Essay Proposal and Annotated Bibliography:Philosophy of World Religions

Essay Proposal and Annotated Bibliography:Philosophy of World Religions

Essay Proposal

For my essay topic I will examine the similarities between Greek Stoicism and Yogic and Vedantic Hindu Philosophy as described in the Bhagvad Gita. I will attempt to show that although these schools developed at different times and in different societies (culturally and geographically), the Stoic concept of the ‘Sage’, the personified culmination of Stoic philosophy, one who is truly wise, eternally happy through virtue and immune to circumstance and destructive emotion is remarkably similar to the teachings of Krishna to Arjuna on the nature of the Enlightened individual.

I chose these two philosophies because they appeal to me personally and because they represent examples of ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ philosophy which are perceived to be fundamentally  different ways of thinking.  I will attempt to show that there are many similarities that point to  universal ‘truths’ about human nature and the nature of the universe.  For this paper I will be focusing on the similarities in both philosophies in their teaching of Logic, Metaphysics and Ethics

I will be focusing on two works in particular, Meditations by the Roman emperor/philosopher Marcus Aurelius and the Bhagavad Gita.  These texts represent two of the most well known works in their respective philosophies and both are regarded as self contained guides to living and a culmination of philosophical ideas in their respective schools.  However, neither of these is explicitly a complete overview of Stoic or Hindu philosophies nor are they the only important texts in Stoicism or Hinduism so I will be using other primary and secondary sources.

Annotated Bibliography

Rorty, Amelie et al. The Stoics.  Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1978.

This is a collection of thirteen essays by an international group of university philosophy professors, each dealing with a different aspect of stoicism.  Four are on Logic, five on ethics and three on physics.

Inwood, Brad., ed.  The Cambridge Companion to The Stoics.  New York: Cambridge University Press,  2003.

This text provides a basic outline of Stoicism in a more accessible form with its chapters organized according to stoic views on all areas of philosophy (epistemology, logic, ethics etc.),  as well as providing a history of the school and its personalities to trace the development of its ideas from its founding by Zeno in 300BC to the more cumulative writings of Seneca, Epictetus and finally Marcus Aurelius.

Minor, Robert., ed. Modern Indian Interpreters of the Bhagavad Gita.  Albany: State University of New             York Press.

This text provides a series of essays by modern Indian scholars on the meaning of the Bhagvad Gita, and how these interpretations influenced the thought and actions of important modern people and movements such as Mahatma Gandhi and Indian independence.

Mittal, Sushil ed. and Thursby, Gene ed. The Hindu World.  New York:  Routledge, 2004.

This text is a one volume comprehensive overview of Hinduism and its multiple aspects from scripture and ritual to social structure and philosophical theory.

Sherman, Nancy.  Stoic Warriors.  New York:  Oxford University Press, 2005.

This text examines stoicism in a military context as a philosophy of life and a means of dealing with hardship, using anecdotes from military history from ancient Greek wars to the war in Iraq.  The author focuses on the teaching of the stoic philosopher Epictetus.

Patton, Laurie L., ed. The Bhagavad Gita.  London: Penguin Classics, 2008.

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most well known and widely read philosophical works.  It is part of the Mahabharata but its teachings are often not viewed in a strictly religious context.  It takes the form of a dialogue between Lord Krishna and the warrior prince Arjuna who faces a moral dilemma about fighting his relatives in war.  Although interpreted differently by different schools of Hinduism,  various Hindu philosophies are explained with examples and therefore it is viewed as a summary of Hindu philosophical teachings.

Hammond, Martin., ed.  Mediations of Marcus Aurelius. London: Penguin Classics, 2006.

Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and philosopher who is often considered to be the last of the stoic philosophers and one of the few whose writings remain.  Because Meditations was written at a time when stoicism flourished among educated Romans and  is the last of the stoic writings before the school was persecuted under christian rule it is thought to represent a culmination of stoic ideas.

Seneca. On The Shortness of Life.  London: Penguin Books, 1997.

Roebuck, Valerie J., ed. The Upanishads.  London: Penguin Classics, 2003.