Hume and Buddhism

The body of the work is focused on a comparison between David Hume, on the one hand, and two Buddhist figures, on the other hand: Buddhaghosa and N g rjuna. The book analyzes some of the challenges surrounding a comparative discussion between Western philosophy and Asian systems of thought from a perspective grounded in academic philosophy, and some of the current issues which surround comparisons between religions in religious studies. There is an examination of the life of Hume and his notion of personal identity where Hume argues that we are merely a bundle of perceptions and nothing more. The work examines the life of Buddhaghosa and his view of personal identity. After this, Hume and Buddhaghosa s notions of the self are compared, as well as Hume and N g rjuna s skepticism. The book concludes with an examination of Hume s moral sentiments and the use of Buddhist meditation to advance Hume s hypothesis.

Autorentext

David Long received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of California, Riverside in 2009. His areas of interest include: Modern Philosophy, Ancient Greek Philosophy, and Asian Philosophy. In addition to conducting scholarly research in Asian Philosophy, David has spent many years practicing Buddhist meditation and Chinese Tai Chi.