Mirror Models of Consciousness in Early Sources and Indian Philosophical Systems

This chapter traces the historical development of mirror models of consciousness in Indian philosophy, beginning with the early Vedic theory of resemblances between human and divine realms. It argues that later theories of reflection preserve the general structure of the Vedic model of formal causation. The chapter then examines the early theory of reflection in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, specifically in the story of Prajāpati’s instruction to Indra and Virocana. Subsequent sections survey reductionist mirror models in Buddhism and mirror models in Nyāya, Mīmāṃsā, and Kaśmiri Śaivism, mapping various positions on the interpretation of the optical process of mirror reflection and its implications for consciousness, mental processes, and cognition.

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Abstract

Abstract This chapter presents a historical background of mirror models of consciousness in Indian philosophy. The point of departure is the early Vedic theory of resemblances between human and divine realms. I argue that later theories of reflection preserve the general structure of the Vedic model of formal causation. After that, I turn to the early theory of reflection in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad in the famous story of Prajāpati’s instruction to Indra and Virocana. The following sections of this chapter survey reductionist mirror models in Buddhism, as well as mirror models in Nyāya, Mīmāṃsā, and Kaśmiri Śaivism. These sections are dedicated to mapping various positions, differing on the interpretation of the optical process involved in reflection in a mirror, and its implications for the phenomenon of consciousness and its relations with mental processes and the objects of cognition.