180186 VO-L An Introduction to the Buddhist Epistemological School (2024S)

Students in this course will:

1) gain a general overview of the main philosophical positions upheld in a tradition constituted by a group of South Asian Buddhist authors between the fifth and twelfth centuries CE;

2) acquire a basic working knowledge of the logical and rhetorical tools these authors used in arguing for their positions;

3) learn to identify different approaches to the translation and interpretation of the (mostly Sanskrit and Tibetan) sources of this tradition;

4) develop experience in weighing up the different approaches on the background of common principles of comparative philosophy.

The current of Buddhist philosophy known as the tradition of /pramāṇa/ (typically translated as “means of knowledge” or “means of valid cognition”) due to its focus on logic and epistemology had an extraordinarily strong influence on the development of philosophy in South Asia and Tibet. Studying this tradition's positions introduces students to a significant and productive chapter in the global history of philosophy. Knowledge of these positions, and of the methods by which they are established, is an important tool for any further engagement with South Asian and Tibetan philosophical thought. In exploring the authors' wider cultural background and in closely reading some of their arguments (in translation), we will reflect on current principles of comparative philosophy.