All are invited to this Philosophy Department Job Talk on Wednesday 16 April from 13:30 to 15:30 in AC01 LR206. Drinks will be served.

Title: Arguing with CandrakÄ«rti

Abstract: Philosophers of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy don’t think that anything ultimately exists, nor that anything is ultimately non-existent. This radical perspective may have implications for what kinds of arguments they can rationally give in defence of their position. CandrakÄ«rti (7th c.) thought that a Madhyamaka philosopher could never autonomously argue for any thesis of their own without incurring serious logical faults. They are thus limited to demonstrating that their opponents’ positions are problematic on the opponents' own terms. I show that the notion of an ‘existential sentence’ in modern first-order logic can provide some vindication for CandrakÄ«rti’s view and clarity on the logical form of arguments which follow his advice. However, I also argue that, due to developments in metaphysics which CandrakÄ«rti could not have anticipated, his fully-formed position on the place of rational argument in Madhyamaka is not tenable in the contemporary philosophical landscape. Nevertheless, a more modest version of his perspective – limited to his core insights – may still work.

Bio: Justin P. Holder lectures at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, having recently completed his DPhil in Philosophy at The University of Oxford. His research focuses on metaphysical and epistemological issues in the dual contexts of Indian Buddhist philosophy (especially Madhyamaka) and the philosophy of science.