Sunday 8 April 2012

Cārvāka and The Cyrenaic school



So I was reading more about Hedonism and I read about these two school of philosophy that taught Hedonism. 

Cārvāka 
An Indian Hedonist school of philosophy. The interesting thing about Cārvāka was that the school maintained that the Hindu scriptures are false, and that the priests were lairs. This was because they believed that there was no afterlife, and that pleasure should be should be the aim of living. 

The Cārvāka, unlike most Indian schools philosophy, argued that there is nothing wrong with sensual indulgence; that is activities such as eating, sex etc. that engage your senses in a pleasurable way. 

In this sense the Cārvāka held very nationalistic beliefs- there is nothing but natural things, forces, and causes of the kind studied by the natural sciences.(Wernicki, A; 7 June, 2010; Lokāyata/ Cārvāka- Indian Materialism) 


Cyrenaic
A Greek school of Philosophy, and one of the earliest Socratic schools. The school taught that only pleasure in itself is good. Pleasure refers to positively enjoyable experiences or sensations, not just the absence of pain. An example of this is: If you pull a splinter out of someone, that act in itself isn't good, but if it leads to your pleasurable sensation that comes from helping someone; then that's good.

The school also taught that of these pleasures, momentary, especially physical ones, are stronger than those of anticipation or memory. 

It is important to note that they did recognize the importance and value of social obligation, and that pleasure could be gained from the concern and welfare of other. (O'Keefe, T; July 15 2005; Cyrenacis) 






References
1. O'Keefe, T; July 15 2005; Cyrenacis; Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy; 06/04/2012; http://www.iep.utm.edu/cyren/ 
2. Wernicki, A; 7 June, 2010; Lokāyata/ Cārvāka- Indian Materialism; Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy; 06/04/2012; http://www.iep.utm.edu/indmat/ 

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