Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka

Westerhoff, Jan:
Nāgārjuna's Madhyamaka : a philosophical investigation / Jan Westerhoff. - Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2009. - xiii, 242 S. : Ill.
ISBN 978-0-19-537521-3 / 0-19-537521-1 (Hardcover)
US$ 99,00
ISBN 978-0-19-538496-3 / 0-19-538496-2 (Paperback)
US$ 24,95

Beschreibung
The Indian philosopher Ācārya Nāgārjuna (c. 150-250 CE) was the founder of the Madhyamaka (Middle Path) school of Mahāyāna Buddhism and arguably the most influential Buddhist thinker after Buddha himself. Indeed, in the Tibetan and East Asian traditions, Nāgārjuna is often referred to as the "second Buddha."
   This book presents a survey of the whole of Nāgārjuna's philosophy based on his key philosophical writings. His primary contribution to Buddhist thought lies in the further development of the concept of śūnyatā or "emptiness." For Nāgārjuna, all phenomena are without any svabhāva, literally "own-nature" or "self-nature," and thus without any underlying substance. Particular emphasis is put on discussing Nāgārjuna's thinking as philosophy . The present discussion shows how his thoughts on metaphysics, epistemology, the self, language, and truth present a unified theory of reality with considerable systematic appeal.
   Jan Westerhoff offers a systematic account of Nāgārjuna's philosophical position. He reads Nāgārjuna in his own philosophical context, but he does not hesitate to show that the issues of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy have at least family resemblances to issues in European philosophy. This fascinating and much-needed analysis of one of India's most important philosophers is sure to interest and enlighten students of Buddhism and the European tradition alike. [Verlagsinformation]

Inhalt
Abbreviations. xi
1. Introduction. 3
2. Interpretation of Svabhāva. 19
3. The role of negation in Nāgārjuna's argumentation. 53
4. The Catuṣkoṭi or Tetralemma. 67
5. Causation. 91
6. Motion. 129
7. The Self. 153
8. Epistemology. 165
9. Language. 183
10. Conclusion: Nāgārjuna's philosophical project. 199
Bibliography. 225
Index. 239

Autor
Jan Westerhoff is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Durham, United Kingdom. Faculty profile; Homepage.

Quellen: Oxford University Press (USA); WorldCat; Amazon (Deutschland); Library of Congress.