Symposium

Ancient Buddhist Meditation:

Historical, Philosophical and Comparative Perspectives

6 November 2019

Faculty of Philosophy, room OMEGA

Oude Boteringestraat 52, 9717 GL

Groningen

Keynote Speaker:

Prof. Rupert Gethin (Bristol)

Description

Meditation practices are a core component of ancient Indian Buddhism and an essential factor in the development of Buddhist philosophy as a whole. Ancient Buddhist meditation is naturally intertwined with key philosophical topics such as the nature of consciousness and qualia, the phenomenology of subjective experience, the nature of emotions, the self, causality, free will and the meaning of life. Today, scholars in cognitive psychology and neurosciences are actively engaged in exploring meditation practices as a promising field for raising new questions and develop new approaches about the nature of the mind-body relationship. At the same time, historians of Western philosophy and philosophers of religion begin to reappraise the importance of meditative traditions in the West and their impact on the shaping of philosophical debates of the past. This symposium focuses on ancient Indian Buddhist meditation practices as an interdisciplinary topic to bring together historical, philosophical and scientific research on the historical and conceptual implications of Buddhist meditation and its potential for comparative and global philosophy.  

Call for papers

We welcome abstracts for talks related to the theme of the symposium. 
Please submit abstracts (400 words max.) suitable for anonymous review in PDF to a.sangiacomo@rug.nl

Deadline: 1 September 2019 (before midnight).

Decisions will follow by September 10.

Attendance is free and all are welcome, especially students.

No financial assistance can be provided to support travel expenses and accommodation.

Please register here.

For information please contact: a.sangiacomo@rug.nl – for updates, please visit the website.