Huston Smith: The World's Philosophies (excerpt) -- A Thinking Allowed DVD w/ Jeffrey Mishlove

NOTE: This is an excerpt from the two-part, 60-minute DVD.
http://www.thinkingallowed.com/2hsmith.html

Philosopher Huston Smith points out that we confront three essential relationships with nature, with other people, and with ourselves, and that these relationships correspond to the enduring philosophical traditions of the West, of China and of India. He also argues that human history may be divided into four philosophical epochs archaic, traditional, modern and post-modern.

Huston Smith is emeritus professor of philosophy at Syracuse University. He has also taught at M.I.T. and at U.C. Berkeley. He is author of The World's Religions, The Primordial Tradition and Beyond the Post-Modern Mind.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Huston Smith
• philosophy
• comparative philosophy
• comparative religion
• Thinking Allowed

[winstono75]

This guy and Terrence McKenna have a very similar way of speaking.

[perobaization]

I think what he is trying to say that the over all cultures of all three regions have the emphasis on one of the three questions. They each have an answer to the questions but each emphasises one.

[amansreport]

I don't agree with the hypothesis that religions of the three regions dealt with three different things: Nature(Science), Inner-Self, and . I can give examples from various religions. Ancient Hindu's were great cosmologists and mathematicians, they developed ayurveda medicine, etc etc.. The Christian Church is usually seen calling the scientists as "evil". Dr. Smith has confused development of science and understanding nature with religion. Space is limited, there are many Buddhist examples too.