Panentheism and the "Most Nonsensical Superstition" of Polytheism: A Critical Examination of K. C. F. Krause's Reception of Vedānta and Hindu Religion

The German philosopher K. C. F. Krause (1781-1832) found deep conceptual parallels between his panentheistic system and the Indian philosophy of Vedānta. This article critically examines Krause's understanding of Vedānta and popular Hindu religion. I argue that while Krause was correct in viewi...

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Bibliographic Details
Subtitles:"Special Issue - The Philosophy and Theology of Karl Christian Friedrich Krause"
Main Author: Medhananda, Swami (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: University of Innsbruck in cooperation with the John Hick Centre for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Birmingham 2022
In: European journal for philosophy of religion
Year: 2022, Volume: 14, Issue: 2, Pages: 187-208
Further subjects:B K. C. F. Krause
B Panentheism
B Vedanta
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:The German philosopher K. C. F. Krause (1781-1832) found deep conceptual parallels between his panentheistic system and the Indian philosophy of Vedānta. This article critically examines Krause's understanding of Vedānta and popular Hindu religion. I argue that while Krause was correct in viewing the mystical panentheistic doctrine of Vedānta as a precursor to his own philosophy, he was also frequently misled by unreliable translations and secondary texts. Krause, I suggest, was mistaken in characterizing the Hindu practice of image worship as "polytheism" and "idolatry," and I contend, from a Vedāntic standpoint, that Krause's denial of the divinity of Jesus is inconsistent with his own panentheistic metaphysics.
Contains:Enthalten in: European journal for philosophy of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.24204/ejpr.2022.3638