印度における二元論の哲學

Abstract

The philosophy of classical Samkhya has been characterized as a dualism with the two ultimate principles of Nature (prakriti) and Spirit (atman). Prakriti is the unmanifested primary cause, out of which is evolved the empirical world or the manifested prakriti. The manifested prakriti is said to have the characteristic of a world of immediate experience where the individuating principle or "egoism" (ahamkara) is dominant. According to Samkhya, the manifested prakriti, the individualized world, is by itself ignorant of the distinction between itself and the atman. The manifested prakriti and the atman are diametrically opposed in nature. Prakriti is active, while atman is without action. The atman is the seer, experiencer, and knower (jna) of the manifested prakriti. On the other hand, the unmanifested prakriti is the uncaused cause of all; as such, it is eternal and indestructible. It is one, all pervasive, formless, etc.: the same traits that Samkhya gives to the atman or spirit. The two principles of prakriti and atman, therefore, are not contrary to each other, but form one and the same reality. Virtually the two principles act as one, through the seeing or contemplation (darcana) by atman of prakriti. The atman's seeing or knowing can not be realized without the manifested prakriti, which is atman's medium for realizing itself. The selrealization of the atman is no more than the atman's self-finding based on discriminating itself from the manifested prakriti. Such a discriminative knowledge should be inherent in the atman, but, at the same time, it must be the prakriti's true knowledge (abhyantara-jnana or internal knowledge) whereby its true nature may be comprehended as the evolution of the unmanifested prakriti, which is also the self-realization of the atman's contemplation. Hence the relation of the two ultimate principles should be expressed as one of identity-in-difference. This character prevents the philosophy of Samkhya from being called a dualism pure and simple.