The basic position of Otto in The Idea of the Holy 2 may be stated as follows: All religions involve and rest on experience of the numinous, which affords a positive knowledge of the central object of religion - God. This position is what may be called a Theory of Religion: like Freud's explanation of religion in terms of father figures, and Durkheim's claim that religion is society's celebration of itself, it claims to give an explanation of the phenomenon of (...) religion - the fact that men belong to religions etc. Unlike some of its rivals, this Theory of Religion does not explain religion away; the explanation is intended to be compatible with religious belief; the explanatory concepts are supposed to be concepts from within religion. If Otto had just argued that religion was, or some religions were, true, his claims would have been only of theological interest. But what makes his writings especially important is that he looks at religion not merely as a theologian, but also as a phenomenologist; he is concerned to explain religion and religions as they are; even to explain the diversity of religions . It would be over-simple, but not entirely wide of the truth, to say that he first looks at religions in the sensitive but neutral manner of the phenomenologist, to decide what are the central phenomena of religion; and then puts forward a theological explanation of these phenomena. At least, this is what for much of his book he aims to do. (shrink)

Abstract Philosophers belonging to the Buddhist school of Sarv?stiv?da believed in the real existence of past and future dharmas. This paper explores the implications, soteriological and philosophical, of an argument for this belief presented at the beginning of an early abhidharma text. The argument is two?fold: that past states of mind can be directly perceived; and that the temporal and causal context of these states of mind, including their karmic future and the possibility of an alternative saving future, can also (...) be directly perceived. The paper relates the Sarv?stiv?dins? theory of time to Buddhist concerns with self?knowledge and with conditional?ity; and suggests that the argument is an early example of their adherence to the epistemological position of Direct Realism. (shrink)

The idea or indeed the possibility of self–change is rarely discussed in general terms, though many religious aims relate to it. I wish to introduce aset of concepts relevant to the understanding of the idea; and to exhibit the Buddhist path, as described in the Pali texts, as an example of radical self–change. The general concepts and the particular example will have muchto do with the senses in which, when a person acts or intends, the action or intention is truly (...) his; and so will involve an examination of the notion of self–control. (shrink)

The canonical texts of Early Buddhism describe and explain a way to achieve a goal. What the goal is is not immediately clear; many different descriptions are given of it, and these descriptions can be variously interpreted. It is to some extent easier to find out what is the way to achieve the goal; the texts contain frequently repeated lists of stages on this Way. The best way of starting a consideration of the nature of the goal and its moral (...) status is to examine the most important of these lists. (shrink)

I shall first describe what I take to be the parameters of the task set by my title and state certain assumptions that I shall make in what follows.

The aim of this paper is to sketch a theory about the possibility of symbolism in general; to give an account of a primary role that symbolism can play in a religion; and to argue, from the theory, that if a religion makes use of symbolism in this role, there may be a sense in which such use needs to be metaphysically validated.