Research Catalog

Title

The golden age of Indian Buddhist philosophy / Jan Westerhoff.

Author

Westerhoff, Jan

Publication

• Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2018.
• ©2018

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xxii, 326 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

"Jan Westerhoff unfolds the story of one of the richest episodes in the history of Indian thought, the development of Buddhist philosophy in the first millennium CE. He starts from the composition of the Abhidharma works before the beginning of the common era and continues up to the time of Dharmakirti in the sixth century. This period was characterized by the development of a variety of philosophical schools and approaches that have shaped Buddhist thought up to the present day: the scholasticism of the Abhidharma, the Madhyamaka's theory of emptiness, Yogacara idealism, and the logical and epistemological works of Dinnaga and Dharmakirti. The book attempts to describe the historical development of these schools in their intellectual and cultural context, with particular emphasis on three factors that shaped the development of Buddhist philosophical thought: the need to spell out the contents of canonical texts, the discourses of the historical Buddha and the Mahayana sutras; the desire to defend their positions by sophisticated arguments against criticisms from fellow Buddhists and from non-Buddhist thinkers of classical Indian philosophy; and the need to account for insights gained through the application of specific meditative techniques. While the main focus is the period up to the sixth century CE, Westerhoff also discusses some important thinkers who influenced Buddhist thought between this time and the decline of Buddhist scholastic philosophy in India at the beginning of the thirteenth century. His aim is that the historical presentation will also allow the reader to get a better systematic grasp of key Buddhist concepts such as non-self, suffering, reincarnation, karma, and nirvana."--

Series Statement

The Oxford History of Philosophy

Uniform Title

Oxford history of philosophy.

Subjects

• Philosophy
• Philosophy > India > History
• History
• Buddhist philosophy
• India

Genre/Form

History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages [287]-307) and index.

Call Number

JFE 18-7288

ISBN

• 9780198732662
• 019873266X
• 9780191047046 (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

2017958149

OCLC

1019659911

Author

Westerhoff, Jan, author.

Title

The golden age of Indian Buddhist philosophy / Jan Westerhoff.

Publisher

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2018.

Copyright Date

©2018

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

The Oxford History of Philosophy

Oxford history of philosophy.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages [287]-307) and index.

Research Call Number

JFE 18-7288