Mark Siderits: Buddhism as Philosophy: Part 2 (#212)
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This episode, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features special guest, Mark Siderits. In this episode hosted by Daniel Aiken, Mark embarks on an illuminating conversation surrounding Buddhist philosophy. They discuss the structure and content of his two online courses—Buddhism as Philosophy: Non-self and Reality and Buddhism as Philosophy: Yogācāra and Madhyamaka. From there, they dive into the concept of emptiness and how the Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, and Yogācāra traditions each approach it. Mark studied at the University of Hawaii and Yale, has taught extensively, and authored several books on Asian and Western philosophy.
In this episode, Mark and Daniel also discuss:
- key concepts in Buddhist philosophy such as reflexive awareness and emptiness;
- the concept of emptiness in Buddhist philosophy;
- the divide between Yogācāra and Madhyamaka; and
- much more!
Additional content mentioned in this episode:
Wisdom Podcast listeners are invited to save 20% off Buddhism as Philosophy: Yogācāra and Madhyamaka with code WPODBAP2 through August 31, 2025.
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 as Professor of philosophy at Seoul National University, from which he retired in 2012. He is the author or editor of multiple 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.
