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A podcast about Buddhist Philosophy.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Buddhist philosophy themes • existential judgment, ineffable reality, ultimate truth • Buddhism and science • Western/secular Buddhism critiques • feminist and Black feminist aesthetics (bell hooks) • women in Buddhism, Zen, Korea • Buddhist–Western philosophy engagementThis podcast explores Buddhist philosophy through conversations with scholars, using Buddhism as a lens for examining both classical philosophical problems and contemporary cultural and political questions. Across the discussions, the show returns to fundamental issues in epistemology and metaphysics, such as whether we can make defensible judgments about reality, how to think about what is “ultimately” real, and whether scientific inquiry requires any final metaphysical foundation. Related questions about ineffability and the limits of conceptual thought also appear, including whether there might be aspects of reality that resist articulation.
A recurring theme is the relationship between Buddhist traditions and modern Western intellectual frameworks. The podcast considers what it means to “engage” Buddhist philosophy from within contemporary academic philosophy, and what topics or debates Western philosophers might productively take up in dialogue with Buddhist ideas. It also addresses critical perspectives on modern or secularized forms of Buddhism, including whether a secular Buddhism is coherent, how conceptual habits can distort interpretation, and what it would mean to approach Buddhism as something like a literary or fictional framework rather than a set of doctrines to be affirmed.
Alongside these methodological and theoretical concerns, the show frequently connects Buddhist philosophy to questions of gender, embodiment, and social critique. It examines how women have participated in and been positioned within Buddhist contexts, drawing on historical figures and texts, including Zen and Mahāyāna materials on body transformation, as well as modern Korean religious and cultural settings. These conversations are placed in dialogue with feminist theory and aesthetics, including black feminist thought, to ask how Buddhist concepts might support particular ways of reading, interpreting, or resisting oppressive structures. Overall, the podcast presents Buddhist philosophy as a field of inquiry that spans metaphysics, ethics, interpretation, and lived social realities.
| Episodes: |
Episode 6 Can we make existential judgements?2021-Jan-15 42 minutes |
Episode 5 Buddhism and bell hooks2020-Jul-23 37 minutes |
Episode 4 How do women engage with Buddhist Philosophy?2020-Jul-10 47 minutes |
Episode 3 What’s wrong with Western Buddhism? with Glenn Wallis2020-Jul-02 90 minutes |
Episode 2 Engaging Buddhist Philosophy with Jay Garfield2020-Jun-24 less than a minute |
Episode 1 Why and How to Engage with Buddhist Philosophy2020-Jun-18 34 minutes |