Abhinavagupta's Panentheism in Dialogue with Contemporary Neuroscience
July 10, 2023 DOI: 10.4324/9781003301431-2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Abhinavagupta's articulation of consciousness as vimarśa is better suited than cit or samvit for determining sentience, and that comparing his panentheism with IIT 3.0 brings to the forefront an often overlooked premise underlying IIT 3.0's ontological framework: the implicit and requisite assumption of subjectivity within materiality. |
Abstract
This chapter offers a comparative assessment of the 11th-century Hindu philosopher Abhinavagupta’s nondualist Tantric panentheism, the Pratyabhijñā, or Recognition philosophy in relation to a contemporary, currently popular neuroscientific theory addressing the relation between the mind and the body, Integrated Information Theory (IIT 3.0). Drawing on earlier work pointing to the logical similarities IIT 3.0 bears to Abhinavagupta’s 11th-century model of panentheism with regard to the idea of information as something which is both material and mental, this chapter extends this analysis to the question of how it is that things and entities are classified as sentient or not. While much of Indian philosophy engages with the concept of consciousness, often writ in large and abstract terms, as cit , or samvit , this chapter suggests that Abhinavagupta’s articulation of consciousness as vimarśa may be better suited as a concept for determining the status of sentience. This analysis of Abhinavagupta’s panentheism, particularly with the concept of vimarśa , brings to the forefront a crucial and often somewhat overlooked premise underlying IIT 3.0’s ontological framework: the implicit and requisite assumption of subjectivity within materiality.