Nāgārjuna Today: Addressing Philosophical Problems with Buddhist Insights
How An Ancient Buddhist Monk Contributes to Contemporary Philosophy
I wrote this post as an introduction to Nāgārjuna, with the idea of proposing a series of posts on his Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way. What I want to propose is a step-by-step, multilingual philosophical reading of this text, one of the most famous and important in Asian philosophy. If you would like to be notified of these future posts, all you have to do is subscribe using the button below.
The question of whether or not we should regard Buddhism as philosophy has become popular in recent decades. The proliferation of works labelled ‘world philosophy’, a label that follows and replaces ‘comparative philosophy’, contributes greatly to the increase in interest.
Some scholars argue that it would be unfair not to consider Buddhism as a philosophy. They say, for example, that Buddhist thought deals with the same issues discussed in Europe going back to the ancient Greek philosophers. Buddhist thought also uses logical reasoning and includes ethical dimensions; elements that we find across Western philosophy.
Others argue applying the label of ‘philosophy’ to Buddhist thought may not be justified because, for example, the aim of Buddhism is not the pursuit of knowledge or wisdom for its own sake, but to become enlightened and attain nirvāṇa for soteriological purposes.
It is unlikely that this debate will be resolved any time soon. Mainly because it does not seem to address what is truly important:
Are the insights of Buddhist thinkers helpful in approaching philosophical questions?
For example, does Buddhism have an account of causality that would help to understand some phenomena better? Or does it offer existential insights that would help live a better life? Can Buddhist thought lead to new insights?
In other words: Can Buddhist thinkers contribute to (current) philosophical debates?
In this story, after a general presentation of one of the most famous Indian Buddhist monks Nāgārjuna, I would like to give you two examples of contemporary philosophers who use his insights to carry out philosophical research and renew some ancient but unsolved questions.
The Buddhist Thinker
Nāgārjuna (c. 150–250 CE), an Indian Buddhist monk, is one of the most influential figures in Buddhist philosophy, particularly in Great Vehicle (Mahāyāna) Buddhism. He is considered the founder of the Middle Way school (Madhyamaka), which emphasizes emptiness (śūnyatā) — the idea that all phenomena lack inherent substance.
His key work, Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way (Mūlamadhyamakakārikā), systematically critiques concepts such as causality, the self, and nirvāṇa itself, using reasoning to deconstruct common views, categories of thought, and notions.
Nāgārjuna built on the Buddha’s teaching of “dependent co-arising” (pratītyasamutpāda), asserting that all things arise in dependence on conditions and thus lack an independent, permanent substance. This does not mean that things do not exist, but that they exist relationally and without a fixed, self-nature.
By rejecting these two extreme views of substantiality and non-substantiality, Nāgārjuna promoted a ‘middle way’ and the idea of freeing oneself from preconceptions.
Although Nāgārjuna’s work is now commonly seen as a metaphysical and logical inquiry, his concern was for the Buddhist path as a whole. His goal was exploring how the understanding of emptiness and dependent co-arising informs commitment to the alleviation of suffering.
Nāgārjuna’s thought profoundly influenced later Buddhist philosophy, especially in India, Tibet, China, and Japan. His ideas on emptiness became central to schools such as Chan/Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, where his approach is considered central to understanding the nature of reality. His works are also often studied in conjunction with commentaries by later thinkers such as Candrakīrti and Tsongkhapa.
Scholars have debated his role as a philosopher versus a religious figure. What is certain is that for centuries he was considered solely for his contributions to both Buddhist practice and doctrine. However, this has changed recently.
The Modern Metaphysician and Logician
Philosophers have been in contact with Buddhist ideas since at least the time of Pyrrho, during Alexander the Great’s expedition to Asia in the 4th century BCE.
Modern encounters between the Western world and Buddhism began in the 16th century with Christian missionaries. Philosophical study of Buddhism really began in the 19th century with German philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche. It was then that a strong interest in Buddhism emerged, beginning an influence that continues to this day.
In contemporary philosophical research, there are several uses of Nāgārjuna’s work. Here, I will focus on what I consider to be the two major ways: the phenomenological approach of Michel Bitbol and the logical approach of Graham Priest.
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