ABSTRACT
In 2002, Thomas McEvilley published a substantial book comparing Greek and Indian philosophy. The similarities identified are ascribed to historical contacts – whether diffusion in both directions from Mesopotamia, westward spread in the Achaemenid period, or later eastward spread. Explanation by Indo-European common origin is neglected, and Dumézil’s work is oversimplified. However, for whatever reason, ideas from the common origin period can and do bypass our earliest texts.
The idea is introduced of an Indo-European pentadic ideology, potentially expressed in a proto-philosophy. Since in their philosophical thinking, both India and Greece recognize five elements, the topic is immediately relevant. The Indian list aligns elements and functions (fire, F1; wind, F2; water, F3; earth, F4−; space, F4+), and traces of such alignment occur in Zoroastrian tradition. The Greek list too is comparable: like India, Greece keeps the fifth element (ether) somewhat apart from the basic quartet. The proto-philosophy hypothesis is strengthened by the evidence presented in other chapters here for a proto-epic. Moreover, the elements are not the only philosophical topic susceptible to common origin analysis. Yoga and Sāṃkhya are major early branches of Indian philosophy: yoga was tackled in Chapter 5 and Sāṃkhya in Allen (1998).
