An Analysis of Consequentialism and Deontology in the Normative Ethics of the Bhagavadgītā

Sreekumar, Sandeep

doi:10.1007/s10781-012-9154-3

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Readers such as Chuang (2015) have espoused that interpretation of Kṛṣṇa's advice and dubbed it 'benevolent action'. I agree with this interpretation and aim to expand upon it by suggesting, below, a particular understanding of Sreekumar's (2012) argument that the Bhagavadgītā advances consequentialist ethics. In contrast, Framarin (2009) has effectively problematized prioritizing unselfish desires.…”

Section: The Prisoner's Dilemmamentioning

confidence: 83%

Niṣkāmakarma and the Prisoner’s Dilemma

Lehtonen

2020

SOPHIA

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The Bhagavadgītā, part of the sixth book of the Hindu epic The Mahābhārata, offers a practical approach to mokṣa, or liberation, and freedom from saṃsāra, or the cycle of death and rebirth. According to the approach, known as karmayoga (‘the yoga of action’), salvation results from attention to duty and the recognition of past acts that inform the present and will direct the future. In the Bhagavadgītā, Kṛṣṇa advocates selfless action as the ideal path to realizing the truth about oneself as well as the ultimate reality. Kṛṣṇa proclaims that humans have rights only to actions and not to their results, whether good or bad (2.47). Therefore, humans should not desire any results whatsoever. The prisoner’s dilemma is a fictional story that shows why individuals who seek only their personal benefit meet worse outcomes than those possible by cooperating with others. The dilemma provides an effective, albeit often overlooked, method for studying the Hindu principle of niṣkāmakarma (‘desireless action’) that is arguably the central teaching of the Bhagavadgītā. In the context of the prisoner’s dilemma, a prisoner who wants to uphold niṣkāmakarma may choose one of two decision-making strategies: to be indifferent and leave the decision to chance or to either pursue the common good or the other person’s benefit instead of his or her own. Assuming that followers of niṣkāmakarma can be goal-oriented, the second strategy is more appropriate than the first, as long as one pursues unselfish goals and remains both indifferent and uncommitted to personal benefit.

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Section: The Prisoner's Dilemmamentioning

confidence: 83%

Niṣkāmakarma and the Prisoner’s Dilemma

Lehtonen

2020

SOPHIA

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“…These metaphors target people and indicate a specific metaphysics. People are constituted as body, mind and soul (Sreekumar, 2012) but a body and mind are matter, and a soul is spirit. The metaphors acknowledge human experiences, where a body and mind (matter) help a soul (spirit) to become enlightened.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A soul achieves enlightenment but a body and mind facilitate its achievement. The metaphysics of people as body, mind and soul (Sreekumar, 2012) has to be harmonized to become enlightened. Personal endeavor is endorsed, as people have their own set of senses and are empowered to secure their enlightenment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Matter to Spirit: Metaphors of Enlightenment in Bhagavad-gītā

Rajandran

2017

GEMA

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The article examines the use of metaphors in a prominent Hindu scripture named Bhagavadgītā. Although Hindu scriptures have been analyzed for centuries, the focus is rarely on metaphors. Bhagavad-gītā has 700 verses in 18 chapters and it records a historical conversation between Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna. Krishna teaches Arjuna philosophical concepts, which are frequently articulated through metaphors. The article selects an English translation of Bhagavad-gītā by Swami Prabhupāda and it pursues a text analysis, which is grounded in conceptual metaphor theory (CMT). The analysis identifies the source and target domains for the metaphors, and interprets their functions. The article only explores metaphors of enlightenment, as Bhagavad-gītā instructs people to become enlightened. The concept of enlightenment is conceptualized by ENLIGHTENMENT IS A JOURNEY, KNOWLEDGE IS SIGHT, KNOWLEDGE IS TASTE and KNOWLEDGE IS AN OBJECT. Bhagavad-gītā conceives people as body, mind and soul because a body and mind (matter) are required to understand a soul (spirit). It endorses four yogas or methods (devotion, meditation, transcendental knowledge, virtuous acts) to obtain the results of enlightenment, which terminate reincarnation and grant Paradise. Bhagavad-gītā lists two guides (mentor, scripture) although personal endeavor must be invested to move from matter to spirit. The article traces the choice of metaphors to physical and cultural experiences, besides the motivation of the translator. These metaphors may be inspired by the human body or ancient India but they should resonate with modern people. Moreover, Prabhupāda's translation utilizes the metaphors to make Vaishnavism comprehensible to Westerners and to validate the denomination.

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“… 13 Sreekumar (2012) offers a convincing account of a version of rule-consequentialism in the Gita's moral account that he takes to follow from its notion of lokasaṃgraha that I have translated as ‘welfare of the universe’.…”

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confidence: 99%

Consciousness and Attention in the Bhagavad Gita

Maitra¹

2022

J. of the Am. Philos. Assoc.

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Consciousness is a central topic in Hindu philosophy. This is because this philosophy understands reality in terms of brahman or atman (typically translated as the self), and consciousness is conceived as the essential marker of self. The prominent Hindu text Bhagavad Gita offers an exception. Self is conceived in the Gita not in terms of its essential identity with pure or transcendental consciousness. But the question remains, does the Gita still offer us a theory of consciousness? The goal of my paper is to show that the Gita can be taken as offering an interesting empirical theory of consciousness. My paper focuses on determining the nature of attention in the Gita's understanding of yoga, and to articulate the role of such attention in the Gita's theory of consciousness. My working conclusion is that what differentiates an ordinary person's consciousness from a yogi's consciousness is the nature of their attention both in terms of its manner and its object. I argue, further, that exploring the Gita's theory of consciousness, especially in conjunction with the nature of attention, is immensely fruitful because it allows us to see the Gita's potential contribution to our contemporary philosophical discussion of consciousness and attention. This is because bringing the Gita into discussion allows us to appreciate a dimension of the metaphysics of attention–namely, the dimension of manner of attending and its cultivation, and the moral and social implications in the proposed redirection of one's attention--not often recognized in the contemporary Western discussion.

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An Analysis of Consequentialism and Deontology in the Normative Ethics of the Bhagavadgītā

Cited by 12 publications

References 22 publications

Niṣkāmakarma and the Prisoner’s Dilemma

Niṣkāmakarma and the Prisoner’s Dilemma

From Matter to Spirit: Metaphors of Enlightenment in Bhagavad-gītā

Consciousness and Attention in the Bhagavad Gita

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