- Engages philosophically with both Buddhism and contemporary western discourse
- Articulates the basic metaphysical framework common to Buddhist traditions
- Draws on a wide range of Buddhist literature, including primary sources
- Explores questions in metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, phenomenology, epistemology, the philosophy of language and ethics
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.
Readership: Professional philosophers, scholars of Buddhist Studies, advanced undergraduates an graduate students in philosophy and Buddhist Studies, serious lay practitioners of Buddhism.
Engaging Buddhism: Why It Matters to Philosophy, Jay L. Garfield, Oxford University Press, Paperback, 400 pages, 2015, $29.95
is Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Professor of Humanities and Head of Studies in Philosophy at Yale-NUS College, Professor of Philosophy at the National University of Singapore, Recurrent Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy at Smith College, Professor of Philosophy at Melbourne University and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at the Central University of Tibetan Studies. Professor Garfield teaches and pursues research in the philosophy of mind, foundations of cognitive science, logic, philosophy of language, Buddhist philosophy, cross-cultural hermeneutics, ethics and epistemology.
Acknowledgements Preface 1. What is Buddhist Philosophy? 2. The Metaphysical Perspective I: Interdependence and Impermanence 3. The Metaphysical Perspective II: Emptiness 4. The Self 5. Consciousness 6. Phenomenology 7. Epistemology 8. Logic and the Philosophy of Language 9. Ethics 10. Methodological Postscript References Index
|
