The Philosophy of Mind of Kundakunda and Umāsvāti
Oxford Handbooks Online August 6, 2015 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199314621.013.13 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that Kundakunda and Umāsvāti define cognitive faculties as processes or manners through which the self uses the physical sensory apparatus, and that Kundakunda's claim that the self consists in cognition influences their classification of faculties and the distinction between perceptual experience and cognition. |
Abstract
Kundakunda and Umāsvāti are among the first philosophers in Jainism to lay foundations for of Jaina philosophy of mind. A key concept in their philosophy of mind is that of a cognitive faculty, located in and constitutive of the self. Cognitive faculties should be understood as processes or manners through which the self makes use of the physical sensory apparatus, as well as the actual application of the self’s cognitive potential. This chapter discusses the complex structures of cognitive faculties. Kundakunda takes the self, the cognitive subject, to consist in cognition, a claim which influences the way both thinkers classify cognitive faculties and the important distinction between perceptual experience and cognition.