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The Pr¿ívÖsa¬¿œÄvñgika M¿ívÖdhyamika's dependent arising and a critique of essentialist causal theories

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posted on 2023-05-27, 05:21 authored by Sangmo, T
Pr¿ívÖsa¬¿œÄvñgika M¿ívÖdhyamika philosophers claim that any causal theory that is bound up in the notion of essence (svabh¿ívÖva / rang bzhin) cannot offer us any plausible causal explanation of how things come to be what they were in the past, what they are now and what they will become in the future. This is because any notion of essence, they assert, fundamentally contradicts the interdependent nature of the causal process. As an alternative the Pr¿ívÖsa¬¿œÄvñgika M¿ívÖdhyamika proposes the doctrine of prat¿í¬¥tyasamudpad¿ívÖ (\dependent co-arising\") as its central causal theory. The doctrine of dependent co-arising enables the Pr¿ívÖsa¬¿œÄvñgika M¿ívÖdhyamika to reject a causal metaphysics of essence (svabhava) and adopt the view based on the inherent emptiness (s‚âଥnyat¿ívÖ) of the essence of causality. The objective of my dissertation is therefore to investigate how the Pr¿ívÖsa¬¿œÄvñgika M¿ívÖdhyamika [non-essentialist] philosophy applies its twin concepts: emptiness (s‚âଥnyat¿ívÖ) and dependent arising (prat¿í¬¥tyasamudpad¿ívÖ ) in the case of causality. To do this first I demonstrate the incompatible nature of causality and essence (svabh¿ívÖva) from the Pr¿ívÖsa¬¿œÄvñgika M¿ívÖdhyamika's point of view demonstrate the grounds for rejecting the notion of essence by means of providing a detailed critique of the four traditional Indian essentialist causal theories. I then offer a detailed discussion of the Pr¿ívÖsa¬¿œÄvñgika's arguments in support of the doctrine of dependent arising as a plausible account of a causal explanation and I achieve this by way of identifying emptiness with dependent arising"

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Copyright 2008 the author - The University is continuing to endeavour to trace the copyright owner(s) and in the meantime this item has been reproduced here in good faith. We would be pleased to hear from the copyright owner(s). Thesis (MA)--University of Tasmania, 2008. Includes bibliographical references

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