PHIL 320 Handout 3: Heterodoxy: Charvaka and Jainism

I. Recall the three Heterodox Darashanas (they reject the authority of the Vedas as well as the caste system):

A. Charvaka: The Materialist school (see below).

B. Jainism: The Dualist Ascetic school (see below).

C. Buddhism: The Middle Path (more later).

II. Charvaka

A. Epistemology: Empiricism.

B. Metaphysics: Materialism.

C. Ethics: Modified Hedonism (pleasure is intrinsically good; maximize it). It is Epicurean as well; Charvaka argued against selfishness and in favor of compassion as the proper means to increase one’s own true happiness and pleasure.

D. Attitude Toward Religion (i.e., the Vedic Tradtion)

1. Religion is foolishness, a kind of disease.

2. Particularly critical of Brahmin priesthood.

3. There is no evidence of an afterlife.

4. The “soul” is an illusion; consciousness arises from purely material causes.

5. There are no gods.

III. Jainism

A. Jains trace their lineage back to a long list of Jinas (conquerors) or Tirthankaras (ford-makers)

B. Historically, the “founder” of the tradition is known as Mahavira (Great Hero), who like the Buddha was born in the Ksatriya caste but renounced all his wealth and power to follow a spiritual and extremely ascetic path.

C. Jainism rejects the Vedas and is atheistic. There are no gods to who one can pray, and no spiritual beings can help you on the path. This is why in Jain temples to this day there are no images of divine beings; that is idolatry; instead there are images usually of Mahavira which are meant to inspire rigorous spiritual practice.

D. Basic Jain Metaphysics, Epistemology, and Soteriology:

1. The cause of human suffering is karmic matter. Karma is literally material. There are at least eight kinds of karma that will determine one’s lot in a lifetime.

2. Jains are Dualists: There are two kinds of reality jiva (soul or life principle) and ajiva or pudgala (minds and matter). While there are an infinite number of substances under each category, everything is basically a soul or not.

3. Karma is a subtle form of matter that sticks to the soul causing it remain in the wheel of rebirths.

4. While for the Hindu and Buddhist school, karma is conceived of as mainly a moral and psychological principle, for the Jains it is also a physical force.

5. Salvation = moksha, the liberation of the soul to its natural non-physical state.

6. One impediment to liberation is ignorance. The Jain position is that knowledge cannot come from sense experience, which are by their nature defiled by contact with the body, nor is reason to be trusted. Instead, knowledge is achieved by direct experiential insight.

7. Ultimately, once liberatin is achieved, the practitioner achieves kevalajna (omniscience).