On Sages and Sageness in the Eyes of the European Orientalists

“Who are the sages? What characteristics do they have? What do they do, and how do they do it? What is the difference between a philosopher and a sage? Are there sages in Germany? Do some cultures have more sages than others? What is the future of sages and wisdom in today’s age of quick knowledge?”

The speaker has studied the lives and teachings of various Oriental sages and sage wisdom in Early European, Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist societies, and will share his findings with a curious and open-minded audience.

He will mainly compare German culture with Chinese and Japanese culture with respect to their traditional attitudes toward sagely beings, followed by explaining the difference between a philosopher and a sage based on definitions given by Socrates, Plato, Kant, Goethe, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Humboldt, Heidegger, Einstein etc. on the one side, and Confucius, Buddha, Zhuangzi, Mozi, Gu Hongming, Honen, Shinran, Nakae Chomin, Ji Xianlin, etc. on the other.

Thorsten Pattberg is currently Visiting Fellow at the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University.