Indian Philosophy, Part III

Indian philosophical reflection interacted with Vedic ritualist and non-Vedic meditative practices.

The orthodox philosophical systems accept the authority of the Vedas including the Upanishads, the end of the Vedas, "Vedanta."

Of the six orthodox systems:

four systematize logic, atomism, soul pluralism and ritualism, respectively;
the Yoga system synthesizes meditation with the soul pluralism of the Samkhya system;
the Vedanta system synthesizes meditation with Upanishadic theism or monism.

Of the three unorthodox systems:

Jainism formulates meditation as soul pluralist asceticism;
Carvaka is materialist and hedonist;
thus, they are a thesis and its antithesis;
Buddhism synthesizes meditation with a philosophical critique of souls and presents a middle way between asceticism and hedonism;
thus, it synthesizes aspects of Jainism and Carvaka.

I accept:

philosophical reflection
meditation
logic
modern atomic theory
monism
philosophical materialism
Buddhist "no soul" teaching and middle way

and reject:

ritualism
soul pluralism
theism
asceticism
hedonism