Eastern Philosophy
Philosophical traditions of China, India, Japan, and the Islamic world — Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Vedanta, and Islamic philosophy spanning 3000 years.
Sub-topics
Founded by Confucius (551-479 BCE). Ren (benevolence), li (ritual propriety), xiao (filial piety). Moral cultivation through education and social harmony. The Analects. Dominant philosophy of China for over two millennia.
Laozi (6th century BCE) and Zhuangzi (4th century BCE). The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. Wu wei (non-action), naturalness, spontaneity. The Tao Te Ching. Water is soft yet overcomes the hard.
Siddhartha Gautama (~5th century BCE). Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path. Dependent origination (pratityasamutpada), no-self (anatman), impermanence (anicca). Split into Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions.
Six orthodox schools (darshanas) of Indian philosophy: Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Vedanta. Rooted in the Vedas and Upanishads. Spanning 3000 years of metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical inquiry.
Falsafa — the Islamic philosophical tradition rooted in Greek thought (8th-12th century). Al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Avicenna, al-Ghazali, Averroes. Preserved and transformed Aristotle, shaped medieval European thought.