Unknowing
Christian and Buddhist soteriological epistemology
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21597697 |
|---|---|
| Authors | James Dominic Rooney (0000-0003-0087-3218, Hong Kong Baptist University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1495-1517 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | British Journal for the History of Philosophy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0960-8788 • E-ISSN: 1469-3526 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09608788.2025.2453694 |
| OpenAlex | W4407761430 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 25 |
Buddhists point to the soteriological value not only of the dispelling of ignorance, but the arising of insight or wisdom which constitutes the salvific goal of practice. Madhyamaka’s unique conception of the ultimate nature of reality makes this cognition of what is metaphysically ultimate distinct from other kinds of knowledge, as these soteriologically valuable cognitive states aim at something unlike anything else so known: the lack of ‘own-being’, or emptiness, of all reality. After considering and rejecting some popular interpretations of the Madhyamaka Buddhist tradition regarding this soteriologically valuable epistemological state, I propose that a Thomistic conception of the Gift of Wisdom might provide a model that explains the unique nature of such insight into ultimate reality and its soteriological value. In short, wisdom involves a direct nonjudgemental veridical self-awareness arising from a good moral character, which is therefore also indirectly a direct nonjudgemental awareness of what ultimate reality is like. The final part will address the obvious dissimilarities between Christian and Buddhist metaphysics which might be thought to undermine these epistemological parallels and show, by contrast, that Christians are uniquely placed among theists in sharing many relevant features of Madhyamaka metaphysics that undergird parallels even in soteriological aims
Buddhism · Epistemology · Theology · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Philosophy · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices · Theology and Philosophy of Evil
The Non-Existence of the Real World
The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way
Engaging Buddhism
Aquinas Meets the Buddhists
Being a ‘not-quite-Buddhist theist’
Towards a Buddhist theism
Principled atheism in the Buddhist scholastic tradition
From Scepticism to Nihilism
Insight and Ascertainment
Dharmakirti's Refutation of Theism
Cross-Cultural Approaches to Consciousness
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |