Engaging Buddhism: Why It Matters to Philosophy

New York, US: Oxford University Press USA (2015)
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Abstract

This is a book for scholars of Western philosophy who wish to engage with Buddhist philosophy, or who simply want to extend their philosophical horizons. It is also a book for scholars of Buddhist studies who want to see how Buddhist theory articulates with contemporary philosophy. Engaging Buddhism: Why it Matters to Philosophy articulates the basic metaphysical framework common to Buddhist traditions. It then explores questions in metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, phenomenology, epistemology, the philosophy of language and ethics as they are raised and addressed in a variety of Asian Buddhist traditions. In each case the focus is on philosophical problems; in each case the connections between Buddhist and contemporary Western debates are addressed, as are the distinctive contributions that the Buddhist tradition can make to Western discussions. Engaging Buddhism is not an introduction to Buddhist philosophy, but an engagement with it, and an argument for the importance of that engagement. It does not pretend to comprehensiveness, but it does address a wide range of Buddhist traditions, emphasizing the heterogeneity and the richness of those traditions. The book concludes with methodological reflections on how to prosecute dialogue between Buddhist and Western traditions.

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Chapters

What Is “Buddhist Philosophy?”

This chapter provides an introduction to the fundamental approaches and tenets shared by all Buddhist philosophical schools. The four noble truths are introduced and explained. Buddhist doctrines and impermanence, interdependence and selflessness are discussed in general terms.

The Metaphysical Perspective I: Interdependence and Impermanence

This chapter develops the fundamental Buddhist ideas of interdependence and impermanence in more detail. The differences between the ways these ideas are articulated in different Buddhist schools are explored, and their implications for broader themes in Buddhist philosophy are set out.

The Metaphysical Perspective II: Emptiness

This chapter examines the central Buddhist metaphysical concept of emptiness. The doctrine of the two truths is explained, and its interpretations by different Buddhist schools are distinguished. The implications of taking emptiness seriously for contemporary metaphysics are also discussed... see more

The Self

This chapter addresses Buddhist conceptions of the self in various Buddhist traditions and brings them into dialogue with contemporary debates about the self in cognitive science and philosophy.

Consciousness

This chapter considers the nature of consciousness from various Buddhist points of view, and from the standpoint of analytic philosophy of mind and phenomenology. Insights from specific Buddhist traditions are used to develop critiques of positions mobilized in contemporary debates and to ... see more

Phenomenology

This chapter addresses Buddhist accounts of phenomenology, focusing on that developed in the Yogācāra school. Special attention is paid to the theory of the three natures as developed in Vasubandhu’s Trsivabhānanirdeśa. This account is brought into dialogue with the phenomenology of Husser... see more

Epistemology

This chapter considers Buddhist pramāṇa theory as an approach to epistemology, focusing on its pragmatism and on the doctrine of apoha as an account of universals. It also considers debates between Buddhist coherentists and foundationalists and the differences between Indian and Chinese ap... see more

Logic and the Philosophy of Language

This chapter considers Buddhist approaches to the question of the nature of meaning and to the nature of inference, including accounts of language as tantra. It considers Buddhist accounts of metaphor, of paradox, and Buddhist accounts of truth, falsity and the tetralemma.

Ethics

This chapter argues that Buddhist ethical theory is very different in form from Western ethical theory, and is structured as moral phenomenology. It addresses both Abhidharma ethical thought and that of the Mahāyāna, with special focus on Buddhaghosa and Śāntideva.

Methodological Postscript

This chapter offers advice regarding how to engage in cross-cultural philosophy. Attention is paid to the challenges posed by translation and by interpretation of texts outside of the traditions in which they were composed. The task of engaging in conversation across boundaries is characte... see more

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Jay Garfield
Smith College

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