Perspectives on Time in Indian Philosophy

This video is part of the PROTEUS project that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 758145)

Abstract

This talk will commence with a brief elucidation of the term “Indian philosophy”, covering a concise presentation of the main so-called heterodox and orthodox schools of thought. The focus will then shift to the concept of time. First, the very ancient and almost generally accepted view of nature and phenomenology of time will be presented. It predates the development of systematic philosophy, and includes the concept of cyclical, beginningless flow and the Myth of the Ages. The chief sources for this section will be the Bhagavad-gītā and Viṣṇu Purāṇa. Second, the Jaina distinction between real and empirical time will be underlined, as well as some of the Buddhist reflections on transitoriness. Next, two Vedāntic views of time will be sketchily discussed, namely those of the Dvaita and Gauḍīya Vedānta schools, which understand time as an uncreated principle coeternal with God. The talk will be brought to its end with the ruminations on the ontology of time of Bhartṛhari, an important 5th century AD representative of the Grammarian school.

Bio

Viktor Ilievski is member of the PROTEUS research team and works in the field of Ancient Greek philosophy, but also glances upon some of the fundamental texts of Ancient India. His main research focus has been placed on Plato and Platonism, especially on Plato’s cosmology, theodicy and the Platonic theories of the origin of evil. He obtained his PhD degree at the Central European University, Budapest, in 2015. During 2017 he was engaged as a research fellow at the IRH-ICUB, University of Bucharest, before joining PROTEUS research team in 2018.