‘Snakes and Ladders’ – ‘Therapy’ as Liberation in Nagarjuna and Wittgenstein’s Tractatus
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21394825 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joshua William Smith (0000-0002-7182-6286, University of East Anglia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 411-430 |
| Publication date | 2021-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sophia (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0038-1527 • E-ISSN: 1873-930X |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11841-020-00804-6 |
| OpenAlex | W3124586073 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 42 |
This paper reconsiders the notion that Nagarjuna and Wittgenstein’s Tractatus may only be seen as comparable under a shared ineffability thesis, that is, the idea that reality is impossible to describe in sensible discourse. Historically, Nagarjuna and the early Wittgenstein have both been widely construed as offering either metaphysical theories or attempts to refute all such theories. Instead, by employing an interpretive framework based on a ‘resolute’ reading of the Tractatus , I suggest we see their philosophical affinity in terms of a shared conception of philosophical method without proposing theses. In doing so, this offers us a new way to understand Nagarjuna’s characteristic claims both to have ‘no views’ ( Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 13.8 and 27.30) and refusal to accept that things exist ‘inherently’ or with ‘essence’ ( svabhāva ). Therefore, instead of either a view about the nature of a mind-independent ‘ultimate reality’ or a thesis concerning the rejection of such a domain, I propose that we understand Nagarjuna’s primary aim as ‘therapeutic’, that is, concerned with the dissolution of philosophical problems. However, this ‘therapy’ should neither be confined to the psychotherapeutic metaphor nor should it be taken to imply a private enlightenment only available to philosophers. Instead, for Nagarjuna and Wittgenstein, philosophical problems are cast as a source of disquiet for all of us; what their work offers is a soteriology, a means towards our salvation
Enlightenment · Epistemology · Linguistics · Metaphor · Metaphysics · Reading (process) · Sociology · Theology · Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy · Philosophy · Philosophy and Theoretical Science · Wittgensteinian philosophy and applications
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Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka
A Wittgenstein Dictionary
The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way
The Realistic Spirit
The Cardinal Problem of Philosophy
World and Life as One
Derrida and Nagarjuna A double-register deconstruction
A Criticism of M. Siderits and J. L. Garfield’s ‘Semantic Interpretation’ of Nāgārjuna’s Theory of Two Truths
Derrida on the Mend
A Mountain by Any Other Name
Wittgenstein
Schopenhauer and Wittgenstein
On the Nihilist Interpretation of Madhyamaka
Turning a Madhyamaka Trick
The nature of the Mādhyamika trick
The Positionless Middle Way
Nagarjuna and Analytic Philosophy
Nagarjuna and Analytic Philosophy, II
Pyrrhonism and Madhyamika
The Central Philosophy of Buddhism
Wittgenstein and Buddhism
Wittgenstein and Nagarjuna's Paradox
Wittgenstein and Zen Buddhism
On the Mahāyāna and Wittgenstein
Emptiness--A Study in Religious Meaning
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,75 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2024 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |