The relationship between the physical body and the conscious human mind has been a deeply problematic topic for centuries. Physicalism is the 'orthodox' metaphysical stance in contemporary Western thought, according to which reality is exclusively physical/material in nature. However, in the West, theoretical dissatisfaction with this type of approach has historically lead to Cartesian-style dualism, wherein mind and body are thought to belong to distinct metaphysical realms. In the current discussion I compare and contrast this standard Western approach with an (...) alternative form of dualism developed in the Sāṃkhya-Yoga philosophical tradition, where matter and pure consciousness are held to belong to distinct and independent realms, but where the mind is placed on the material side of the ontological divide. I argue that this model possesses a number of theoretical advantages over Cartesian-style dualism, and constitutes a compelling theoretical framework for re-conceptualizing the mind-body problem. (shrink)

Panentheism has seen a revival over the past two decades in the philosophical literature. This has partially triggered an interest in Indian models of God, which have traditionally been seen as panentheistic. On the other hand, panentheism has been often associated with panpsychism, an old ontological view that sees consciousness as fundamental and ubiquitous in the natural world and which has also enjoyed a renaissance in recent decades. Depending on where one places fundamentality (whether on the microlevel or on the (...) cosmic-level) there will be two types of panpsychism: micropsychism and cosmopsychism. Despite the apparently rich connection between Indian traditions and panpsychism, especially in its cosmopsychist version, recent work within cross-cultural analytic philosophy of mind seems to be mostly focused on atheistic traditions, such as Advaita Vedānta and Buddhism. My goal in this paper is to contribute to the cross-cultural debate over panentheism and Indian models of God, as well as to the debate on the connections between panpsychism, cosmopsychism and Indian traditions, by examining one of the most important and often quoted texts in Indian religious and philosophical traditions: the theistic Bhavagad Gītā. From a more specific standpoint, the paper has a threefold goal: to offer a panentheistic reconstruction of the Gītā’s concept of God, to show how this panentheistic model of God entails a form of theistic cosmopsychism, and to locate the Gītā’s cosmopsychism within a broader map of cosmopsychist views. Based on this reconstructive analysis of the Gītā’s cosmopsychism, I also outline some few reflections on the philosophical prospects of theistic cosmopsychism. (shrink)

This article's main theme is the conceptualization of a 'body-oriented-pedagogy' that unfolds a possible account of 'how one learns from the body'. Based on B.K.S Iyengar's approach to yoga-posture practice, which is embedded in classical yoga's philosophy of 'mind', a 'body-oriented pedagogy' is depicted as a practice that seeks to incite 'embodied mindfulness'. The pedagogy trains one in turning 'body' into 'subject', thus quieting the 'thinking mind'. It is thus conceptualized as turning the Cartesian crowning of ‘mind’ over ‘body’ upside (...) down. This pedagogy is suggested as yielding 'education towards and in presence'. Presence is characterized as a mode of perceiving experience prior to the grid of language and concepts, enhancing one's ability to choose one’s action. Applying the grounding of pedagogy in ‘body’, the article then contributes to the discourse involved in the incorporation of contemplative practice within schooling. 'Body-oriented pedagogy' is depicted as compatible with both 'spiritual' and 'non-spiritual' curriculum orientations. (shrink)