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2015 | Tom: 5 | Numer: 1 | 25-34

Article title

The problem of psychophysical agency in the classical Sāṃkhya and Yoga perspective

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EN

Abstracts

EN
The paper discusses the issue of psychophysical agency in the context of Indian philosophy, focusing on the oldest preserved texts of the classical tradition of Sāṃkhya–Yoga. The author raises three major questions: What is action in terms of Sāṃkhyakārikā (ca. fifth century CE) and Yogasūtra (ca. third century CE)? Whose action is it, or what makes one an agent? What is a right and morally good action? The first part of the paper reconsiders a general idea of action – including actions that are deliberately done and those that ‘merely’ happen – identified by Patañjali and Ῑśvarakṛṣṇa as a permanent change or transformation (pariṇāma) determined by the universal principle of causation (satkārya). Then, a threefold categorization of actions according to their causes is presented, i.e. internal agency (ādhyātmika), external agency (ādhibhautika) and ‘divine’ agency (ādhidaivika). The second part of the paper undertakes the problem of the agent’s autonomy and the doer’s psychophysical integrity. The main issues that are exposed in this context include the relationship between an agent and the agent’s capacity for perception and cognition, as well as the crucial Sāṃkhya–Yoga distinction between ‘a doer’ and ‘the self’. The agent’s self-awareness and his or her moral self-esteem are also briefly examined. Moreover, the efficiency of action in present and future is discussed (i.e. karman, karmāśaya, saṃskāra, vāsanā), along with the criteria of a right act accomplished through meditative insight (samādhi) and moral discipline (yama).

Year

Volume

Issue

Pages

25-34

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Dates

published
2015

References

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  • SK — Sāṃkhyakārikā of Īśvarakṛṣṇa (1979). (G. J. Larson, Trans.). In: G. J. Larson. Classical Sāṃkhya. An interpretation of its history and meaning (pp. 255–277). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
  • Sāṃkhya-Pravacana-Bhāṣya or commentary on the exposition of the Sānkhya philosophy by Vijñānabhikṣu (1895). (R. Garbe, Ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University.
  • SVS — Suvarṇasaptati. The Samkhya Karika studied in the light of its Chinese version (1932). (J. Takakusu, Trans. into French, S. S. Suryanarayana Sastri, Trans. into English). Madras: Diocesan Press (1st ed. in French: 1904, 1st ed. in English: 1931).
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  • YS — Yogasūtra, YSBH — Yogasūtrabhāṣya in: The Yoga-Sūtra of Patañjali. A new translation and commentary (1989). (G. Feuerstein, Trans.). Rochester: Inner Traditions International.
  • YD — Yuktidīpikā. An ancient commentary on the Sāṃkhya-Kārikā of Īśvarakṛṣṇa (1967). (Ram Chandra Pandeya, Ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
  • Yuktidīpikā. The most significant commentary on the Sāṃkhyakārikā (1998). (A. Wezler and Sh. Motegi, Eds.) (Vol. 1). Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.
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  • Harihārananda Ᾱranya (2000). Yoga philosophy of Patañjali with Bhāsvatī. (Paresh Nath Mukerji, Trans. from Sanskrit to English). Calcutta: Calcutta University Press (1st ed.: 1963).
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  • Mele, A. R. (2000b). Introduction: Approaches, puzzles, biases, and agency. In: A. R. Mele. Self-deception unmasked (pp. 3–24). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
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  • Whicher, I. R. (2005). The liberating role of saṃskāra in classical Yoga. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 33, 601–630.

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Publication order reference

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bwmeta1.element.desklight-a634cf14-06fb-4a83-b7ba-939ca0e96070
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