Diana Chao Decock

Schopenhauer's admiration for Indian wisdom runs through most of his writings. In them he makes use of Hindu concepts and expressions, such as the Sanskrit formula tat tvam asi (thou art that). The German philosopher undestands tat tvam asi as the basis of morality, which despite being intuited by Indian sages, it was perfected in his own philosophy. Schopenhauer believes he is briging the rational and abstract clarity of the immediate knowledge of the metaphysical identity of all beings, as well as its ethical consequences: compassion and the denial of the will to live, without supposing that eventually his interpretation could impact Hinduism, or as Hacker has put it "neo-Hinduism". Hacker, a key indologists of the 20th century, introduces "neo-Hinduism" as a category into academia and explore the connections of Schopenhauer's theoretical influence in Vivekananda to formulate his argument. Vivekananda, a key spiritual leader of modern India, would have, according to Hacker, integrated Western elements to Hinduism. Influenced by the Schopenhauerian interpretation of at tat tvam asi, Vivekananda changes his view on quietism and establishes a new moral, focusing in compassion and social engagement. However, Hacker's theory faces serious issues, both methodological and epistemic, with the consequence of depreciating contemporary Hindu thought - especially Vivekananda's. This research will demonstrate Hacker's theoretical weakness and the creative and interpretive capacity of Schopenhauer and Vivekananda, whose different philosophical bases and foundations, brought a new contribution to tat tvam asi. The dissertation is divided in 3 parts. First, the Schopenhauerian interpretation of the Sanskrit formula is analyzed, according to its epistemic bases and the ethical consequences of tat tvam asi. Second, it is demonstrated how Schopenhauer's influence in Vivekananda was used by Hacker to illustrate and justify "neo-Hinduism, a category strongly criticized by contemporary indologists. And, following the steps of contemporary scholars who aim to deconstruct the idea of "neo-Hinduism", the third and last part of the dissertation denounces Hacker's epistemic inaccuracies, showing that there is no change or rupture in Vivekananda's moral considerations after he starts using the expression tat tvam asi. Vivekananda appropriates the Schopenhauerian interpretation of tat tvam asi to justify the basis of morality and the social engagement, necessary, in his view, for the activism of hidus. Vivekananda, like Schopenhauer, produces an innovative view of tat tvam asi and his originality should not delegitimize his thinking, as would Hacker, which, using Western lenses, made Vivekananda less Hindu than an alleged "traditional Hinduism".