Print and Annotate the Following Articles in Order
Siddhartha Socratic Seminar
Part One
Print and annotate the following articles in order:
Deconstruction Definition
We are attempting to see Siddharthathrough a deconstructive lens.
Deconstruction/Meditative Thinking
Sidd does not want to be persuaded by the rhetoric of others. At the same time, he does not want to deconstruct or observe things: “a letting be.” Use evidence from this article to show how/why his inability truly to observe relates to seminar questions.
Being and Becoming
How/why does Sidd relate to Rousseau’s Man, Goethe’s Man, and Schopenhauer’s Man; explain through seminar questions.
Use direct quotations from Siddhartha and articles, combined with other western and eastern philosophy, to answer the following questions.
- Why is Siddhartha discontent at home? What do his reasons reveal about him? How does your answer relate to the Siddhartha’s feeling that “One must find the source within one’s own Self, one must possess it”? (7).
- When Siddhartha joins the Samanas, he sees through his deprivation that “everything lied” and “Life was pain.” Why do you think he comes to this conclusion? He now believes that he must let the self die.” Why? What does he mean by this?
- Why does Siddhartha believe that what he has “so far learned from the Samanas, [he] could have learned more quickly and easily in every inn in a prostitute’s quarter, among the carriers and dice players”? (16) Why is he “beginning to believe that this knowledge has no worse enemy than the man of knowledge, than learning”? (19). What does he mean? Do you agree?
- Describe Siddhartha’s struggle with the concept of being and becomingin Part 1. He sees Gotama as the only example of someone who has successfully resolved this struggle and is in a state of being. Why does Siddhartha have this view? He comes to the conclusion that knowledge and teachings are not the answer (although Govinda disagrees – why?). Why? Gotama says that opinion means nothing and that his teaching is not opinion. What is he saying about being and becoming?
- What is Siddhartha’s awakening in Part 1? Why does he believe that his
previous path was not connected to being but was part of becoming? Explain with references to his past life. What do you think about Siddhartha’s awakening?