What is the aim of Comparative Philosophy? It is a world view in the strict sense of the word. It attempts to combine the metaphysical results of, at least, the three greatest philosophical traditions in the world, that is, India, Greece, and China. Comparative Philosophy deals with the problems present in several cultures, in search of a starting point or a clue that allows them to be framed in a new perspective. Man always insists on the same questions. What is the meaning of life? What is the best political system? Can man attain liberation or enlightenment, so that s/he can live a better way? How can we relate harmoniously to one another? The greatest philosophers have given us their solutions, or to say better, they have put such questions, leaving space for everyone to find her/his key of reading. I will give one example of the applications of Comparative Philosophy.
Confucius, Plato, and Shamkara have dealt with the meaning of life. The former could find it in ethics and in politics: in his opinion, human solidarity is essential. Men must feel themselves very close to one another. Everyone must occupy their right place in society: it is justice, in Confucian terms. Plato thought that politics and ethics could not complete man's life, and that man had to be driven to achieve knowledge. There is another reality, which we can image; in fact, we can reach it, by increasing our faculties of understanding. Shamkara taught that reality is manifold: like Plato, there is a need for seeing beyond appearances. In that way, man can attain another kind of consciousness, and know how to rightly behave towards his fellow creatures. Knowledge seems to be a common trait between Plato and Shamkara, whereas Confucius' interest seems to confine him to earthly life. But Shamkara, unlike Plato, thinks that reason must be cancelled, when a certain type of comprehension has been attained. In sum, this comparison is only a starting point, from where philosophers can produce new fruitful ideas and convictions. They may research a new way of synthesis in metaphysics.
According to Comparative Philosophy, the world is only one, and man is always in search for something. In the third millennium, it will be necessary for philosophy to overcome its limits; in particular, this will have to be the task of Western philosophers: they have to admit other possibilities of thought. The Hegelian legacy must be taken up. In the previous century, the German philosopher granted a space to Eastern philosophy (his interpretation is not free from criticism…); nowadays, we have to evaluate his opinions, and overcome them. The overcoming in Nietzschean meaning of the term will be the fate of the philosophical studies to come.
