Schopenhauer socially engaged in India?: on Vivekananda’s possible interpretation of Schopenhauerian tat tvam asi

Abstract

This article explores philosophical elements of an unprecedented case in the reception of Arthur Schopenhauer’s metaphysics: its use in regard to the social and spiritual transformation in modern India through the German thinker’s interpretation by Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902). The Indian spiritual leader was a reader of Schopenhauerian philosophy and used the Sanskrit formula tat tvam asi (that thou art) not only as the basis of morality, as Schopenhauer did, but also as an imperative for social commitment and engagement. Among the many philosophical questions opened by this influence, we can highlight the following: how was it possible for a prescriptive connotation of an ethics that Schopenhauer conceived only descriptively? Which of Schopenhauer’s concepts were involved in this unusual appropriation? In order to present possible foundations for such "Schopenhauerian engagement", we draw on some contemporary readings of his theory of action, especially the proposal of differentiation between small and great ethics.

Keywords

• Schopenhauer
• Vivekananda
• Tat tvam asi
• Compassion
• Engagement