Buddhist philosophy deals extensively with problems in metaphysics, phenomenology, ethics, and epistemology.
The Buddha's general outlook has been described as neither ontological nor metaphysical, but empirical. He assumed an unsympathetic attitude toward speculative and religious thought in general. A basic idea of the Buddha is that the world must be thought of in procedural terms, not in terms of things or substances. The Buddha advised viewi...
more
Buddhist philosophy deals extensively with problems in metaphysics, phenomenology, ethics, and epistemology.
The Buddha's general outlook has been described as neither ontological nor metaphysical, but empirical. He assumed an unsympathetic attitude toward speculative and religious thought in general. A basic idea of the Buddha is that the world must be thought of in procedural terms, not in terms of things or substances. The Buddha advised viewing reality as comprised of dependently originated phenomena; Buddhists view this approach to experience as avoiding the two extremes of reification and nihilism.
Particular points of Buddhist philosophy have often been the subject of disputes between different schools of Buddhism. While theory for its own sake is not valued in Buddhism, theory pursued in the interest of enlightenment is consistent with Buddhist values and ethics.
Early Buddhism displays a strong streak of skepticism; the Buddha cautioned his followers to stay aloof from...
less
