Free Will, Agency, and Selfhood in Indian Philosophy

331 Pages·1988·1.48 MB·English

by  Edwin F. Bryant

Free Will, Agency, and Selfhood in
Indian Philosophy
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Free Will,
Agency, and
Selfhood in
Indian
Philosophy
z
Edited by
MATTHEW R. DASTI
and
EDWIN F. BRYANT

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Free will, agency, and selfhood in Indian philosophy / edited by Matthew R. Dasti and Edwin
F. Bryant.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978–0–19–992275–8 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978–0–19–992273–4 (hardcover : alk.
paper) — ISBN 978–0–19–992274–1 (ebook) 1. Philosophy, Indic. 2. Self (Philosophy)—
India. 3. Free will and determinism—Religious aspects. I. Dasti, Matthew R., editor of
compilation. II. Bryant, Edwin F. (Edwin Francis), 1957– editor of compilation.
B131.F76 2014
126.0954—dc23
2013017925
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
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Dedicated to Anasuya,
Leela, and Mohini
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Contents

Acknowledgments xi
Contributors xiii
Introduction 1
1 . Agency in S ā ṃ khya and Yoga: The Unchangeability of
the Eternal 16
Edwin F.   Bryant
Sources 17
The Problem: The Axiom of Changelessness in S ā ṃ khya
Metaphysics 19
The Location of Agency in S ā ṃ khya Sources 19
S ā ṃ khya Objections to a Ny ā ya Pūrvapak ṣ a 23
Objections (Pūrvapakṣ a) to the S ā ṃ khya Position 27
Agency in the S ā ṃ khya of the Bhagavad G ī t ā : Hermeneutical
Dilemmas 33
Conclusion 37
2 . Free Persons, Empty Selves: Freedom and Agency in
Light of the Two Truths 41
Karin   Meyers
Karma, Free Will, and Moral Responsibility 45
Freedoms Enjoyed by Ordinary Persons and Noble Beings 47
The Two Truths: About Persons and Dharmas 52
Conclusion: Free Persons, Empty Selves 61
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viii Contents
3 . Free Will and Voluntarism in Jainism 68
Christopher Key Chapple
The Ā c ā r ā ṅ ga Sūtra 69
The Tattv ā rtha Sūtra 72
The Yogad ṛ ṣ ṭ isamuccaya 77
Divine Will? Human Will! 79
Soul without Attachment According to Kundakunda 80
Conclusion 84
4 . P ā ṇ inian Grammarians on Agency and Independence 85
George Cardona
Introduction 85
Patañjali on Participants in Actions 87
Bhart ṛ hari on the Semantic Properties of Agents 89
Animate and Inanimate Agents 92
True Agents Considered To Be Sentient Intelligent Beings 100
Ā t man “Self” 105
Conclusion 109
5 . Ny ā ya’s Self as Agent and Knower 112
Matthew R.   Dasti
Volition as a Property of the Self 113
Cognitive Agency 116
Analyses of Agency 118
Against S ā ṃ khya’s Frictionless Self 121
Conclusion 134
6 . Freedom Because of Duty: The Problem of Agency in
M ī m ā ṃ s ā 137
Elisa Freschi
What Is M ī m ā ṃ s ā ? 137
Is there an Analogue of Free Will in Indian Philosophy? 140
Agent’s Causation 141
Causality and Determinism 153
Source of Ethics 156
Conclusion 160
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Contents ix
7 . Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose: Freedom, Agency
and Ethics for M ā dhyamikas 164
Jay L. Garfi eld
Freedom of the Will and Theodicy 164
Why Worry about Freedom and Determinism? 167
Pratī tyasamutp ā da in Action: Why These Problems Can’t Arise for a
M ā dhyamika 172
Some Bad Arguments for Supposed Buddhist Doctrines of Freedom
of the Will 175
Madhyamaka and Persons: The Two Truths 177
Agency and Responsibility in Madhyamaka 179
Freedom on the Path; Freedom from Sa ṃ s ā ra 182
8 . Self, Causation, and Agency in the Advaita of Ś a ṅ kara 186
Sthaneshwar Timalsina
Śa ṅ kara on Causality 191
Sure ś vara on “Non-action” ( nai ṣ karmya ) 197
Alternate Models of Causation in Advaita 202
Conclusion 207
9 . The Linguistics and Cosmology of Agency in Nondual
Kashmiri Ś aiva Thought 210
David Peter Lawrence
The Quest for Power in Nondual Kashmiri Ś aivism, Pratyabhijñ ā
Philosophy, and Pratyabhijñ ā -Based Hermeneutics 211
Semantics and Syntax of Action and Agency 213
Agency and Linguistic Indexicals 220
Cosmological Transformations of Agency 223
Conclusion: Directions for Further Research 226
10 . Free Will, Agency, and Selfhood in R ā m ā nuja 232
Martin   Ganeri
Selfhood and Agency in General 234
Divine Agency and Human Freedom 243
The “Renunciation” of Agency and the Release of the Finite
Self 248
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