reflects in their knowing the 360 degrees of the truth and events of [[time|past, present and future]]. All 24 Tirthankaras and many others are Kewalya Gnani or Carriers of Absolute Knowledge.
 According to Takeshi Umehara, some ancient texts of [[Buddhism]] state that the "truly Absolute and the truly Free must be nothingness",<ref>{{cite journal | last=Umehara | first=Takeshi | title=Heidegger and Buddhism | journal=Philosophy East and West | volume=20 | issue=3 | year=1970 | doi=10.2307/1398308 | pages=271–281| jstor=1398308 }}</ref> the "void".<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Orru | first1=Marco | last2=Wang | first2=Amy | title=Durkheim, Religion, and Buddhism | journal=Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | volume=31 | issue=1 | year=1992 | doi=10.2307/1386831 | pages=47–61| jstor=1386831 }}</ref> Yet, the early Buddhist scholar [[Nagarjuna]], states Paul Williams, does not present "emptiness" as some kind of Absolute, rather it is "the very absence (a pure non-existence) of inherent existence" in [[Mādhyamaka]] school of the Buddhist philosophy.<ref>{{cite book|last=Williams |first= Paul|title= Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition|year= 2002| pages= 146–148}}</ref>
@@ Line 21: / Line 22: @@
 According to Glyn Richards, the early texts of [[Hinduism]] state that the [[Brahman]] or the nondual Brahman–[[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]] is the Absolute.<ref>{{cite book | last=Richards | first=Glyn | title=Studies in Religion | chapter=Modern Hinduism | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan | year=1995 | isbn=978-1-349-24149-1 | doi=10.1007/978-1-349-24147-7_9 | pages=117–127}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Chaudhuri | first=Haridas | title=The Concept of Brahman in Hindu Philosophy | journal=Philosophy East and West | volume=4 | issue=1 | year=1954 | doi=10.2307/1396951 | pages=47–66| jstor=1396951 }}, Quote: "The Self or Atman is the Absolute viewed from the subjective standpoint (arkara), or a real mode of existence of the Absolute."</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Simoni-Wastila | first=Henry | title=Māyā and radical particularity: Can particular persons be one with Brahman? | journal=International Journal of Hindu Studies | publisher=Springer | volume=6 | issue=1 | year=2002 | doi=10.1007/s11407-002-0009-5 | pages=1–18| s2cid=144665828 }}</ref>
-The term has also been adopted by [[Aldous Huxley]] in his [[perennial philosophy]] to interpret various religious traditions, including Indian religions,<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Perennial Philosophy|last=Huxley|first=Aldous|date=2009-01-01|publisher=Harper Perennial Modern Classics|isbn=9780061724947|location=New York|language=English}}</ref> and influenced other strands of nondualistic and New Age thought.
+The term has also been adopted by [[Aldous Huxley]] in his [[perennial philosophy]] to interpret various religious traditions, including Indian religions,<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Perennial Philosophy|last=Huxley|first=Aldous|date=2009-01-01|publisher=Harper Perennial Modern Classics|isbn=9780061724947|location=New York|language=English}}</ref> and influenced other strands of [[nondualism|nondualistic]] and [[New Age]] thought.
 ==See also==
@@ Line 41: / Line 42: @@
 * [[Dialectical monism]]—[[Neutral monism]]
 * [[Eternal Buddha]]
-* [[God]]—[[Godhead (disambiguation)|Godhead]]<1--Intentional link to DAB page-->—[[God the Father]]
+* [[God]]—[[Godhead (disambiguation)|Godhead]]<!--Intentional link to DAB page-->—[[God the Father]]
+* [[Henology]]
+* [[Henosis]]
 * [[Indeterminacy (philosophy)|Indeterminacy]]
 * [[Intrinsic value (ethics)|Intrinsic value]]
@@ Line 68: / Line 71: @@
 {{Authority control}}
+[[Category:Concepts in ancient Greek metaphysics]]
+[[Category:Concepts in metaphysics]]
+[[Category:Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]]
+[[Category:History of philosophy]]
+[[Category:History of religion]]
 [[Category:Idealism]]
+[[Category:Jain philosophy]]
+[[Category:Metaphysical theories]]
+[[Category:Metaphysics]]
+[[Category:Monism]]
 [[Category:Names of God in Hinduism]]
-[[Category:Monism]]
 [[Category:Nondualism]]
 [[Category:Ontology]]
+[[Category:Panentheism]]
+[[Category:Pantheism]]
 [[Category:Perennial philosophy]]
-[[Category:Buddhist philosophy]]
+[[Category:Philosophical concepts]]
+[[Category:Religious philosophical concepts]]
 [[Category:Singular God| ]]
 [[Category:Superlatives in religion]]
+[[Category:Transtheism]]
 [[Category:Universalism]]
-[[Category:Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]]
-[[Category:Jainism]]

Absolute (philosophy): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 00:31, 16 February 2022

Contents

History[edit | edit source]

Indian religions[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]