Skip to content
You are not logged in |Login  
     
Limit search to available items
Record:   Prev Next
Resources
More Information
Bestseller
BestsellerE-book
Author Arnold, Daniel Anderson, 1965-

Title Buddhists, brahmins, and belief : epistemology in South Asian philosophy of religion / Dan Arnold.

Publication Info. New York : Columbia University Press, [2005]
©2005

Item Status

Description 1 online resource (viii, 318 pages)
Physical Medium polychrome
Description text file
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-305) and index.
Summary In Buddhists, Brahmins, and Belief, Dan Arnold examines how the Brahmanical tradition of Purva Mimamsa and the writings of the seventh-century Buddhist Madhyamika philosopher Candrakirti challenged dominant Indian Buddhist views of epistemology. Arnold retrieves these two very different but equally important voices of philosophical dissent, showing them to have developed highly sophisticated and cogent critiques of influential Buddhist epistemologists such as Dignaga and Dharmakirti. His analysis - developed in conversation with modern Western philosophers like William Alston and J.L. Austin - offers an innovative reinterpretation of the Indian philosophical tradition, while suggesting that pre-modern Indian thinkers have much to contribute to contemporary philosophical debates. In logically distinct ways, Purva Mimamsa and Candrakirti's Madhyamaka opposed the influential Buddhist school of thought that emphasized the foundational character of perception. Arnold argues that Mimamsaka arguments concerning the "intrinsic validity" of the earliest Vedic scriptures are best understood as a critique of the tradition of Buddhist philosophy stemming from Dignaga. Though often dismissed as antithetical to "real philosophy," Mimamsaka thought has affinities with the reformed epistemology that has recently influenced contemporary philosophy of religion. Candrakirti's arguments, in contrast, amount to a principled refusal of epistemology. Arnold contends that Candrakirti marshals against Buddhist foundationalism an approach that resembles twentieth-century ordinary language philosophy - and does so by employing what are finally best understood as transcendental arguments. The conclusion that Candrakirti's arguments thus support a metaphysical claim represents a bold new understanding of Madhyamaka.
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Subject Knowledge, Theory of (Buddhism)
Knowledge, Theory of (Buddhism)
Mimamsa.
Mimamsa.
Mādhyamika (Buddhism)
Mādhyamika (Buddhism)
Knowledge, Theory of.
Knowledge, Theory of.
Genre/Form Electronic books.
Added Title Buddhists, brahmins, & belief
Other Form: Print version: Arnold, Daniel Anderson, 1965- Buddhists, brahmins, and belief. New York : Columbia University Press, ©2005 0231132808 (DLC) 2004065518 (OCoLC)57316839
ISBN 0231507798 (electronic book)
9780231507790 (electronic book)
Music No. EB00639356 Recorded Books