Buddhism As Philosophy

In Buddhism As Philosophy, Mark Siderits makes the Buddhist philosophical tradition accessible to a Western audience. Offering generous selections from the canonical Buddhist texts and providing  an engaging, analytical introduction to the fundamental tenets of Buddhist thought, this revised, expanded, and updated edition builds on the success of the first edition in clarifying the basic concepts and arguments of the Buddhist philosophers.

About the Author :
Mark Siderits is Professor Emeritus, Department of Philosophy, Illinois State University.

Review :
"Since the publication of the first edition of Buddhism As Philosophy, the need for such a book has only grown as even more undergraduate programs are teaching Buddhist philosophy and looking for accessible materials that still do justice to the tradition’s intellectual complexity. This updated version retains the first version's successful balancing act between fidelity to primary source material and application to general philosophical problems. The book teaches students how to do philosophy at the same time as it teaches them the particularities of Buddhist philosophy. Siderits moves fluidly from translations of primary texts to their explication and evaluation, both modeling expert philosophical methodology and pausing to explain to students how philosophical argumentation works."
—Malcolm Keating, Yale-NUS College ​"I use Buddhism As Philosophy as the core text of my 'Non-Western Philosophy' topics course; I’m a huge fan. Siderits's exposition provides a deeply illuminating, historically and philosophically informed walk through the underlying motivations for and diverse Indian Buddhist approaches to the doctrines of 'no-self' and 'emptiness.' This new edition improves on the previous with a new organizational structure, and clarified and expanded argumentation and discussion. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical underpinnings and consequences of Buddhism."
—Jessica Wilson, University of Toronto "Building on the acknowledged strengths of the first edition, this second edition of Buddhism as Philosophy by Mark Siderits continues the approach of combining translations of Indian Buddhist primary sources with application to general philosophical problems. This new edition has a new organizational structure and has expanded significantly on the argumentation and discussion, while maintaining the aim of being a suitable introductory textbook for undergraduate modules which focus in whole (or in part) on Buddhist thought. . . . [T]he book is a very readable, engaging and original introduction to Buddhism which foregrounds the undeniably strong philosophical dimension of this great tradition of thought and spiritual practice."
—Dr. Jones Irwin, Dublin City University, in Teaching Philosophy