Eastern_and_Western_Philosopers

Eastern and Western Philosophers Comparison James Elkins Phi/105 9/5/10 Eastern and Western Philosophers Comparison Philosophy has many perspectives from many different philosophers. Today studying the different philosophers can help understand their ideas while paying attention to where they lived will help integrated their ideas into our present day world. Siddhartha Gautama Buddha (563-483 B.C.E.) - Eastern Philosopher This eastern philosopher Siddhartha Gautama was known as Buddha and he began the Buddhism religion. Asia still practices Buddhism today and it is becoming popular in the western world. Buddha's lifelong journey involved his concern over human suffering. Long term anguish inflicted on an individual's body and soul and the distress and sense of unfulfillment endured in daily life is how he defined suffering. Wealth and luxury is the life Buddha was born into. He left this life of luxury at age 29 and also left his wife and child to go in search of the causes of suffering and what could be done to remedy it. Buddha achieved true understanding after six years of meditating and roaming. His doctrine known as the Four Noble Truths explained human suffering through his enlightenment. The Four Noble Truths (1) There is suffering; (2) suffering has specific and identifiable causes; (3) suffering can be ended; (4) the way to end suffering is through enlightened living as expressed in the Eightfold Path (Moore and Bruder, 2008). Buddha's teaching of the Eightfold Path, a guide to proper living to achieve eternal happiness, is one of his principle teachings. The result of cause and effect of actions, karma, is a belief that Buddha believed in with the critical causes of human suffering attributed to self-indulgence and ignorance which hinder the achievement of enlightenment. To achieve enlightenment one must understand the Four Noble Truths and follow the Eightfold Path. Buddha did not believe in a supreme being but believed people were responsible for their own path in life. People are to follow the Eightfold Path to walk through life without fear, suffering, and doubt in order to find enlightenment. John Dewey (1859-1952) - Western Philosopher A western philosopher John Dewey along with William James and Charles S. Peirce were contributors to the pragmatist movement in America. Pragmatists reject the idea that there is such a thing as fixed, absolute truth. Instead, they held that truth is relative to a time and place and purpose and is thus ever changing in light of new data (Moore and Bruder, 2008). Instrumentalism, the ideology that forms of human activity are instruments used by people to solve practical problems is Dewey's form of pragmatism. Everything changes around us all the time is the philosophical ideology of pragmatism. People must adapt to changing environments or they would become tortured souls that do not learn or grow as humans. John Dewey believed that humans have the power to use their minds to make their lives better by solving problems which reduces suffering and increases peace and happiness in our lives. Nature is experience from Dewey's point of view. Objects are not fixed substances but individual things that are imbued with meanings(Moore and Bruder, 2008). Objects are subjective and their existence is defined by what they mean to people at any moment is what this idea suggests. A piece of paper means one thing to a novelist, another to someone who wants to start a fire, still another to a lawyer who wants to draw up a contract, still another to children making paper airplanes, and so on. A piece of paper is an instrument for solving a problem within a given context. What a piece of paper is is what it means within the context of some activity or other (Moore and Bruder, 2008). John Dewey used his ideas to fight for change in society and also had exceptional philosophical insight. John Dewey was a generous man, a fearless advocate of reform, and a social critic. Dewey contributed to reform movements on education, women's rights and democratic issues. He had ideas about improving society and was one of the founders of the Civil Liberties Union. There are many differences between John Dewey and Buddha in their life periods and cultures. They were both concerned about humanity in which Dewey was hands on and Buddha aided society through self reflection and meditation. Buddha and Dewey's philosophical views were similar as they concerned improving one's self and society as a whole. Differences in their lifetime and cultures did not seem to affect their desire to improve society of their times. John Dewey and Buddha were exceptional philosophers and men and cared much for their fellow man and their societies. Tradition and culture influence how individuals think and live but seem to have little effect on the search for truth and happiness. Buddha's ideas are enlightening but maybe a little extreme for me so I would be more inclined to go along with Dewey's ideas about society as a whole. Reference Moore, B. N., & Bruder, K. (2008). Philosophy: The Power of Ideas (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.