A group blog of scholars exploring Indian philosophy
Buddhist texts frequently stress the liberating power of prajñā or paññā, metaphysical insight. It is one of the three major components of the path in early texts, one of the six perfections in Mahāyāna. To know the truth about existence Continue reading Unconscious illusions
At the beginning of January, I traveled from Singapore to Kolkata to join a group of scholars from around India as well as the US and New Zealand–this was for a seminar at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture that Continue reading International Seminar at RMIC, Gol Park, Kolkata
Let me begin with a guessing game, for those readers who consider themselves relatively widely read in philosophy. I am thinking of a text that examines two different views of human beings. It examines on one hand the view that Continue reading Ultimate and conventional truth in Wilfrid Sellars
Next week I’m very pleased to be participating in a seminar at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute, Kolkata, along with co-blogger Anand Vaidya and a range of esteemed scholars (see program here). Jaysankar Lal Shaw, whose work was recently collected in Continue reading International Seminar at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute, Kolkata
A little while ago I had the pleasure of giving a guest lecture on Buddhism to David Decosimo‘s class at the Boston University School of Theology. The students were a delight to teach – smart, actively engaged, asking many questions. Continue reading Whose religion? Which science?
What is the current thought on the nature, scope, and reach of Indian philosophy? Handbooks and histories of a given area, subfield, or tradition in philosophy are always good places to start when trying to gauge the current state of Continue reading Indian Philosophy in the Global Cosmopolis
My disagreements with Charles Goodman continue with his contribution to Jake Davis’s thought-provoking volume A Mirror Is For Reflection. (I’ve previously written about Jan Westerhoff’s chapter in the same book.) Just like Westerhoff, Charles is exploring the important question of Continue reading Naturalizing Śāntideva’s eudaimonism
On Nov. 14-16, 2017 I attended a workshop called “Buddhism and Scepticism: Historical, Philosophical, and Comparative Approaches” held at the University of Hamburg. It was sponsored by the Numata Center for Buddhist Studies and the Maimonides Center for Advanced Studies Continue reading Reflections on the Hamburg “Buddhism and Scepticism” Workshop
I’ve been fortunate in the past year and a half to meet Charles Goodman at three different conferences, and to have long and stimulating discussions with him. Since our researches have both focused on Śāntideva’s ethics, we can critique each Continue reading Śāntideva vs. Singer
Do we need God to make sense of the world’s reality? Michael Dummett, who was surely not known for his religious fanatism came to this conclusion. God is, for this well-known philosopher, the objective perspective from which the world can Continue reading God and the reality of the world (on Alex Watson’s contribution to a workshop in Hawai’i)