Essays On Vedanta and Western Philosophies Philosophical issues such as reality and appearance, God and world, self and not-self, rebirth and immortality, free will and determination, mysticism, etc., have been examined by eastern and western philosophers as far back as the sages of Upanishads (700 BCE) in the East, and Plato (400 BCE) in the West. However, there was no significant communication among the philosophers of the East and West perhaps until the eighteenth century. Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was one of the first among the great western philosophers to recognize the value of Indian philosophies. Despite the lack of communication there are striking similarities of concepts and issues addressed by Indian and western philosophies.