Buddhists, Brahmins and Belief : Epistemology in South Asian Philosophy of Religion Book

Contents: Acknowledgements. Introduction: On the rational reconstruction of South Asian Philosophy. I. Buddhist foundationalism: 1. Dignaga’s transformation of Buddhist Abhidharma. 2. The problem with Buddhist foundationalism. II. The reformed epistemology of Purva Mimamsa: 3. Nobody is seen going to heaven: toward an epistemology that supports the authority of the Vedas. 4. Are the Vedas intrinsically true? Prima Facie justification and the Mimamsaka critique of Buddhist foundationalism. III. The metaphysical arguments of Madhyamaka: 5. A philosophical grammar for the study of Madhyamaka. 6. Chandrakirti against bare particulars: an expression of Madhyamika Metaphysics. 7. Is it really true that everything is empty? Candrakriti on essencelessness as the essence of things. Notes. References. Index.

"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 Chandrakirti challenged dominant Indian Buddhist view 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 Chandrakirti’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.

Chandrakirti’s arguments, in contrast, amount to a principled refusal of epistemology. Arnold contends that Chandrakirti 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 Chandrakirti’s arguments thus support a metaphysical claim represents a bold new understanding of Madhyamaka." (jacket)