The Three Steps in a Complete Philosophy

A unified or complete philosophy cannot subscribe to any partial or prejudiced standpoint. The True, the Good and the Beautiful are triple expressions generally treated together. In Vedanta the inseparable aspects of sai-cit-ananda (existence-subsistence-value) similarly belong together in a unified Science of the Absolute. Pure ontological existence has an added significance only when it is proved to be lasting and not transient. A correction is thus applied by reason to what is given to the senses as a simple datum. Even a lasting thing cannot be significant to human life just because it endures. It has to enter into human life as some item that is helpful in making life happy or at least tree from avoidable suffering. Philosophers who refuse to treat value-judgement as part of philosophy only show their partiality. To do this in the name of science, preferring logical norms to anything flavoring of a sentimental preference such as the god of a certain religion, or ethics, is a mistake.

We have examined elsewhere how this prejudice had its origin in the excesses of the Inquisition. The history of Christianity ever since it parted company with pagan wisdom and philosophy, is marked with the opposition that developed between Church dogma and scientific and pagan belief. Besides having carefully to accept or reject dogma and heresy even certain mystics like Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, John van Ruysbroeck and St. John of the Cross were persecuted by the Church authorities. The story of such a development is a long and tortuous one to follow. Value-judgements were incorporated into Church dogma during the Middle Ages. Yet outside the official Church the mystics somehow managed to keep up a tradition of their own. This is where we find absolutist values, free from narrow dogma preserved intact, presenting a surprising richness and variety. After being excluded from philosophy for a long time we find a tendency recently to revive both axiology and epistemology.

The Good of Plato is found in classical philosophy, and the idea of the Christian God depends on this supreme axiological factor if it is to go beyond a Semitic interpretation. In order to mark out this idea of goodness so fundamental to Christian values, it must be remembered that first of all Plato was revalued in a revised version by the pagan philosopher Plotinus who also had a tremendous influence on Christianity. Another interesting pagan philosopher was the Emperor Julian, called an apostate by the Church, although he never formally belonged to it at all during his adult life. Julian depended largely on Plato and his highest value was Helios or the Sun. He conceives of Helios in three ways, first as transcendental, secondly as Helios-Mithras, and thirdly as the visible Sun.