Wittgenstein and Zen: a comparison

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Date

2010

Author

Ercan, Ahmet Bora

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This thesis is a comparison of the philosophical systems of Zen Buddhism, which is an Eastern Philosophy, with Ludwig Wittgenstein's philosophical studies, who is an extraordinaryname of the Western Philosophy şn the 20th century. The history and sources of Zen Buddhism were given its adoption in the use of language and arts. Besides, this study exemplifies the philosophy of Zen Buddhism with the examples from the life story of Wittgenstein.The thesis is written with a full awareness of the sensitivity of comparing different systems which always embody counter examples and speculations. This is the reason why speculative ideas and resources were deliberately ignored. The aim is to contribute the cultural life of Turkey by taking such a subject to the academic milieu. Moreover, Turkey is the passage of the east and the west both geographically and culturally. There are resemblances between Zen and Wittgenstein by means of method and the use of language. Furthermore, it was given the names of the books that Wittgenstein read and philosophers who influenced Wittgenstein. The parallels between Zen and Wittgenstein are justified.

Subject Keywords

Philosophy., Buddhism., Cosmology.

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12611853/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/19457

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis

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Citation Formats

A. B. Ercan, “Wittgenstein and Zen: a comparison,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2010.