The interiorisation of ritual in India and Greece

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Seaford
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Mental Performance ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Inner Self ◽  
The Individual

The interiorisation of ritual is a concept used by Indologists, referring to the replacement of the actual performance of ritual by its internal or mental performance, or to the adoption of the terminology and structure of ritual to describe an internal or mental transition. This chapter extends its use to ancient Greece. In India interiorisation arises from the discernible individualisation of sacrifice. In Greece the language and structure of mystic initiation is used by Heraclitus, Parmenides, and Plato to describe the intellectual progress of the individual. In both cultures interiorisation is associated with the advent of monism and the concomitant all-importance of the inner self. It is suggested that an important factor making for this development in both cultures was monetisation.

Manageable Self in the Early Hellenistic Era

2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-36
Author(s):  
Vaia Touna
Keyword(s):  
Social Economic ◽  
Ancient Greece ◽  
The Self ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
The Individual

This paper argues that the rise of what is commonly termed "personal religion" during the Classic-Hellenistic period is not the result of an inner need or even quality of the self, as often argued by those who see in ancient Greece foreshadowing of Christianity, but rather was the result of social, economic, and political conditions that made it possible for Hellenistic Greeks to redefine the perception of the individual and its relationship to others.

Chimeras In Time-Honored Societies

Think India ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 463-466
Author(s):  
TUMMALA. SAI MAMATA
Keyword(s):  
Major Elements ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Life Changes ◽  
Inner Self ◽  
The World ◽  
Nature And Nurture ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
Superstitious Beliefs

A river flows serenely accepting all the miseries and happiness that it comes across its journey. A tree releases oxygen for human beings despite its inner plights. The sun is never tired of its duty and gives sunlight without any interruption. Why are all these elements of nature so tuned to? Education is knowledge. Knowledge comes from learning. Learning happens through experience. Familiarity is the master of life that shapes the individual. Every individual learns from nature. Nature teaches how to sustain, withdraw and advocate the prevailing situations. Some dwell into the deep realities of nature and nurture as ideal human beings. Life is a puzzle. How to solve it is a million dollar question that can never be answered so easily. The perception of life changes from individual to individual making them either physically powerful or feeble. Society is not made of only individuals. Along with individuals it has nature, emotions, spiritual powers and superstitious beliefs which bind them. Among them the most crucial and alarming is the emotions which are interrelated to others. Alone the emotional intelligence is going to guide the life of an individual. For everyone there is an inner self which makes them conscious of their deeds. The guiding force should always force the individual to choose the right path.  Writers are the powerful people who have rightly guided the society through their ingenious pen outs.  The present article is going to focus on how the major elements bound together are dominating the individual’s self through Rabindranath Tagore’s Home and the World (1916)

scholarly journals FEATURES OF BECOMING AND DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURAL AND LEISURE PRACTICES IN ANCIENT GREECE

2017 ◽  
pp. 78-83
Author(s):  
I. V. Petrova
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Greek Life ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Theatrical Performances ◽  
Strict Regulation ◽  
Political Differences ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Voluntary Choice ◽  
Political Groups ◽  
Social Collective

The analysis features of becoming and development of cultural and leisure practices in Ancient Greece is the goal of the article. The author justifies the preconditions which formed the appropriate hierarchy of life values of ancient Greek and reated the base for leisure development in Ancient Greece. It has been determined the leading preconditions such as absolute kosmolohizm, religiosity and polytheism, mental features of ancient Greeks and agon of Greek life, human cultural activity, polis political system, special perception of freedom as condition of absence of bright expressed domination over the human and strict regulation of the individual behavior, his personality initiative, existence of free time that isn't occupied by routine and care of urgent daily needs. It has been revealed the essence of such cultural and leisure practices as symposiya, gymnasiya, professional, religious and political groups, agons, theatrical performances, visiting of agora and organization of events. It has been argued that the general patriarchal orientation of Greek civilization affected the system of leisure organization in Ancient Greece. It has been justified the opinion that value of leisure was being determined by its role in the aid of social balance: between thetendencies to integration and differentiation of society and to its unification and hierarchy. Therefore, there were coexistent leisure formsconnected with the opposite social tendencies: some leisure demonstrations were acceptable for all (or for most) groups of population, they unitedand consolidated it, and others, limited by some requirements, extended social, cultural and political differences. Consequently there is a distribution of leisure practices on private (in which people could to participate according to their interests), and social (collective); obligatory (the participation was compulsory), and voluntary (choice of which depended only on desires of people); "high" (addressed only to mental and physical development of people), and "inactive" (passiverecreation, entertainment or bodily pleasure).

A Round-Up of Modern Opinion

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hashim Kamali
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Surrounding Environment ◽  
Inner Self ◽  
Textual Data ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Almost All

This chapter presents a selection mainly of twentieth-century scholarly opinion, both Sunni and Shi’a, on wasaṭiyyah and its role and manifestation in the textual data and historical development of Islamic scholarship, as well as the management of community affairs. Wasaṭiyyah relates closely to justice, but it is multifaceted and tends to influence almost all aspects of the individual conduct, as well as relations in society and with the outside world. The chapter discusses how wasaṭiyyah begins in the inner self of the individual and from there spreads out to influence relations with others and one’s surrounding environment, concluding with the point that rejecting extremism and embracing moderation are the keys toward treating others with dignity, accepting our differences, and coexisting with each other in peace and harmony.

Self, Indian theories of

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.S. Rukmani
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Inner Self ◽  
Spiritual Energy ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Ultimate Principle ◽  
Ultimate Nature

Hindu thought traces its different conceptions of the self to the earliest extant Vedic sources composed in the Sanskrit language. The words commonly used in Hindu thought and religion for the self are jīva (life), ātman (breath), jīvātman (life-breath), puruṣa (the essence that lies in the body), and kṣetrajña (one who knows the body). Each of these words was the culmination of a process of inquiry with the purpose of discovering the ultimate nature of the self. By the end of the ancient period, the personal self was regarded as something eternal which becomes connected to a body in order to exhaust the good and bad karma it has accumulated in its many lives. This self was supposed to be able to regain its purity by following different spiritual paths by means of which it can escape from the circle of births and deaths forever. There is one more important development in the ancient and classical period. The conception of Brahman as both immanent and transcendent led to Brahman being identified with the personal self. The habit of thought that tried to relate every aspect of the individual with its counterpart in the universe (Ṛg Veda X. 16) had already prepared the background for this identification process. When the ultimate principle in the subjective and objective spheres had arrived at their respective ends in the discovery of the ātman and Brahman, it was easy to equate the two as being the same spiritual ‘energy’ that informs both the outer world and the inner self. This equation had important implications for later philosophical growth. The above conceptions of the self-identity question find expression in the six systems of Hindu thought. These are known as āstikadarśanas or ways of seeing the self without rejecting the authority of the Vedas. Often, one system or the other may not explicitly state their allegiance to the Vedas, but unlike Buddhism or Jainism, they did not openly repudiate Vedic authority. Thus they were āstikadarśanas as opposed to the others who were nāstikadarśanas. The word darśana for philosophy is also significant if one realizes that philosophy does not end with only an intellectual knowing of one’s self-identity but also culminates in realizing it and truly becoming it.

From the Classical World to the Medieval

2021 ◽  
pp. 13-25
Author(s):  
Clive Emsley
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Greece ◽  
The State ◽  
Ancient Rome ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Greek City ◽  
Weights And Measures ◽  
Classical World ◽  
City States ◽  
The Individual

This chapter examines the presence of the police and policing from the classical world to the medieval. The Greek city states had no significant bodies of people organized specifically to ensure survival and welfare, though militias could be brought together to defend the state and suppress popular disorder. Some officials were charged with checking weights and measures and grain supplies. However, there were no institutions to prevent assaults and thefts, or to detect and pursue offenders. Both Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome were similar. Offences that affected the individual rather than the state were usually left to victims, their kin, or passers-by, if they were prepared to get involved. Victims, any servants that they had, their kin, or passers-by did not have to fight, though they sometimes did; but they could act as witnesses when a suspect was accused or brought before a court. Sources for police and policing in the classical world are thin, and much has to be gleaned from between the lines. Meanwhile, the sources for the medieval period are better, and, while these show the similar kinds of divisions and institutions, there are gaps in the sources and little to explore for those looking for police institutions.

scholarly journals Self-Assertion, ‘Ignorant Backwoodsmen’ and the Experience of ‘(Un) Safe Spaces’

2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 230-246
Author(s):  
David Torevell
Keyword(s):  
Identity Politics ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
The Body ◽  
Safe Spaces ◽  
Inner Self ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
Historical Tradition ◽  
Political Philosopher ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Self

I want to suggest that contemporary notions of individuality and self-assertion have been, to some extent, significantly influenced by the thinking of the 18th-century Genevan political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Although a committed Christian, Rousseau nursed an understanding of the inner self which clearly resonates with the rise in the 21st century of secularized accounts of the person and the prevalence of ‘identity politics.’ I argue these are frequently contextualized within the demand for equality and have morphed into strategies of protection, witnessed most glaringly in the promotion of ‘safe spaces,’ especially in modern universities. While in some respects these developments are to be lauded, since they are located in moral strivings for justice, I argue that a too obsessive focus on the individual self can result in harmful consequences. Biblical writers, Desert Christians and contemporary ascetics know this and have something important to teach in this regard. Their emphasis on the formation of identity, based on scriptural reasoning and historical tradition, imbibed in the body, promotes collective subjectivity and saves the person from descending into introverted, aggrieved individualism, which, ironically, makes the fight for social justice less effective.

Contributions to the History of Psychology: XLVIII. Ancient Greek Roots of the Assumptions of Modern Clinical Psychology

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 903-921
Author(s):  
Rosemary A. Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Force Field ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
Clinical Psychology ◽  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Underlying Assumption ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

This paper is an account of studies of the linguistic transformation that took place in ancient Greece between the eighth and fourth centuries B.C., searching for factors which contribute to the shift in how humans perceived themselves. The group or force-field consciousness of the men of the Iliad and the linguistic factors which allowed “individuality” to emerge by the time of Plato is explored. The account relates the emergence of the notion of “madness” to the development of the individual and asks whether madness is an artifact of individuality and explores the relationship of these developments to our present underlying assumption of a duality in human nature composed of the rational and the irrational.

scholarly journals Thémis jako kategoria graniczna

Politeja ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1(58)) ◽  
pp. 47-63
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Gruszczyk
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Greek Religion ◽  
World Views ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual

Thémis as a Liminal Category Thémis is a concept deeply rooted in the culture of ancient Greece. As a category delineating the limits of “what’s right” as well as a personification of this very concept in Themis, the Titaness ruling the sphere of eternal order, justice, laws and mores in the Greek religion, thémis in ancient Greece was the ultimate boundary of the social reality. Situated on the crossroads between two spheres: the sacrum and the profane, this concept also served as the foundation of an impassable axio‑normative barrier between that which is human and which is other‑than‑human: either god‑like or beast‑like. Thémis as a philosophical and axio‑normative notion still remains a valid scientific category, which can be successfully used in the explication and analysis of the processes of emergence and transformation of contemporary social and individual boundaries. The examination of the socio‑cultural aspects of thémis facilitates the analysis of the communal factors influencing the individual world‑views, as well as those forming the limits and content of the prevailing ethics.

scholarly journals A democracia contemporânea e a crítica aos limites entre público e privado: por uma nova teoria da cidadania / The contemporary democracy and the critics of the limits between public and private: for a new theory of citizenship

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 607
Author(s):  
Newton De Menezes Albuquerque ◽  
Guilherme Dourado Aragão Sá Araújo
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Literature Research ◽  
Community Volunteer ◽  
De Se ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Theory Of Democracy

Resumo: Sob a óptica do problema da legitimidade das decisões democráticas, este trabalho expõe a necessidade de reversão da tendência publicista em prol de maior reconhecimento do poder deliberativo voluntário individual ou comunitário. Demonstrou-se o surgimento da democracia direta na Grécia antiga e as implicações modernas que levaram ao desenvolvimento das formas representativas, bem como seus problemas inerentes. Utilizando-se de pesquisa bibliográfica, o ensaio expõe que os mecanismos de verificação da legitimidade democrática não se mostraram suficientes para garantir a verdadeira democracia em seu aspecto material. Concluiu-se que esses problemas provocam a necessidade de se repensar o objeto deliberativo da democracia em questões eminentemente individuais como a união entre pessoas do mesmo sexo ou livre comércio de drogas e armas.Palavras-chave: teoria da democracia; legitimidade; democracia direta.Abstract: From the perspective of the problem of legitimacy of democratic decisions, this paper exposes the need for revert the publicist trend towards greater recognition of the individual or community volunteer deliberative power. It showed the appearance of the direct democracy in ancient Greece and the modern implications that led to the development of the representative forms, as well as its inherent problems. Through literature research, it states that the mechanisms of verification of democratic legitimacy were not sufficient to ensure true democracy in its material aspect. It concludes these problems cause the need to rethink democracy’s deliberative object in eminently individual issues such as same sex marriage or free trade of drugs and arms.Keywords: theory of democracy; legitimacy; direct democracy.

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