Spring 2023 Philosophy GR6905 section AU1

BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY

Call Number 18823
Day & Time
Location
W 6:10pm-8:00pm
OTHR OTHER
Points 0
Grading Mode Ungraded
Approvals Required None
Instructor Allison Aitken
Type SEMINAR
Method of Instruction In-Person
Course Description

Buddhist philosophers generally agree about what doesn’t exist: an enduring, unitary, and
independent self. But there is surprisingly little consensus across Buddhist traditions about what
does exist and what it’s like. In this course, we will examine several Buddhist theories about the
nature and structure of reality and consider the epistemological and ethical implications of these
radically different pictures of the world. We will analyze and evaluate arguments from some of
the most influential Indian Buddhist philosophers from the second to the eleventh centuries,
including Nāgārjuna, Vasubandhu, Dignāga, Candrakīrti, Śāntarakṣita, Śāntideva, and
Ratnakīrti. Topics will include the existence and nature of the external world, the mind, and the
self; practical and epistemological implications of the Buddhist no-self principle; personal
identity; the problem of other minds; and causal determinism and moral responsibility.

Web Site Vergil
Department Auditing
Enrollment 3 students (3 max) as of 6:06PM Thursday, March 28, 2024
Status Full
Subject Philosophy
Number GR6905
Section AU1
Division Interfaculty
Campus Morningside
Note AUDITING STUDENTS ONLY; SEARCH NON-AUDITING SECTION IN DOC
Section key 20231PHIL6905GAU1