On Pre-reflectivity of Self-consciousness in the Traditions of Advaita and Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta
Cracow Indological Studies June 14, 2019 Marcus Schmücker 2 citations
Two schools of Indian philosophy, Advaita and Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta, each apply a form of pre-reflective consciousness that corresponds to Manfred Frank's concepts of self-consciousness and self-knowledge. Advaita teaches an unchangeable, subjectless, omnipresent eternity of consciousness that cannot be related to anything else without being objectified. Viśiṣṭādvaita, as theorized by Rāmānuja and continued by Veṅkaṭanātha, reinterprets pure consciousness as objectifiable "knowledge" while presupposing an individual "I"-consciousness. This school argues that objectifying does not end consciousness, and that knowledges can be remembered over time because they are based on a constant self. The self is always in a new, changed state of knowledge, but can be immediately aware of being in a special state through different means of knowledge.