Abstract

For scholars who read Buddhist material, the title The Emptiness of Emptiness has a familiar ring; for others it is often, at best, a puzzling claim of the "mysterious East." For both types of readers, this book is of interest. For the latter it is a clear statement of the fact that Buddhist philosophy arises in a context of "transformative philosophy," whose goal is comprehensive freedom, and it is a warning against interpreting emptiness either as a nihilist or an essentialist ...

Abstract

Huntington (2007); argues that recent commentators (Robinson, 1957; Hayes, 1994; Tillemans, 1999; Garfield and Priest, 2002) err in attributing to Nāgārjuna and Candrakīrti a commitment to rationality and to the use of argument, and that these commentators do violence to the Madhyamaka project by using rational reconstruction in their interpretation of Nāgārjuna’s and Candrakīrti’s texts. Huntington argues instead that mādhyamikas reject reasoning, distrust logic and do not offer arguments. He also argues that interpreters ought to recuse themselves from argument in ...

Abstract

ploaded by smithcollegevideos on Sep 23, 2010. Jay Garfeild, Doris Silbert Professor, Philosophy and C. W. Huntington (Hartwick College.) Find out more and watch the entire symposium here: http://www.smith.edu/buddhism/event-mmsymp.php ...

Abstract

This three-day symposium at Smith College extended a conversation that was begun in 2008 in two articles in the Journal of Indian Philosophy—one (PDF) by C. W. Huntington of Hartwick College, and the other (PDF) by Jay Garfield of Smith College—on the question of how to read and interpret Buddhist Madhyamaka texts. The crux of the issue is how to make sense of the argumentation that we find in these texts, while also taking seriously the Madhyamaka critique of all views, ...

Abstract

Abstract: Huntington (2007)argues that recent commentators (Robinson, 1957; Hayes,1994; Tillemans,1999; Garfield and Priest, 2002) err in attributing to Nagarjuna and Candrakirti a commitment to rationality and to the use of argument, and that these commentators do violence to the Madhyamaka project by using rational reconstruction in their interpretation of Nagarjuna’s and Candrakirti’s texts. Huntington argues instead that madhyamikas reject reasoning, distrust logic and do not offer arguments. He also ...

Abstract

Abstract: This paper evaluates several recent efforts to interpret the work of Nagarjuna through the lens of modern symbolic logic. An attempt is made to uncover the premises that justify the use of symbolic logic for this purpose. This is accomplished through a discussion of (1) the historical origins of those premises in the Indian and Tibetan traditions, and (2) how such assumptions prejudice our understanding of Nagarjuna’s insistence that he has no proposition (pratijna). Finally, the paper sets forth an alternative interpretation that takes into ...

Abstract

The Madhyamika or middle way, a school of Buddhist thought that originated in India in the second century, was a decisive influence on the subsequent development of Mahayana Buddhism. In a new approach, this book reconsiders the central doctrine of emptiness and shows that the Madhyamika critique of all philosophical views is both subtler and more radical than most western interpretations indicate. In this analysis, the self deconstructing categories of Nagarjuna and his immediate followers emerge as an edifying philosophy that ...

Note (first note only)

From Greg

This is a beautiful translation and commentary on Chandrakirti's great Entry into the Middle Way. Madhyamika claims to be a self-deconstructing path. How can this be? Can one really be left without any views at all? There are various ways to explain how this can work. Jay Garfield explains it one way (see Chapters 3 and 5 of his Empty Words ) -- and in this book Huntington does it another way, in ways reminiscent of

Abstract

Pyrrhonism is commonly confused with scepticism in Western philosophy. Unlike sceptics, who believe there are no true beliefs, Pyrrhonists suspend judgment about all beliefs, including the belief that there are no true beliefs. Pyrrhonism was developed by a line of ancient Greek philosophers, from its founder Pyrrho of Elis in the fourth century BCE through Sextus Empiricus in the second century CE. Pyrrhonists offer no view, theory, or knowledge about the world, but recommend instead a practice, a distinct way of ...

Note (first note only)

From Greg

This is a very accessible introduction to both ancient Pyrrhonism and Madhyamika as well. Kuzminski details many parallels between them and wonders whether there was more historical interaction between ancient Greece and India than we normally suspect. Foreword by C.W Huntington, author of the groundbreaking Emptiness of Emptiness For research into the history of east-west interaction in ancient times, see The Shape of Ancient Thought

Abstract

This paper evaluates several recent efforts to interpret the work of Nāgārjuna through the lens of modern symbolic logic. An attempt is made to uncover the premises that justify the use of symbolic logic for this purpose. This is accomplished through a discussion of (1) the historical origins of those premises in the Indian and Tibetan traditions, and (2) how such assumptions prejudice our understanding of Nāgā rjuna’s insistence that he has no “proposition” (pratijñā). Finally, the paper sets forth an ...