Metaphysics and the Buddhist Project
Buddhist Physicalism? August 5, 2025 DOI: 10.1093/9780197799697.003.0002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Key points | Argues that the Buddha's doctrine of non-self, which holds that the sense of an "I" is an illusory superimposition, requires an account of consciousness as real but subjectless, and proposes an early formulation of mereological nihilism to explain the ubiquity of the "I"-sense without an enduring subject, yielding principles that constrain any philosophical articulation of the Buddha's thought. |
Abstract
Abstract This chapter examines the foundations of Buddhist metaphysics in the teachings of the Buddha and his immediate disciples. It introduces the Buddhist soteriological project—to bring about the cessation of existential suffering—and the role played by the exercise of philosophical rationality in that project. Central to the Buddha’s diagnosis of the origins of suffering is the doctrine of non-self—the claim that the sense of an “I” represents an illusory superimposition. This necessitates development of an account that explains how consciousness might be real and yet subjectless. This in turn leads to development of an early formulation of mereological nihilism, which is deployed to explain the ubiquity of the “I”-sense in the absence of an enduring subject of consciousness. The upshot is a set of principles that will constrain any philosophical articulation of the Buddha’s thought.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |