The Moon Points Back

Description

The Moon Points Back comprises essays by both established scholars in Buddhist and Western philosophy and young scholars contributing to cross-cultural philosophy. It continues the program of Pointing at the Moon (Oxford University Press, 2009), integrating the approaches and insights of contemporary logic and analytic philosophy and those of Buddhist Studies to engage with Buddhist ideas in a contemporary voice. This volume demonstrates convincingly that integration of Buddhist philosophy with contemporary analytic philosophy and logic allows for novel understandings of and insights into Buddhist philosophical thought. It also shows how Buddhist philosophers can contribute to debates in contemporary Western philosophy and how contemporary philosophers and logicians can engage with Buddhist material. The essays in the volume focus on the Buddhist notion of emptiness (sunyata), exploring its relationship to core philosophical issues concerning the self, the nature of reality, logic, and epistemology. The volume closes with reflections on methodological issues raised by bringing together traditional Buddhist philosophy and contemporary analytic philosophy. This volume will be of interest to anyone interested in Buddhist philosophy or contemporary analytic philosophy and logic. But it will also be of interest to those who wish to learn how to bring together the insights and techniques of different philosophical traditions. Cover The Moon Points Back Copyright Contents Contributors Introduction 1. Persons Keeping Their Karma Together: The Reasons for the Pudgalavāda in Early Buddhism 2. On Minds, Dharmakīrti and Madhyamaka 3. On Being Humean about the Emptiness of Causation 4. Essence and Emptiness 5. The Net of Indra 6. Buddhist Reductionism and Emptiness in Huayan Perspective 7. Constructing a Logic of Emptiness: Nishitani, Jízāng, and Paraconsistency 8. Nāgārjuna’s Logic 9. Conventional Truth and Intentionality in the Work of Dharmakīrti 10. Relativism in Buddhist Philosophy: Candrakīrti on Mutual Dependence and the Basis of Convention 11. Two Truths and Method References Index