Engaging Buddhism Why It Matters to Philosophy

"Jay Garfield is an expert both in analytic logic as well as on Buddhism, and this book represents an important demonstration for Western philosophers of the value of engaging with another tradition -- in this case, Buddhist philosophy -- over a wide range of topics, and the value of that engagement for contemporary philosophical practice. Garfield encourages Western philosophers to read Buddhist texts, include them in the curriculum, and to take Buddhist positions seriously, alongside other non-western traditions. The chapters here introduce important Buddhist ideas systematically, and then apply them to a topic of interest in the West; others begin with a problem and then introduce a Buddhist approach; while other chapters take more hybrid approaches. He ranges over key philosophical questions about metaphysics, consciousness, the self, epistemology, ethics, and others -- and his approach is idiosyncratic, accessible, and informal, focusing on often difficult concepts from Indian and Tibetan texts and making them graspable"--