• Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
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• v.145
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• pp.245-270
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• 2018

This article aims to examine the possibility of 'philosophy for old age' when humanity begins to reflect on old age in earnest as our country shifts to the aged society. In particular, this article aims to reframe $Ved{\bar{a}}ntic$ philosophy, i.e. a beacon of Hindu philosophy as a model of philosophy for old age, on the assumption that liberation-oriented Hindu philosophies in India can be the most suitable model to frame and apply philosophy for old age mainly at the individual level. First of all, this article identifies that liberation-oriented Hindu philosophies are nothing but a philosophy for the later part of one's life, that is, a philosophy for old age, showing that their common thoughts are very similar to the characteristics of old age. Then, it proves that three points of $Ved{\bar{a}}ntic$ philosophy, i.e. spirit supremacy, the world as an illusion, and freedom from all relations, are fully compatible with philosophy for old age. Finally, it argues that the tradition of Hindu saṃnyāsin (wonderer) embodied to the extreme in $Ved{\bar{a}}ntic$ philosophy is to establish 'old age for philosophy' beyond 'philosophy for old age.' Because $Ved{\bar{a}}ntic$ philosophy establishes saṃnyāsin of old age, which is optimized to strive for the truth as the confident subject of philosophical inquiry, so much that it exists more 'by old age' than 'for old age.' After all, according to $Ved{\bar{a}}ntic$ philosophy, as ontological and practical positivity is maximized in old age, so old age itself can be the best position to overcome not 'negativity of old age', but 'negativity of human condition' or 'negativity of life.'