Syamasundara dasa: Alexander is the philosopher of emergent evolution. For him, external objects have an existence independent of consciousness. Unlike many other philosophies, Alexander’s neorealism contends that something may exist even though it is not perceived. Srila Prabhupada: Yes, that is so. God exists whether we perceive Him or not. God is the original creator, … Read more
Hayagriva dasa: Origen is generally considered the founder of formal Christian philosophy, because he was the first to attempt to establish Christianity on the basis of philosophy as well as faith. He believed that the ultimate spiritual reality consists of the supreme, infinite Person, God, as well as individual personalities. Ultimate reality may be defined … Read more
Hayagriva dasa: Fichte is not as important as Kant or Hegel, but he is in the same tradition. He followed pretty much in the footsteps of Kant. In his first work, entitled Our Belief in a Divine Government of the Universe, he writes: “Our belief in a moral world order must be based on the … Read more
Hayagriva dasa: Abstract objects, relations, space, time, and matter are all considered by Hume to be mind-dependent perceptions. For him, perceptions or impressions are all there is. He rejected revealed religion, which he considered dogmatic, and accepted “natural religion” instead, a religion wherein the existence of God can be proved or even shown to be … Read more
Hayagriva dasa: Thomas Aquinas compiled the entire Church doctrine in Summa Theologiae, which constitutes the official philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church. Aquinas did not make Augustine’s sharp distinction between the material and spiritual worlds, or between secular society and the city of God. For him, both material and spiritual creations have their origin in … Read more
Hayagriva dasa: Plato made a sharp distinction between the material and spiritual universes, but this dualism is not expressed by Aristotle. Since matter is simply one of God’s energies, the finite reflects the infinite. Matter is a potency in the process of realizing itself. Srila Prabhupada: Aristotle may know something of God’s energies, but our … Read more
Hayagriva dasa: Augustine considered the soul to be spiritual and incorporeal, but he also believed that the soul of the individual does not exist prior to birth. The soul attains its immortality only at death, and thengoes on to live through eternity. Srila Prabhupada: If the soul is created, how is it immortal? How can … Read more
Syamasundara dasa: In Critique of Pure Reason, Kant asks the fundamental question, “How are a priori synthetic judgments possible?” How can we apprehend the relationship between cause and effect? Where does this facility come from? What is the source of knowledge? He proposes that one knowledge-acquiring process, the transcendental aesthetic, synthesizes sense experience through the … Read more
Hayagriva dasa: Scotus, a Thirteenth Century Scotsman, was Thomas Aquinas’s principal antagonist. Whereas Aquinas emphasized the intellect, Scotus emphasized what he called the primacy of will. The will is even superior to the intellect, and this is true for both God and man. Scotus felt that if this were not the case, the will would … Read more
Hayagriva dasa: Machiavelli has been called the most influential political philosopher of the Renaissance, and his philosophy of politics has influenced rulers down to modern times. He is typical of the Renaissance in that he turned from the subjects of the Church fathers-such as God, heaven, and salvation-to concentrate on man and nature. The Renaissance … Read more