The Truth about Śrīgupta’s Two Truths: Longchen Rabjampa’s “Lower Svātantrikas” and the Making of a New Philosophical School

Longchen Rabjampa (1308–64), scholar of the Tibetan Buddhist Nyingma tradition, presents a novel doxographical taxonomy of the so-called Svātantrika branch of Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophy, which designates the Indian Mādhyamika Śrīgupta (c. 7th/8th century) as the exemplar of a Svātantrika sub-school according to which appearance and emptiness are metaphysically distinct. This paper compares Longchenpa’s characterization of this “distinct-appearance-and-emptiness” view with Śrīgupta’s own account of the two truths. I expose a significant disconnect between Longchenpa’s Śrīgupta and Śrīgupta himself and argue that the impetus for Longchenpa’s doxographical innovation originates not in Buddhist India, but within his own Tibetan intellectual milieu, tracing back to his twelfth-century Sangpu Monastery predecessors, Gyamarwa and Chapa.

Modern Evolutionist Naturalism And Šankara’s Arguments Contra Sankhya

This comparative study aims at juxtaposition of modern Western naturalistic evolutionism and the mostly similar attitude in the classic Indian philosophy in the shape of Sankhya’s cosmology in the context of their corresponding critiques by contemporary creationists and Advaita-Vedanta. The long and pointed polemics with Sankhya in the Brahmasutrabhasya by Šankaracharya (7th-8th centuries A.D.) is in the focus of this investigation along with numerous references to the Sankhya-karika by Isvarakrsna (5th century A.D.) as the basic text of the philosophical school criticized by its most powerful opponent. Comparing Western and Indian evolutionism reveals some very important differences to such a degree that the Indian species of the genus would be, in the author’s opinion, better identified as not evolutionism in the strict sense but as a “développisme” combining features of evolutionism with those of emanationism. As to Sankhya’s naturalism, it turns to be much more “sophisticated” than that, e.g., of Thomas Huxley or the so-called New Atheists because its “stuff” is more psychological than material. Nevertheless, crucial logical gaps remain the same in both cases (along with an antitheistic “faith” instead of rationalism), while their taking into account by opponents of naturalism offers a challenge for comparative philosophical theology.

Upbringing and education of children in context letters of Pythagorean woman philosophers

The article reveals in detail the understanding of raising children in the context of two pseudo-epigraphic letters of Pythagorean wonan thinkers – Theano and Myia of Crotone. Based on these letters, it was found that pedagogical issues were important in general for the whole Pythagorean tradition. In fact, we can say that this early Greek philosophical school was the first to systematically and comprehensively approach the problem of upbringing and education in ancient society. It is hypothesized that this topic is not accidentally in the center of attention of these philosophers, because their authority was the greatest among all other representatives of this philosophical school. The author’s position is proved that Theano of Crotone letter to Eubule focuses on moderation in education, which is aimed at avoiding luxury, fulfilling all children’s whims, comfort. This is the purpose of hardening in difficult circumstances in order to withstand with dignity all the potential difficulties of adult life. Accordingly, if you do not raise a child in certain restrictions, then, according to Theano, it may well be unprepared for certain trials that may occur. The thesis is substantiated that the key task of upbringing and education, according to Myia of Crotone letter, is moderation, prudence and balance, which is based on both archaic elements and Hellenistic plots, which testifies to the skill of writing this letter. It is revealed that the Pythagorean principles of education, according to both philosophers, have no gender difference. This is because both girls and boys, if they grow up in luxury, comfort and do not know the limitations, can potentially become dangerous both for themselves and for society as a whole. It is emphasized that according to the style of writing, these letters are not so much moral and ethical as paraenetic epistolary genre, ie they act as advice on the upbringing and education of the younger generation. Because of this, these letters are such sources of ancient culture, which are one of the few that are devoted to the philosophical understanding of upbringing and education.

BOTANICAL MYTHS: FAKE NEWS OF THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

The myths take many forms depending on the cultures in which we find them; however, their function is always to explain natural phenomena that occur in their surroundings. As observed throughout human history, it is an inherent condition for the human species to believe in the metaphysical and to use their individual and introspective thinking as a way to achieve their dreams and goals, something that works as a responsible 'driving force' in many cases, for governing and inspiring the human individual. Additionally, populations or part of communities that obtain their livelihood and/or subsistence directly from agricultural activity spontaneously express a greater willingness to believe in the 'infallible' agroforestry myths, which explain the possible botanical phenomena. In light of this, our present study lists the main physiological bases refuting different botanical myths based on evidence proven in original articles. Furthermore, our phenomenological approach was carried out in an eclectic way in the field of botany and is not linked to any specific authority or philosophical school. Finally, we explore and integrate different, mutually compatible approaches to provide the reader with a global understanding of the 'infallibility' of botanical myths.

Olympiodor of Alexandria – Scholarch of the Alexandrian School of Neoplatonism

Introduction. The domestic and foreign research literature pays great attention to Alexandrian Neo-Platonists of the 4th–6th centuries such as Hypatia, Ammonius son of Hermias, John Philoponus, but at the same time Olympiodorus, David the Invincible, Elias, Horapollon are given insufficient attention. This is largely due to lack of any reliable information in modern science, which reveals the life and professional path of these eminent intellectuals, as well as the fact that the majority of the few preserved works of these authors have not yet been translated into Russian and English. The author of the article aims to study the “intellectual portrait” of Olympiodorus without reconstruction or refinement of his curriculum vitae based on source analysis. Methods and materials. The Intellectual History and the micro-historical approach were chosen as the main methodological basis of this article. The work is based on the system-wide analysis and historical-biographical approach. The source base of the article consists of the extant Olympiodorus works in the book series “Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca”. The historiography of the topic, for the most part, is represented by the works of Western European scientists: L. Westerink, S. Viano, N. Tarrant, etc., in particular. Russian Science almost did not study the personality of Olympiodorus: the only exceptions are small articles or just incorporation of information about him in the biographies of other well-known personalities. Analysis. The author argues for the thesis that Olympiodorus, contrary to the prevailing opinion in Russian science, was a smart executive and a good scientist who managed to preserve the traditions of the Neo-Platonic School of Alexandria by continuing to interpret classical works of Plato and Aristotle. Conclusion. Based on the analysis of Olympiodorus works, the author concludes that Olympiodorus of Alexandria has assumed the post of head of the Alexandrian Philosophical School of Neo-Platonism in the competition with John Philoponus, also he has been able to continue the activities in line with the tradition of Ammonius, son of Hermias while supporting political parity with the Church authorities and has furthermore become one of the first of Alexandrian intellectuals who used a classical scientific approach to interpret works of Plato and Aristotle without striving for their absolutization.

The Concept of Store-Consciousness in the “Laṅkāvatāra-Sūtra”

For the first time the concept of store-consciousness appears in Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra. The beginning of the formation of the sūtra dates back to the 23d c. AD, that allows us to suppose that this concept one of the fundamental concepts in Yogācāra philosophy appeared long before the formation of the Yogācāra itself and, possibly, before the appearance of the Madhyamaka school historically the first Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophical school. Store-consciousness is the basis for seven empirical consciousnesses denoted as pravṛtti-vijāna evolving consciousness. Attaining of the enlightenment is the cessation of the activity of evolving consciousness, but the store-consciousness remains free from real and potential afflictions and dispositions determined by karma. In the sūtra the concept of store-consciousness is associated with the teaching on three own-beings, and this shows that basic Yogācāra notions are fully presented in the sūtra. The causes of evolving consciousness are: ignorance concerning real nature of the objects of the mind; affliction concerning saṃsāra; essence of consciousness consisting in the difference between subject and object; and attraction to forms that support saṃsāra

Modelling a Christian Academy: Christ, Disciples, and Biblical Scholarship in Origen’s Commentary on Matthew

This paper addresses evidence in Origen’s Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew of the Alexandrian’s self-understanding of his scholastic practices. Drawing on Origen’s interpretation of the parables in the Gospel, I argue that Origen exploits the motif of Jesus explaining the parables to his disciples as a model for his own school enterprise in Caesarea. In light of this observation, I will begin by examining the echoes of the classroom environment found in Origen’s Matthew Commentary building on the work of Guido Bendinelli and Lorenzo Perrone. Paying particular attention to stylistic features, such as the use of the first-person plural, I will map the classroom dynamic in the making of the commentary. Then, I will focus on Origen’s hermeneutical approach to Jesus’ parables, especially the distinction he draws between Jesus engagement with the “crowds” and his private teaching to the disciples. Underpinning the Matthew Commentary was Origen’s attempt to model his school against the conceptual backdrop of the Jesus-disciple dynamic and the Greco-Roman philosophical school tradition.

INTERPRETATIONS OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL LEGACY OF VOLODYMYR SHYNKARUK IN THE WORKS OF VITALII TABACHKOVSKYI

The emergence of various interpretations of the legacy of Volodymyr Shynkaruk is caused not only by the texts of the classic of modern Ukrainian philosopher and facts from the histo-ry of philosophical thought development in Ukraine in the second half of the 20th century, but also by the struggle of various narratives that already exist or are offered by philosophers to tell about the fate of philosophy in Kyiv in Soviet and post-Soviet times. The discussion about the identity of Volodymyr Shynkaruk's philosophy arose in the late 1990s and early 2000s in connection with the publication by V.H. Tabachkovskyi of a number of articles and chapters in books devoted to the interpretation of the figure of V. Shynkaruk as the founder of the Kyiv anthropological school. Vitalii Tabachkovskyi tried to substantiate and reveal a cer-tain narrative about the Kyiv Philosophical School as the central mainstream in the philo-sophical sixties, as well as a narrative about the phenomenon of philosophical sixties as a kind of manifestation of liberalism and dissidence regarding the official ideology and philos-ophy. Many distortions of the true meaning of the texts of Kyiv philosophers occurred through reading them not in their own context and meanings, but through guessing what similar philosophical concepts are in world thought. Vitalii Tabachkovskyi's method of anal-ogies and his attempts to look at Volodymyr Shynkaruk's work through the prism of analo-gies with modern trends develop in his book and many articles. Despite the desire to posi-tively accept Vitalii Tabachkovskyi's reasoning about Volodymyr Shynkaruk's philosophical views, we cannot do this, as his reflections at certain points obviously contradict Volodymyr Shynkaruk's texts.

Michael Psellos and Ioane Petritsi on Intellect

"Michael Psellos exposed his theory on intellect in two major texts: De omnifaria doctrina and Philosophica minora. Psellos’ theory is based on different philosophical sources, including, first and foremost, Proclus’ texts. The younger contemporary of Psellos, Georgian philosopher Ioane Petritsi, who was trained in Byzantine philosophical school and was well acquainted with ancient Greek philosophical tradition, also commented on Proclus and his theory of intellect. For Proclus, Psellos and Petritsi intellect is an important entity because it embraces Forms and is, therefore, a basis for all kinds of beings. The aim of this paper is to analyze Psellos’ and Petritsi’s theories of intellect and their interrelationship taking into consideration their dependence on the common philosophical sources, mainly Proclus’ Elements of theology. Keywords: intellect, soul, one, participation, being. "