Is consciousness reflexively self‐aware? A Buddhist analysis
Ratio August 7, 2018 DOI: 10.1111/rati.12200 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Citations | 11 |
| Key points | Argues that contemporary defences of the Self-Awareness Thesis can be sorted into a fourfold taxonomy, that each type can withstand four prominent Prāsaṅgika objections, and that some defences can provisionally satisfy some Prāsaṅgika criteria for conventional truth. |
Abstract
Abstract This article examines contemporary Buddhist defences of the idea that consciousness is reflexively aware or self‐aware. Call this the Self‐Awareness Thesis. A version of this thesis was historically defended by Dignāga but rejected by Prāsaṅgika Mādhyamika Buddhists. Prāsaṅgikas invoke a distinction between two truths or realities; they deny an ultimate reality but admit the use of conventional frameworks. This article asks whether some contemporary account can withstand Prāsaṅgika critique and be accepted as conventionally true. It analyses the commitments of contemporary versions of the Self‐Awareness Thesis into a fourfold taxonomy with distinct assessment criteria and shows how each can withstand four of the most prominent Prāsaṅgika objections. This article also discusses subtle differences in Prāsaṅgika criteria for distinguishing conventional truth and falsity and concludes by demonstrating that some defenses of the Self‐Awareness Thesis can provisionally satisfy some Prāsaṅgika criteria for conventional truth.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- The Conscious Theory of Higher-Orderness September 17, 2024
- Nondual awareness: Consciousness-as-such as non-representational reflexivity. Progress in Brain Research 2019
- Nondual awareness: consciousness as such as non-representational reflexivity
- Can There Be Something it is Like to Be No One? Journal of Consciousness Studies June 1, 2024