Two Paradigms of the Subject: Indian and European Traditions in Search of Supreme Being
Voprosy filosofii July 6, 2025 Lev Titlin
The article compares how traditional Indian and European philosophies conceive of the subject. In most classical Indian systems—Advaita Vedānta, Yoga, Sāṁkhya, Vaiśeṣika, and Buddhism—the subject (ātman, puruṣa) is strictly separate from the external world, bodily and psychic elements, thinking, intellect, and emotions; in Vaiśeṣika even consciousness is external to the subject. Both traditions originally shared a strong soteriological intention, viewing the inner core as a connecting element toward a higher state. European philosophy, by contrast, long attributed to the subject (as 'soul') qualities like thinking, reasoning, sense perception, emotions, and memory, often highlighting the rational and intellectual element as the principal connection to the divine.