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This work provides an introduction to the Buddhist tradition of epistemology. Designed for readers whose background training is primarily grounded in "Western" philosophy, this book presents a range of core topics from the Buddhist tradition of epistemology and puts those topics in conversation with contemporary trends in epistemology
List of contents
- Preface
- Chapter 1: Preliminaries
- 1. Two Histories
- 2. Core Terms and Concepts
- 3. Pramana
- 4. The Episodic Nature of Cognition/Knowledge
- 5. Main Themes of the Book
- Chapter 2: Knowledge
- 1. Defining Knowledge?
- 2. Revealing the Unknown
- 3. Non-deceptive Cognition
- 4. Analytic Theories of Knowledge and 'The Standard Analysis'
- 5. Pramana and Reliabilism
- Chapter 3: Perception
- 1. Perception and Non-conceptual Awareness
- 2. Perceptual Judgment
- 3. Four Types of Perception
- 4. Reflexive Perception and Self-awareness
- 5. Perception, Illusion, and Hallucination
- Chapter 4: Inference
- 1. Two Forms of Inference
- 2. Inference and Conceptual Cognition
- 3. The Structure of Inferential Reasoning
- 4. Evidence and Entailment
- 5. Epistemic Closure
- Chapter 5: Testimony
- 1. The Nyaya Account and the Buddhist Response
- 2. Reductive and Non-reductive Theories of Testimonial Knowledge
- 3. Speakers, Hearers, and Knowledge
- 4. The Transmission Theory of Testimony
- Chapter 6: Ignorance
- 1. Mistaken Cognition
- 2. Ignorant Perception
- 3. Ignorant Veridical Conception
- Chapter 7: Skepticism
- 1. Skepticism and Skeptical Scenarios
- 2. Knowledge and Instruments of Knowledge
- 3. Nagarjuna and the Epistemic Regress Problem
- 4. The Structure of Knowledge
- Chapter 8: Sensitivity and Safety
- 1. Knowledge, Perception, and Inference
- 2. Tracking and Sensitivity
- 3. Safety and Knowledge
- 4. Discrimination and Alternatives
- Chapter 9: Internalism and Externalism
- 1. The Etiology of Cognition
- 2. Analyzing Knowledge and Internalism
- 3. Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Determination of Knowledge Status
- 4. Factive Mental Episodes and Externalism
- Chapter 10: Experimental and Cross-cultural Epistemology
- 1. Philosophical Intuitions and Experimental Epistemology
- 2. Cross-cultural Intuitions about Knowledge
- 3. The Value of Buddhist Epistemology
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
About the author
Jonathan Stoltz is a professor of philosophy at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) where he has been teaching since 2006. His scholarly research is focused on the areas of epistemology and the philosophy of logic, both in the 'Western' tradition and in the Indian and Tibetan traditions of philosophy.
Summary
This work provides an introduction to the Buddhist tradition of epistemology. Designed for readers whose background training is primarily grounded in "Western" philosophy, this book presents a range of core topics from the Buddhist tradition of epistemology and puts those topics in conversation with contemporary trends in epistemology
Additional text
This volume is a great source for those who study contemporary philosophy and seek to discover novel theories of knowledge from a Buddhist/Indian perspective.