Analytical Buddhism: The Two-tiered Illusion of Self - Hardcover

Albahari, M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0230007120 ISBN 13: 9780230007123

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006

Synopsis

Drawing on literature from Western philosophy, neuroscience and Buddhism (interpreted), the author argues that the self--as unified owner and thinker of thoughts--is an illusion created by a tier of naturally unified consciousness (notably absent in standa

About this title

Review:

'This is an extraordinary book. It pursues Buddhist thought as a live philosophy, not as an already set belief system. By developing insights from the Buddhist tradition with the analytic tools of modern philosophy, Albahari produces an account of self and self-awareness that is at once continuous with mainstream philosophy of mind and refreshingly original. The result is a novel brand of eliminativism about the self, one that is phenomenologically rather than scientifically inspired.' - Uriah Kriegel, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Arizona, US

Synopsis:

We spend our lives protecting an elusive self - but does the self actually exist? Drawing on literature from Western philosophy, neuroscience and Buddhism (interpreted), the author argues that there is no self. The self - as unified owner and thinker of thoughts - is an illusion created by two tiers. A tier of naturally unified consciousness (notably absent in standard bundle-theory accounts) merges with a tier of desire-driven thoughts and emotions to yield the impression of a self. So while the self, if real, would think up the thoughts, the thoughts, in reality, think up the self.

About this edition

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0230007120
• ISBN 13: 9780230007123
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 249