The Logic of Unity: The Discovery of Zero and Emptiness in Prajñāpāramitā Thought (Buddhist Studies (Dis)) - Softcover

Matsuo, Hōsaku

 
9780887063923: The Logic of Unity: The Discovery of Zero and Emptiness in Prajñāpāramitā Thought (Buddhist Studies (Dis))
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0887063926 ISBN 13: 9780887063923
Publisher: State University of New York Press, 1987

Synopsis

This clear and elegant translation reveals how a modern Japanese thinker dared to show the basic flaw of Western epistemology. In unmasking this limitation, Matsuo presents an Eastern view of a unified experience, and provides an epistemological basis for comparative philosophy.

Matsuo notes that while early Greek thought began by focusing on the right counsel ("Know thyself"), since then Western thought has been influenced by empiricistic analysis fired by the rise of scientific philosophy. The author thus turns to Eastern epistemology, in particular Buddhist thought, for clues to the unified experience. The seminal idea of emptiness (śūnyatā) plays a distinct role in this discovery. The concept of emptiness encompasses the whole dimension of perception where there is no room for separation into mind and body and/or any other form of dichotomy.

Once it is known that the total dimension of perception-the logic of unity-functions in each and every person, then and only then can the field of comparative thought and philosophy be cleared of al preconceptions and move into a more fruitful exchange of ideas. Until such a time, Matsuo claims, we are hopelessly engaged in merely refining the epistemological process without ever being able to understand the very basis of intelligence.

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About the Author

Kenneth K. Inada is Professor of Philosophy at State University of New York at Buffalo and co-editor of Buddhism and American Thinkers, also published by SUNY Press. Hōsaku Matsuo was a practicing physician and founding member of the Japanese Association of Comparative Philosophy.

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Publisher
State University of New York Press
Publication date
1987
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0887063926
ISBN 13 
9780887063923
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
168

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780887063916: The Logic of Unity: The Discovery of Zero and Emptiness in Prajñāpāramitā Thought (Buddhist Studies (Dis))

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0887063918 ISBN 13:  9780887063916
Publisher: State University of New York Press, 1987
Hardcover