Anti‐Cartesian Meditations: The Buddhist Challenge to Folk Psychology
Forum on 15
January 22, 2020
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
For some time now philosophers and scientists have argued that the intuitive idea of a self, soul, or mind as an entity distinct from the brain and body is a fundamentally incoherent notion. And yet, decades of philosophical and scientific critique have failed to dislodge this “commonsense dualism” from our speech and thought. In this talk I explore the intriguing possibility that the cognate discourse of selflessness in the Buddhist tradition was intended to do precisely that: to undermine our naïve, “folk” conception of an autonomous agent or self ensconced in the body.
Co-sponsored by the Department of Philosophy.
Date posted
Dec 20, 2019
Date updated
Dec 20, 2019