Perceiving Reality

Consciousness, Intentionality, and Cognition in Buddhist Philosophy

Christian Coseru

An original account of perceptual knowledge that bridges the chasm between Buddhist and Western philosophy of mind
The first extended study of Santaraksita's and Kamalasila's contributions to the Buddhist epistemology of perception
A phenomenological model of the Buddhist theory of perceptual consciousness

Perceiving Reality

Consciousness, Intentionality, and Cognition in Buddhist Philosophy

Christian Coseru

Description

What turns the continuous flow of experience into perceptually distinct objects? Can our verbal descriptions unambiguously capture what it is like to see, hear, or feel? How might we reason about the testimony that perception alone discloses? Christian Coseru proposes a rigorous and highly original way to answer these questions by developing a framework for understanding perception as a mode of apprehension that is intentionally constituted, pragmatically oriented, and causally effective. By engaging with recent discussions in phenomenology and analytic philosophy of mind, but also by drawing on the work of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty, Coseru offers a sustained argument that Buddhist philosophers, in particular those who follow the tradition of inquiry initiated by Dign?ga and Dharmak?rti, have much to offer when it comes to explaining why epistemological disputes about the evidential role of perceptual experience cannot satisfactorily be resolved without taking into account the structure of our cognitive awareness.

Perceiving Reality examines the function of perception and its relation to attention, language, and discursive thought, and provides new ways of conceptualizing the Buddhist defense of the reflexivity thesis of consciousness-namely, that each cognitive event is to be understood as involving a pre-reflective implicit awareness of its own occurrence. Coseru advances an innovative approach to Buddhist philosophy of mind in the form of phenomenological naturalism, and moves beyond comparative approaches to philosophy by emphasizing the continuity of concerns between Buddhist and Western philosophical accounts of the nature of perceptual content and the character of perceptual consciousness.

Perceiving Reality

Consciousness, Intentionality, and Cognition in Buddhist Philosophy

Christian Coseru

Contents

Abbreviations

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction: Taking the Structure of Awareness Seriously

2. Naturalizing Buddhist Epistemology
2.1. Doctrine and Argument
2.2. Reason and Conceptual Analysis
2.3. Interpretation and Discourse Analysis
2.4. Cognition as Enactive Transformation
2.5. Logic and the Subjectivity of Thought
2.6. Phenomenological Epistemology and the Project of Naturalism

3. Sensation and the Empirical Consciousness
3.1. No-self and the Domains of Experience
3.2. Two Dimensions of Mind: Consciousness as Discernment and Sentience
3.3. Attention and Mental Proliferation
3.4. Cognitive Awareness and Its Object

4. Perception, Conception, and Language
4.1. Shared Notions about Perceptual Knowledge
4.2. Debating the Criteria for Reliable Cognition
4.3. Cognitive Aspects and Linguistic Conventions
4.4. Epistemology as Cognitive Event Theory

5. An Encyclopedic and Compassionate Setting for Buddhist Epistemology
5.1. Dependent Arising and Compassion
5.2. Mapping the Ontological and Epistemological Domains
5.3. Perception and the Principle of Clarity

6. Perception as an Epistemic Modality
6.1. The Conditions for Perceptual Knowledge
6.2. Perception, Conception, and the Problem of Naming
6.3. Phenomenal Content, Phenomenal Character, and the Problem of Reference
6.4. Cognitive Errors and Perceptual Illusions

7. Foundationalism and the Phenomenology of Perception
7.1. Intrinsic Ascertainment and the "Given"
7.2. Particulars and Phenomenal Objects
7.3. Foundationalism and Its Malcontents
7.4. Naturalism and Its Discontents
7.5. Beyond Representation: An Enactive Perception Theory

8. Perception, Self-Awareness, and Intentionality
8.1. Reflexivity and the Aspectual Nature of Intentional Reference
8.2. Phenomenal Objects and the Cognitive Subconscious
8.3. The Intentional Structure of Awareness
8.4. An Epistemological Conundrum: Explaining the Subject-Object Relation

9. In Defense of Epistemological Optimism
9.1. A Moving Horizon
9.2. Embodied Consciousness: Beyond "Seeing" and "Seeing As"
9.3. Epistemic Authority Without Manifest Truth

Bibliography

Perceiving Reality

Consciousness, Intentionality, and Cognition in Buddhist Philosophy

Christian Coseru

Author Information

Christian Coseru is Associate Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy at the College of Charleston

Perceiving Reality

Consciousness, Intentionality, and Cognition in Buddhist Philosophy

Christian Coseru

Reviews and Awards

"A well-crafted and important work, a work that will without doubt influence the discussion of Buddhist epistemology, and the analysis of the relation between Buddhist thought and phenomenology for years to come."--Mind

"This excellent book takes cross-cultural philosophy to a new high point by combining Indian Buddhist philosophy with Western phenomenology and philosophy of mind. Offering a rich account of perceptual consciousness, Coseru also casts new light on attention, sensation, self-awareness, and conceptualization. Philosophers of mind and Buddhist scholars alike will find many new insights throughout this groundbreaking book." --Evan Thompson, author of Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology and the Sciences of Mind

"Perceiving Reality is a masterful study of Buddhist epistemology. It is first and foremost a substantial contribution to the philosophical literature, developing a compelling account of epistemic authority in the context of the phenomenology of perception. It is also an excellent study of Indian Buddhist epistemological inquiry. The philology is impeccable. But it is always in the service of philosophy. Philosophers and Buddhologists must pay attention to Coseru's book." --Jay Garfield, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy, Smith College

"Perceiving Reality is a sophisticated defense of phenomenological naturalism in the philosophy of mind. A striking feature of this book is the outstanding re-descriptions of Indian Buddhist theory in a vibrant contemporary language, testament to the great dexterity with which Coseru moves in the thought-worlds of both classical Buddhism and contemporary phenomenology. Essential reading in the case it makes for comparative philosophy of mind; in particular, the significance of Indian Buddhist analysis in modern discussions of intentionality, self-consciousness, and conceptual content."--Jonardon Ganeri, author of The Self: Naturalism, Consciousness, and the First-Person Stance

"In both the breadth of his study and the important questions it raises, Coseru's work accomplishes a great deal. It will find an important place in the study of Buddhist philosophy." --H-Net

"The insights of [Coseru's] phenomenological interpretation of Buddhist theories of perception and self-awareness allow these ancient ideas to become live options for current debates in the philosophy of mind. Moreover, the ample references to empirical research lay the groundwork for further Buddhist engagement with the scientific study of consciousness and cognition." --Philosophy East and West

"Coseru's work clearly shows us the importance of engaging the vast and important philosophy that sits at the intersection of Buddhism, cognitive science, phenomenology, and epistemology. And his work stands as an excellent example of why cosmopolitan philosophy of mind is so important." --Anand Vaidya, Sophia

"Coseru's broad, deep understanding of the different philosophical traditions and methodologies he brings to bear on Buddhist epistemology and vice versa...is incredibly rich in insightful, complex, syncretic analyses and typically text-based, historically grounded argumentation, all of which constitutes a model case for the claim that these traditions are continuous with each other, and need to be treated as such." --Rick Repetti, Philosophy in Review

"Perceiving Reality is a deep, insightful, and wide-ranging work of cosmopolitan philosophy of mind. Drawing on insights and arguments from Buddhist pramanavada (Buddhist epistemology), phenomenology, and philosophy of mind, Coseru is able to achieve an impressive degree of mutual engagement and illumination between these disparate traditions." --Journal of Consciousness Studies

"...an incredibly insightful way to understand the Buddhists' account of cognition, offering a compelling case for the merits of adopting a phenomenological perspective with respect to it." --Laura Guerrero, Journal of Consciousness Studies

"Coseru's book exemplifies an important new way of doing philosophy in our polycentric, multicultural world." --Evan Thompson, Journal of Consciousness Studies