PHIL0179: Topics in Classical Indian Philosophy (19/20)

The aim of this module is to study a debate in Indian epistemology. The topic of the debate: Is it possible for us to do epistemology at all? A group of Indian Buddhists---the Mādhyamikas (literally, the followers  of the Middle Way)---said, “No.” On their view, if epistemology is construed as the positive project of explaining how we acquire different kinds of knowledge, then it is impossible, since we cannot really show that there is any way for us to know anything. A group of non-Buddhists---all part of the Nyāya tradition (literally, the science of critical inquiry)---resisted this claim. In this module, we will look a close look at the arguents that these philosophers offer. Along the way, we will see how they have important connections with a number of live questions in epistemology, e.g., about Humean scepticism, easy knowledge and epistemic bootstrapping, the knowledge norm of assertion, and the KK principle. 

Course contacts

Course Administrator