Yājñavalkya’s Concept of Ātman: A Philosophical Argument between Magic and Religion

Serhii Secundant

doi:10.31649/sent44.03.123

Authors

Serhii Secundant Odessa I.I. Mechnikov National University (Ukraine) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6724-4956

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31649/sent44.03.123

Keywords:

Upaniṣads, historical types of knowledge, philosophical cognition

Abstract

This article seeks to interpret Yājñavalkya’s teaching on ātman within the problem context of the historical types of knowledge. The focus falls not on external phenomena but on the nature of magical, religious, and philosophical knowledge, approached through the very criteria employed by Yājñavalkya himself. Within this framework, the category of religious knowledge is significantly narrowed. Such an epistemological approach enables a clearer differentiation between religious and magical knowledge within any given religious tradition.

Author Biography

Serhii Secundant, Odessa I.I. Mechnikov National University (Ukraine)

Doctor of Sciences in Philosophy, Professor

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