The phenomenon of the self-identification in ancient eastern traditions

• Main Author: O. O. Stoiano
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Publishing House "Grani" 2015-04-01
• Series: Granì
• Subjects: самоідентифікація; «Я»; самість; Упанішади; Атман; Брахман; буддизм; даосизм
• Online Access: https://grani.org.ua/index.php/journal/article/view/219

Self­knowledge of the human ‘I’ refers to the number of perennial philosophical problems. An individual has long wondered who he actually is, trying to understand its essence, its vocation in the world. Self­identification is a complex human activity on the self­determination, knowledge of the Self, which results in the identity of man with himself. The article is devoted to identifying features of the notions of self­identification in the ancient eastern philosophy based on the historical­philosophical analysis of the Vedic literature, Buddhist and Taoist teachings, as well as comparative review of ancient Indian and ancient Chinese notions of the Self. By majority of ancient Indian sages (in the Vedas, the Upanishads) the Self was conceived as invariant and unchanging core of essence of the soul (Atman), the managing body and which is the organic part of the universal whole (Brahman). In Buddhist philosophy, the concept of ‘I’ is movable, unknowable, because it is a continuous process of choosing vital values, reincarnations and suffering on the way to finding the true Self in Nirvana. Like Buddhism, Taoism conceives the Self as a set of states of the soul and body, but unlike Buddhism, asserts the possibility of self­knowledge, at least on an intuitive level.