Buddhist Epistemology: (Contributions in Philosophy) [Hardcover]

S. R. Bhatt (Author), Anu Mehrotra (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0313310874 | ISBN-13: 978-0313310874 | Edition: annotated edition

Knowledge plays a very significant role in Buddhism, as it is the gateway to enlightenment and nirvana. This volume provides a clear and exhaustive exposition of Buddhist epistemology and logic, based on the works of classical thinkers such as Vasubandhu, Dinnaga, and Dharmakiriti. It traces the historical development of this theory, identifies the most important schools and thinkers, and defines its main concepts--the criteria of truth, the nature of reality, and the concepts of perception and inference, the only two sources of knowledge accepted in Buddhist philosophy. The appendix contains the Sanskrit original and an annotated translation of Nyaya Pravesa, a key text of Buddhist epistemology, which discusses the nature of perception and inference and their fallacies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“There is a dearth of material in English serving as a general introduction to the work of the Buddhist epistemologists, and this book is useful as guide to their views and the controversies they engaged in.”–Journal of Asian and African Studies

“This valuable book sheds light on abstruse topics and will allow readers to gain a clearer appreciation of the depths of Buddhists knowledge,”–Educational Book Review

About the Author

S. R. BHATT is Senior Professor of Philosophy at Delhi University.

ANU MEHROTRA is senior scholar of Philosophy at Delhi University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press; annotated edition edition (May 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313310874
• ISBN-13: 978-0313310874
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,857,216 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Breathtaking, December 16, 2004

By 

Wu Ming (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Buddhist Epistemology: (Contributions in Philosophy) (Hardcover)

I am a philosophy fiend, and when I went to my library to pick up works by Husserl and Wittgenstein, I ambled down to the eastern section and took sight of this book. After opening to the foreword and then reading the introduction, I was hooked. I could not believe, one how well the thoughts flowed and two how the ideas in Buddhism and have been once again shown to powerful and greatly influential. Though some passages had to be read again, just like any philosophical work, in order to fully grasp the whole concept the reader must think. But that is the whole goal of philosophy and the dialectic process, right? This book certainly made me think and made me go back through my many many years of philosophy to grasp the remarkable notions. To just recommend this book would do it injustice; this book deserved both a recommendation and a thoughtful discussion of its ideas. Without books like this, the world would surely be an irksome place to reside.