Buddhist Perspectives on Free Will

Agentless Agency?

By: Rick Repetti (Editor)

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Paperback | 12 December 2019 | Edition Number 1

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242 Pages

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23.4 x 15.6 x 1.3

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Throughout the history of Buddhism, little has been said prior to the Twentieth Century that explicitly raises the question whether we have free will, though the Buddha rejected fatalism and some Buddhists have addressed whether karma is fatalistic. Recently, however, Buddhist and Western philosophers have begun to explicitly discuss Buddhism and free will.

This book incorporates Buddhist philosophy more explicitly into the Western analytic philosophical discussion of free will, both in order to render more perspicuous Buddhist ideas that might shed light on the Western philosophical debate, and in order to render more perspicuous the many possible positions on the free will debate that are available to Buddhist philosophy. The book covers:

Buddhist and Western perspectives on the problem of free will
The puzzle of whether free will is possible if, as Buddhists believe, there is no agent/self
Theravada views
Mahayana views
Evidential considerations from science, meditation, and skepticism

The first book to bring together classical and contemporary perspectives on free will in Buddhist thought, it is of interest to academics working on Buddhist and Western ethics, comparative philosophy, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of action, agency, and personal identity.

Industry Reviews

'This is an outstanding collection on an undertheorized, but fascinating, set of topics: Buddhist accounts of agency, free will, and moral responsibility (among others). The editor's introduction is insightful and helpful, and the authors constitute an all-star lineup in this area. I highly recommend this book.'

John Martin Fischer, University of California, Riverside, USA

'Repetti brings together a wide range of scholars to consider the notion of free will in Buddhist thought. Is free will a meaningful conjunction of terms in a Buddhist context? What constitutes freedom for a Buddhist? And what (if anything) corresponds to will? This volume tackles these tough questions and moves cross-cultural philosophy another step forward.'

Douglas Duckworth, Temple University, USA

'Buddhist philosophy and the historical problem of free will have each been of major philosophical interest for centuries, but until recently they have been studied separately and by scholars of different traditions. That is changing, thanks in large part to the work of the contributors in this volume. Rick Repetti has collected contributions from the world's leading scholars on Buddhism and free will. His insightful and engaging introduction sets the stage beautifully for philosophers and non-philosophers alike. Anyone interested in Buddhism and free will, either individually or in relation to each other, should buy this book.'

Gregg D. Caruso, SUNY Corning, USA

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