Buddhism and Meaning: Comparative Assessment of Buddhist Views on Cognition, Meaning, and Language

Contents
Acknowledgements; Introduction: Purpose * Religious Significance of Language and Meaning * Research Problems and Limits of the Study * Methodological Considerations * Thick Description * The Paradigm Theory * The Purpucs of the Work Revisited * Edtiional Notes. TOWARDS A BUDDHIST THEORY OF MEANING: FOUR SCHOOLS OF TENETS: Vaibhashika: Introduction * Historical Background * Mode of Presentation * Matter * Momentariness * The Structure of Particles * Consciousness * Sense Consciousness and Perception * The Genesis of Sense Perception * Sense Objects * Faculties * Sense Consciousness * Engagement of Objects * Direct Realism and Phenomenalism * Theory of Perception in India * Perception and Universals * Mental Consciousness * Mental Faculty * Mental Perception * Conception * Universals * Antirealism and its Varieties: Nominalism and Conceptualism * Mistaken Character of Conception * Inference * Negative Character of Conception * Concept-Formation * Evaluation * Language * Equivalence of Conception and Language * Philosophy of Language in India * Conventionality * Primary Locus of Meaning * Theory of Signs * Ineffability and Reference * Conclusion * Mental Factors * Conclusion. Sautrantika: Introduction * Historical Background * Position and Divisions * Ontology * Attack on Vaibhashika * Momentariness and the Ultimate Truth * The Theory of the Atom * Epistemology * Perception * The Theory of Aspects * Hidden Matter * Aspects and Apperception * Conception and Language * Aspects and Conception * Language * The Concluding Remark. Cittamatra: Introduction * Historical Background * Divisions * Etymology * Sautrantika and Cittamatra * Idealism * Atoms and Sensibilia * Ontology * The Subject * Eight Collections of Consciousness * Vasanas * The Object * Trisvabhava - Three Natures * Intersubjectivity * Epistemology * Philosophy of Perception * Aspects and Apperception * The Pramana Taxonomy * Language * Consequences of Idealism for a Theory of Language * Linguistic Formulation of Emptiness * The Concluding Remark. Madhyamaka: Introduction * History and Etymology * Divisions * Middle Way * Mode of Presentation * The Madhyamika Method and Key Concepts * Tetralemma * Negation * Reductio ad Absurdum * Emptiness * The Dialectic of Two Truths * Epistemology * Deconstruction of Essentialism and Foundationalism * Madhyamaka and the Autonomy of Perception Postulate * Verbal Testimony and Analogy * Universals and Pramanas * Language * Denotationism versus Connotationism * Nominal Existence * The Concluding Remark. Conclusion of Part I. THE BUDDHIST THEORY OF MEANING, COGNITION, AND LANGUAGE: DECONTEXTUALISATION AND ASSESSMENT: Decontextualisation of the Buddhist Theory of Meaning, Cognition, and Language: Introduction * Definition of Language * Synonyms * Social Dimension * Vacaka and Vrtti * The Idiolectical View * The Definition * Methodological Assumptions * Essentialism and Foundationalism * Thick Description of Madhyamaka * Perception * The Standard View * The AberrativeView * Conclusion * Conception and Language * The Standard Theory of Conception * The Standard Theory of Language * Madhyamaka on Conception and Language * The Definition of Language Revisited * Reiteration * Buddhist Theories and the Paradigm * A Kuhnian Interpretation of the Standard Theory * The Aberrative Theory and the Paradigm. The Standard Buddhist Theory and the Cognitive Model: Introduction * The Methodology of the Chapter * Hypothesis and the Comparative Ground * The Cognitive Paradigm * The Structure of the Chapter * Perception * Perceptual Theory of Knowledge * Interactional View of Perception * Differences * Perception as a Recording versus Cognitive System * Phenomenalism and Representationalism * Conception * Interactionism * Schematisation and Concept-Formation * The Mediating Role of Schemata * Multi-Modality of Schemata * Schemata and Concepts * The Ideational View of Concepts * The Role of Language in Concept-Formation * Categorisation * Concepts and Categories * Universals and Conceptualism * Apoha versus Prototypes * Language * The Equivalence of Conception and Language * A Theory of Signs * The Ideational Theory of Meaning * The Term-Universal * The Idiolectical View of Language * Spotha - Natural Meaningfulness * Reference and Ineffability * The Standard Buddhist Theory and Metaphorisation * Conclusion * Perception * Conception * Language * The Hypothesis Revisited. Conclusion: The Significance of Comparison * Topos * Decontextualisation of the Cognitive Topos * Future Directions. References

Przemysław Żywiczyński