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Interpretations of Middle-way School on the ‘Dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda)’ and their Philosophical Perspectives

  • 불교학리뷰
  • Abbr : Critical Review for Buddhist Studies
  • 2023, (33), pp.9-30
  • Publisher : Geumgang Center for Buddhist Studies
  • Research Area : Humanities > Buddhist Studies
  • Received : March 7, 2023
  • Accepted : March 30, 2023
  • Published : April 30, 2023

KimHyunGu 1

1전남대학교 인문학연구소

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The main purpose of this study is to proclaim the theory of dependent arising as a “mutual causality” accepted by the Mādhyamikas, with the process of social system emergence and constraint, and account for the “social reality” proposed by J. Searle as the concept of “designation by provisional naming”. According to Searle, the source of ‘status functions’ and ‘deontic powers’is revealed by social reality through the language used by its participants. However, assuming that social reality presupposes language, as he argues, he falls into the error of creating a circular argument due to the fact that language, as a means of communication, is also a social reality. Therefore, in order to overcome this circular argument it is necessary to explore a process of securing a status function, within a social system and social reality, based on the concept of ‘designation by provisional naming’, which is a metaphorical projection. Next, it is evident that deontic power, revealed through institutional fact, stems from cognitive competence, which is the longitudinal condition of the users of language. In fact, the Mādhyamikas are accused of being nihilistic with regard to axiology, by applying the emptiness of non-substantiality to all phenomena. This accusation of valueistic nihilism levelled against the Mādhyamikas is, however, based on the misapprehension that non-substantiality means relationships emerge from emptiness, and are therefore random. This randomness implies variability in which unpredictable variables can influence the phenomenon of existence. In actual fact, manifestation of phenomenon due to the interdependent relationship of non-substantial beings is the ultimate truth, and there is no chaos in the real world or in the area of value judgment. Therefore, this study reveals that if non-substantiality provides a space for the expansion of relationships, the concept of interdependence actually restricts relationship creation. It is therefore argued that non-substantiality and interdependence act as axes to stabilize social realities, revealing that the perspectives of the Mādhyamikas can solve philosophical issues.

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* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.
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