Cosmology, psyche and ātman in the Timaeus, the Ṛgveda and the Upaniṣads
Cosmology, psyche and ātman in the Timaeus, the Ṛgveda and the Upaniṣads
This chapter compares the Rgveda, the early Upanishads, and Plato's Timaeus for their conception of the universe, the inner self, and the relation between them. All three texts envisage the universe as a hierarchically organised system in which order (rta in the Rgveda) prevails. But only in the Timaeus is there the motivation to create a cosmos endowed with beauty and goodness. Only in the Timaeus and the Upanishads is cosmology a prerequisite for self-knowledge and ethics, and both texts lay the foundations for moral realism, the belief in the objective validity of moral values.
Keywords: Rgveda, Plato Timaeus, Upanishads, Universe, Atman, Psyche, Moral realism
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