Review of Rick Repetti, Buddhism, Meditation, and Free Will: A Theory of Mental Freedom
December 31, 2020 DOI: 10.31231/osf.io/qcbkh (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Key findings | There is no necessary Buddhist position on free will, and Buddhist silence on the issue can inform contemporary free will skepticism about liberation. |
Abstract
In this extended review, I provide a brief overview of Rick Repetti's arguments in Buddhism, Meditation, and Free Will: A Theory of Mental Freedom. I then propose that South Asian Buddhist philosophy should be seen as providing an alternative way of thinking about questions regarding freedom and agency. More specifically, I ague that there isn’t anything that a Buddhist must say about free will; and that paying attention to their silence on the issue may be useful in thinking about what a contemporary free will skeptic should say about individual and collective liberation.