A group blog of scholars exploring Indian philosophy
I’m continuing to examine Justin Whitaker‘s interpretation of Pali Buddhist ethics as Kantian moral law. I argued last time that the concept of dhamma does not serve in these texts as a universal, trans-human moral law. Here I want to Continue reading Karmic punishment is not a good thing
“Omniscience” (sārvajñya) assumes many different meanings in the various Indian philosophies. The understanding possibly most common in European and Anglo-American thought, which sees omniscience as including the knowledge of any possible thing in the past, present and future, is neither Continue reading First thoughts on omniscience in Indian thought
Philosophical Studies has recently published a short summary by Jonardon Ganeri of the project he has undertaken his ground breaking book, The Self: Naturalism, Consciousness, and the First-Person Stance. For those who don’t have the time to engage at length with Continue reading Summary paper on Ganeri’s The Self
In his interesting recent Buddhism and Political Theory, Matthew Moore sums up current scholarly work on Buddhist ethics noting “There are several major debates ongoing in the field, particularly whether early Buddhist ethics are better understood as consequentialist or a Continue reading The dhamma is not a transcendent law
As I noted last time, I think the disregard of ethics by Indian-philosophy scholars like Dan Arnold is a problem in itself: it’s a misconception of what philosophy is, and one that harmfully shrinks the field of the study of Continue reading The significance of ethics to Candrakīrti’s metaphysics
It is commonplace today for scholars of Indian philosophy to focus their attention entirely on theoretical philosophy at the expense of the practical. I think this tendency is a mistake. I see at least two grave problems with it. First: Continue reading Don’t exclude ethics from philosophy
The 9th International Indology Graduate Research Symposium (IIGRS) will be held at Ghent University (22-23.09.2017). The abstract submission date is approaching: 12th of June. Note that papers are welcomed in any topic concerning Indian civilization such as its literature, rituals, Continue reading CFP: IIGRS Ghent
Cross-posted at Love of All Wisdom. A friend read the previous post on ibn Sīnā and Śāntideva and asked (on Google+) what exactly I meant by “incompleteness”. It was a great question and made me realize there was a bit Continue reading Incompleteness in knowledge and existence
Back in February I posted about a forthcoming newsletter on the work and legacy of B. K. Matilal. As the June 1 deadline for submissions is fast approaching, I thought I’d post a reminder. Here are the details from the original Continue reading Submissions for APA Newsletter Issue on Matilal due June 1
There’s a new resource for philosophy teachers called The Deviant Philosopher. The site is developed by a team from the University of Oklahoma, which includes Amy Olberding, Wayne Riggs, Kelly Epley, and Seth Robertson. From the site: The Deviant Philosopher is a Continue reading New Resource: The Deviant Philosopher