Wisdom Dharma Chat | Mark Siderits
July 9, 2025
In this episode of Wisdom Dharma Chats, host Daniel Aitken welcomes back renowned philosopher Mark Siderits for an illuminating conversation on Buddhist philosophy. The discussion begins with a quick review of the structure of Mark’s two online courses—Buddhism as Philosophy: Non-self and Reality and Buddhism as Philosophy: Yogācāra and Madhyamaka—noting how they model the development of different schools of Buddhist thought. From there, they dive into the concept of emptiness and how the Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, and Yogācāra traditions each approach it. As the conversation flows, they explore key concepts including dharmas, perception, and intrinsic natures. Together, they also examine philosophical views on reality, critiques of personal identity, and the role of language in understanding consciousness and the self.
Show Links:
- Buddhism as Philosophy: Non-self and Reality
- Buddhism as Philosophy: Yogācāra and Madhyamaka
- Buddhism as Philosophy
- Nāgārjuna’s Middle Way
Meet Our Guest
Mark Siderits
Mark Siderits was trained in Asian and Western philosophy at the University of Hawaii and Yale University. He has taught both Asian and Western philosophy, for many years at Illinois State University and most recently as Professor of philosophy at Seoul National University, from which he retired in 2012. He is the author or editor of five books and has published numerous articles on a wide variety of subjects in Indian Buddhist philosophy and comparative philosophy. Much of his work aims at building bridges between the classical Indian tradition and contemporary philosophy, by using insights from one tradition to cast light on problems arising in the other.
