Mark Siderits: Buddhism as Philosophy (#152)
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This Wisdom Podcast features translator and philosopher Mark Siderits, trained in Asian and Western philosophy at the University of Hawaii and Yale University. Mark has taught both Asian and Western philosophy for many years at Illinois State University, and as Professor of philosophy at Seoul National University. He is the author or editor of five books including “Nāgārjuna’s Middle Way” 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.
In this episode, host Daniel Aitken and Mark discuss
- Mark’s introduction to Western and Asian philosophy through D.T. Suzuki, Alan Watts, and Ludwig Wittgenstein;
- metaphysics and soteriology in Buddhist and western philosophy;
- tensions between modern Buddhism and the cognitive sciences;
- Nāgārjuna and Zeno’s paradoxes;
- Mark’s comparative work in Abhidharma, Mādhyamaka, and Wittgensteinian philosophies;
- the two truths and practical soteriology in by Bhāvaviveka and Candrakīrti;
- and much more!
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About the Interviewee
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.
