Da dove viene la paura ? Riflessioni sull'eziologia della paura nel pensiero indiano

Autori

  • Alberto Pelissero Università di Bologna

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1974-4935/4415

Parole chiave:

Hinduism, Vedānta, Śaṅkara, Upaniṣad

Abstract

The paper examines the Vedic sources of fear in ancient Indian thought. First, a connection to traditional Indian grammar (vyākaraṇa: Aṣṭādhyāyī 1,4,24-25) offers a plausible explanation for the origin of fear. Further hints for tracing the sources of fear are traced in some specific upaniṣad-s, namely Bṛhadāraṇyaka, Chāndogya, Taittirīya, with a possible reference to aesthetic context (Nāṭyaśāstra). Particular attention is dedicated to the commentary by the philosopher Śaṅkara to a pivotal passage from Bṛhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad (1,4,2). Two types of fear are hypothesized: an empirical one and a metaphysical one, possibly in parallel with the gradation of soteriological knowledge, distinguished as inferior and superior (apara, para) in the vedantic milieu.

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Pubblicato

2014-07-23

Come citare

Pelissero, A. (2014). Da dove viene la paura ? Riflessioni sull’eziologia della paura nel pensiero indiano. Governare La Paura. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1974-4935/4415