Philosopher (era)
Position
Statement
Connection
Ptahhotep (Egypt, Fifth Dynasty, around 2400 BC.)
Agreement
To live according to Ma'at, the just order, and to listen to the heart before speaking
Chaos arises from the rupture with Ma'at, the essential energy
Source : Maximes de Ptahhotep
Rishi (verses 1500-1200 AD.)
Agreement
Before the world, the One breathed without breath; the origin eludes words
Origin cannot be grasped by the mind; it must be contemplated.
Source : Rig-Véda, X, 129 (Nasadiya Sukta)
Uddalaka Aruni (9th-8th centuries BC)
Agreement
The subtle essence of every being is the Self: "You are that."
The encounter is identity with the essence, not a production of the brain
Source : Chandogya Upanishad, VI, 8-16
Thalès de Milet (624-546 by J.-C.)
Mixed
Water is the principle of everything, and everything is full of gods
The divine permeates matter, but without a distinct "immatter"
Source : Aristote, De l'âme, I, 5, 411a7
Agreement
The soul (jiva) distinguishes itself from matter (pudgala) and is liberated through discipline
The jiva is reminiscent of the "immaterial"; the Namokar mantra is a short mantra
Source : Ācārāṅga Sūtra (enseignement attribué)
Agreement
The world is number and harmony; initiatory silence precedes wisdom
Sound as the structure of reality, akin to shabda
Source : Témoignages (Porphyre, Vie de Pythagore)
Agreement
Men lend the gods their own image
The mental image of the divine is a reflection of oneself
Source : Fragments, DK 21 B15
Lao-Tseu (VIe p. of. J.-C.)
Agreement
The Tao that one can speak of is not the Tao; aiming for the height of emptiness
The encounter defies representation and description
Source : Tao Te King, 1 ; 16
Bouddha (~Ve p. of. J.-C.)
Agreement
The mind precedes all things; nirvana is the cessation of thirst.
Nirvana is not a pleasure produced by the mind
Source : Dhammapada, 1-2
Confucius (551-479 by J.-C.)
Mixed
Cultivating the heart through ritual; prudence regarding death and spirits
He links life and death, but rejects speculation about the afterlife.
Source : Entretiens, XI, 12
Agreement
Opposites agree; immortals mortal, mortals immortal; nature loves to hide
The link between life and death; the harmony hidden beneath the chaos
Source : Fragments, DK 22 B62 ; B123
Mixed
The path of truth is opposed to the opinions of mortals.
Opinions are reminiscent of representations, but the path remains that of thought.
Source : Poème, DK 28 B2 ; B8
Anaxagore de Clazomènes (~500-428 BC.)
Mixed
A pure Intellect orders the initial mixture
A non-material principle brings order to chaos
Source : Fragments, DK 59 B12
Socrate (verses 470-399 of. J.-C.)
Agreement
Knowing oneself; taking care of the soul; knowing that one does not know
Humility in the face of what the mind cannot grasp
Source : Platon, Apologie de Socrate, 21d ; 29d-30b
Leucippe (Ve p. of. J.-C.)
Disagreement
Everything comes from atoms and void, by reason and necessity
It excludes the "immaterial"
Source : Fragments, DK 67 B2
Démocrite (v. 460-v. 370 of. J.-C.)
Mixed
Only atoms and the void exist; serenity (euthymia) is the goal
He embraces calm, but closes the door to any further contact.
Source : Fragments, DK 68 B9
Platon (428-348 by J.-C.)
Agreement
We rise from images to the Good; truth is not expressed like ordinary knowledge
Stepping out of the cocoon of images to contemplate
Source : République ; Banquet ; Lettre VII, VII, 514a-517c ; 210a-212a ; 341c-d
Aristote (384-322 by J.-C.)
Mixed
Contemplation is supreme happiness; God is thought of thought
Contemplation is recognized, but as an act of the intellect.
Source : Éthique à Nicomaque ; Métaphysique, X, 7-8 ; Λ 7
Épicure (341-270 by J.-C.)
Mixed
Ataraxia comes from the absence of disturbance; death is nothing to us.
He embraces the idea of appeasement, but denies the life/death link understood as a relationship
Source : Lettre à Ménécée, 124-125
Patañjali (2nd century BC - 4th century AD, dating uncertain)
Mixed
Yoga stills the fluctuations of the mind; Om is the name of Ishvara; breath is a means
Mantra and breath are means, as you write.
Source : Yoga-Sûtra, I, 2 ; I, 27-28 ; II, 49
Bhagavad-Gîtâ (Inside, env. IIe p. of. J.-C.)
Mixed
Om, a single syllable, leads to Brahman; breath is offered as a sacrifice
Mantra and breath are an offering, not an end in themselves.
Source : Bhagavad-Gîtâ, VIII, 13 ; IV, 29
Lucrèce (v. 94-v. 55 of. J.-C.)
Disagreement
Death is nothing to us; nature explains everything without the gods.
He rejects the God/humanity relationship and the life/death relationship.
Source : De la nature, III, 830 ; I, 146-148
Agreement
Now we see in a dark mirror, so face to face
The encounter is face-to-face, beyond images.
Source : 1 Corinthiens, 13, 12
Agreement
To say at every performance: you are just a performance
Do not mistake representations for reality
Source : Manuel, 1
Évangile de Jean (Ier-IIe s.)
Agreement
In the beginning was the Word
The Word is the shabda of the Gospels
Source : Évangile selon Jean, 1, 1-4
Agreement
To withdraw into oneself; it is opinions that disturb, not things.
Back to basics, far from the hustle and bustle of images
Source : Pensées, IV, 3 ; VIII, 47
Agreement
Everything is devoid of being clean; concepts are empty.
Mental constructs are cocoons
Source : Mûlamadhyamakakârikâ, XXIV, 18
Agreement
Union with the One transcends the intellect: flight from the individual to the One
Intellect alone is not enough, as you claim.
Source : Ennéades, VI, 9, 11
Agreement
The lived world is a projection of consciousness
Mental images trap us in illusion
Source : Vasubandhu, Trente stances, 17
Augustin d'Hippone (354-430)
Agreement
Our hearts are restless until they rest in God.
The mind calms down, the heart awaits the encounter
Source : Confessions, I, 1 ; IX, 10 ; X, 27
Bhartrihari (~And so on.)
Agreement
Ultimate reality is the Word (shabda-brahman).
Shabda is the foundation of auditory contemplation
Source : Vâkyapadîya, I, 1
Denys l'Aréopagite (Ve-VIe s.)
Agreement
We approach God through negation, in a luminous darkness
Beyond all representation
Source : Théologie mystique, I, 1
Rabi'a al-Adawiyya (~717-801)
Agreement
To love God without fear of hell or hope of paradise
Free meeting, not produced by a technique
Agreement
Brahman alone is real; the apparent world is Mayan.
The representations are the veil of Maya
Source : Vivekachudamani, 20
Agreement
"I am the Truth": unity erases the self
Unity erases the selfish cocoon
Source : Kitab al-Tawasin
Abhinavagupta (v. 950-1016)
Agreement
Consciousness is wonder (camatkara) and splendor
The light of the tejas in Kashmiri Shaivism
Source : Tantraloka
Mixed
God is personal, distinct but inseparable from the soul; grace
He maintains the God/humanity relationship, not its erasure.
Source : Shri Bhashya
Agreement
Certainty comes from direct experience (dhavq), not from reasoning.
Direct contact rather than the internal resource of the mind
Source : Erreur et délivrance
Mixed
The intellect is unique and separate; conjunction is possible
The intellect is not the brain, but it remains a faculty
Source : Grand commentaire du De anima, III
Agreement
We only know God by what he is not
What the mind says about God is not God
Source : Guide des égarés, I, 58
Agreement
Knowledge is illumination, light
Neighbor of Tejas, the contemplated light
Source : Sagesse orientale (Hikmat al-Ishraq)
Mixed
Everyone worships the "god of their beliefs"; imagination can be creative.
He joins the critique of images, while also valuing the imaginal
Source : Fusus al-Hikam
Richard de Saint-Victor (†1173)
Agreement
Distinguish between thought, meditation, and contemplation.
Your three levels: reflection, meditation, contemplation
Source : Benjamin Major
Agreement
Objectless zazen (shikantaza); studying the Way is studying oneself
No support, no mantra
Source : Shōbōgenzō
Agreement
The reed (ney) weeps for its removal from the rose garden
Sound as a nostalgia for the God/humanity connection
Source : Masnavi, I, 1-18
Thomas d'Aquin (1225-1274)
Agreement
The vision of the divine essence transcends natural forces
The brain cannot reach it on its own
Source : Somme théologique, Ia, q. 12, a. 4
Maître Eckhart (~1260-1328)
Agreement
Detachment, poverty of spirit, spark of the soul
Empty the mind so that God may be born in the soul
Source : Sermon 52
Grégoire Palamas (1296-1359)
Agreement
The prayer of the heart opens us to the uncreated light.
Short mantra, breath and light: close to your triple scheme
Source : Triades pour la défense des saints hésychastes
Nicolas de Cues (1401-1464)
Agreement
Learned ignorance: knowing that one does not know
The limits of the mind in the face of infinity
Source : De la docte ignorance, I, 1
Agreement
Ik Onkar; meditation on the Name (Naam) and the Word (Shabad)
Shabad = shabda, auditory contemplation
Source : Japji Sahib, Mool Mantar (ouverture)
Thérèse d’Avila (1515-1582)
Agreement
Union is a gift from God, not the result of technology.
The encounter cannot be manufactured.
Source : Le Château intérieur, Septièmes demeures
Agreement
Breaking of the vessels, repair of the world (tikkun)
Chaos arises from a loss of essential energy
Source : Arbre de vie (Haïm Vital)
Jean de la Croix (1542-1591)
Agreement
The dark night strips away all images
Leaving behind images for naked faith
Source : Montée du Carmel, II
Giordano Bruno (1548-1600)
Mixed
The universe is infinite; ascension is achieved through images.
He retains the value of the images, which you deem illusory.
Source : Des fureurs héroïques
Agreement
The Ungrund, the bottomless abyss, precedes all things
The origin eludes representation
Source : Aurore (Aurora)
René Descartes (1596-1650)
Disagreement
Thought and body are two substances; the soul acts via the pineal gland.
Dualism similar to yours, but the soul is thought, not encounter
Source : Méditations métaphysiques ; Les Passions de l'âme, III ; art. 31
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Agreement
The heart senses God, not reason
The heart, not the brain, meets
Source : Pensées, Lafuma 424 (Brunschvicg 277-278)
Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)
Mixed
The intellectual love of God; beatitude is virtue itself
Beatitude is recognized, but obtained through reason.
Source : Éthique, V, prop. 32 cor. ; V, prop. 42
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716)
Agreement
Perception cannot be explained by mechanical reasons
The brain-machine does not explain consciousness
Source : Monadologie, 17
Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760)
Agreement
Joy and simple fervor connect with God
Hasidism: Simplicity of Prayer
Disagreement
The self is merely a collection of perceptions.
There is no human being beyond the brain
Source : Traité de la nature humaine, I, IV, 6
Emmanuel Kant (1724-1804)
Mixed
Limiting knowledge to make room for belief; a critique of mystical exaltation
Limits of the mind, but distrust of mysticism
Source : Critique de la raison pure, B XXX
Agreement
The mysterious path leads inward.
Interiority as a gateway
Source : Fragments
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
Agreement
The world is my representation; the veil of Maya
Representations trap us in illusion
Source : Le Monde comme volonté et comme représentation, I, 1
Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872)
Mixed
God is the projection of human essence
He agrees with the critique of images, but denies the God/humanity relationship
Source : L'Essence du christianisme
Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
Agreement
Faith is a leap; the qualitative difference is infinite.
The jump replaces the technique
Source : Crainte et tremblement, Problème I
Agreement
The soul's journey passes through seven valleys until it reaches unity.
Journey of the soul, not technique of the mind
Source : Les Sept Vallées
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-1886)
Agreement
God is realized in samadhi; the bee falls silent after drinking the honey
The agitated bee becomes silent upon finding the source
Source : L'Évangile de Sri Ramakrishna
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Disagreement
God is dead; a critique of idols
He criticizes the images, but denies the encounter
Source : Le Gai Savoir, 125
William James (1842-1910)
Agreement
Mystical states are ineffable and possess the quality of knowledge.
Mystical states described as real
Source : Les Variétés de l'expérience religieuse, Conférences XVI-XVII
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Disagreement
Religion is an illusion; oceanic feeling
He reduces the encounter to the psyche.
Source : L'Avenir d'une illusion ; Malaise dans la civilisation, ch. I
Edmund Husserl (1859-1938)
Mixed
The epoché suspends the natural thesis
Place the representations in parentheses
Source : Idées directrices I, 31-32
Henri Bergson (1859-1941)
Agreement
The brain is an organ of attention to life, not a producer of thought.
The brain filters, it does not produce bliss.
Source : Le cerveau et la pensée (L'Énergie spirituelle)
Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
Agreement
Prana, Om and concentration prepare for samadhi
Mantra, breath and concentration as means
Source : Raja-Yoga
Georges Gurdjieff (~1866/1877-1949)
Agreement
Man is asleep; he must awaken through self-work.
Breaking out of the selfish cocoon
Source : Récits de Belzébuth à son petit-fils
Agreement
The numinous: a mystery both formidable and fascinating
The encounter is something other than emotion.
Source : Le Sacré, ch. 4-6
Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950)
Agreement
Descent into a higher consciousness that the mind cannot produce
The mind cannot achieve by its own means
Source : La Vie divine
Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961)
Mixed
Archetypes and the Self are expressed through necessary images
Images are also passages
Source : Psychologie et religion
Agreement
The I-Thou relationship leads to the eternal Thou.
The God/Humanity Relationship
Source : Je et Tu, 3e partie
Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950)
Agreement
The "Who am I?" inquiry; breath control only soothes
Breath and mantra are aids that leave a mark on the mind.
Source : Qui suis-je ?
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955)
Agreement
Radial energy rises towards the Omega point
The world's essential energies
Source : Le Phénomène humain
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951)
Agreement
What cannot be spoken of must be kept silent; the mystic reveals himself
Silence in the face of the unspeakable
Source : Tractatus logico-philosophicus, 6.522 ; 7
Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)
Mixed
Being-towards-death; letting-be (Gelassenheit)
The link between life and death, without God
Source : Être et temps, 53
Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952)
Agreement
Aum as in cosmic vibration; Kriya Yoga and breath
Aum and breath as means towards communion
Source : Autobiographie d'un yogi, 26
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986)
Agreement
Truth is a pathless land; image feeds the ego; mantra is self-hypnosis.
He rejects mantra and breath, as you consider them limited.
Source : Se libérer du connu
Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995)
Mixed
Infinity comes to mind through the face of the other
The relationship is played out in ethics, not ecstasy.
Source : Totalité et Infini
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972)
Agreement
Radical astonishment; God is searching for man
Reciprocal relationship between God and humanity
Source : Dieu en quête de l'homme
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
Mixed
Culminating experiences naturalize the sacred
He describes the experience, without taking a position on the source.
Source : Religions, valeurs et expériences culminantes
Agreement
Pure attention is prayer; waiting for God without forcing him
The encounter is received, it does not happen.
Source : La Pesanteur et la Grâce ; Attente de Dieu
Disagreement
The absurd; refusal of the leap
He rejects the God/humanity relationship
Source : Le Mythe de Sisyphe
Agreement
Absolute Life is experienced within itself, invisible
Life is felt, not represented.
Source : C'est moi la vérité
Agreement
Ancient philosophy is a spiritual exercise
Technology is a way of life
Source : Exercices spirituels et philosophie antique
Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007)
Agreement
Simulations replace reality
The image is a disconnect from reality
Source : Simulacres et simulation
Daniel Dennett (1942-2024)
Disagreement
Consciousness is explained by brain processes.
He denies your answer "no".
Source : La Conscience expliquée
Eckhart Tolle (born in 1948)
Agreement
The self feeds on the mind and body's pain; presence liberates
The selfish cocoon and trauma
Source : Le Pouvoir du moment présent
André Comte-Sponville (born in 1952)
Mixed
A spirituality without God: the mysticism of immanence
He retains the experience, but without the relationship with God.
Source : L'Esprit de l'athéisme
Christof Koch et Giulio Tononi (born in 1960)
Mixed
Consciousness is integrated information
It remains linked to the brain, but without reducing it to it.
Source : Tononi, Consciousness as Integrated Information
Byung-Chul Han (born in 1959)
Agreement
The society of fatigue lacks rituals and contemplation.
The chaos of the world stems from forgetting to contemplate.
Source : La Société de la fatigue
Philip Goff (born in 1983)
Mixed
Consciousness is fundamental, not produced by the brain
Closer to your thesis than to materialism
Source : Galileo's Error
Rows without a source are being verified.