In Truth and Knowledge in an Empty World, sixteen leading experts in Buddhist philosophy tackle complex problems of how we can gain reliable knowledge when both the knower and what is known are empty of any intrinsic identity.
The Dutch-Canadian philosopher Tom J. F. Tillemans has been influential in the field of Buddhist philosophy for decades, and the sixteen contributions to this volume celebrate that influence by engaging some of his core ideas about the nature and possibility of truth and knowledge, particularly in the Madhyamaka stream of Buddhist thought initiated in India by Nāgārjuna and continued by Tibetan philosophers.
Should Buddhists refrain from analyzing quotidian truths and thus remain content with popular opinion? Or should Buddhists seek ways to critique and reform customary truths in the interest of reducing ignorance? If the latter, what criteria should guide the critique? If, as Nāgārjuna argues with his philosophy of emptiness, there are no metaphysical foundations for our epistemological practices, then to what may a Buddhist appeal in asserting that a given statement is either true or false? Readers will find here arguments about how such truths may be saved from what Tom has labeled the “dismal slough” of abject relativism.
Tillemans has offered a variety of such solutions in his publications over the years, and here scholars extend his analyses, at times vehemently disagreeing and at other times suggesting nuanced extension or improvement of his ideas. As a tribute to Tillemans, the book highlights what has been central to his work: the unceasing commitment to questioning received wisdom.
As the volume’s editor, Sara McClintock has provided a marvelous introduction that provides both an account of Tillemans’ life and intellectual journey and a taste of the immense pleasure that may arise when having a philosophical conversation with Tom Tillemans.
Contributors:
Jay L. Garfield
Mark Siderits
Dan Arnold
Sonam Thakchoe
José Ignacio Cabezón
Jonardon Ganeri
Shōryū Katsura
Chizuko Yoshimizu
John Dunne
Birgit Kellner
Kenneth Liberman
Jan Westerhoff
Sara McClintock
Pascale Hugon
David Higgins
About the Author:
Sara L. McClintock (they/them) is a Buddhist philosopher and scholar of religion whose interests converge at the intersections of ethics, metaphysics, truth, and story. They obtained their PhD from Harvard in 2002, and are now an associate professor at Emory University, where they teach graduate and undergraduate courses in Indian and Buddhist philosophy, Buddhist narrative traditions, women in Buddhism, and interpretation theory in the study of religion. A specialist in the work of Śāntarakṣita and Kamalaśīla, they also write and translate more broadly on topics in narrative, epistemology, and ethics. Their current book project is a philosophical exploration of the transactional and camouflagic nature of truth, drawing on ideas from Indian Buddhist thinkers and putting them in conversation with contemporary concerns. While not busy with teaching and research, their passion is to discover ever new ways to nourish freedom and joy in daily life.
- Paperback
- 392 pages, 6 x 9 inches
- ISBN 9798890700322
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