BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//208.94.116.123//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.26.9// CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-FROM-URL:https://www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20231105T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RDATE:20241103T020000 TZNAME:EST END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20240310T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 RDATE:20250309T020000 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-7682@www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress DTSTAMP:20240328T203114Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Columbia U CONTACT:https://universityseminars.columbia.edu/seminars/comparative-philos ophy/ DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT: The Shenzi Fragments\, numbering a mere 3\,000 or so characters in length\, is all that remains of a work attributed to Shen Da o (ca. 350-275 BCE). While perhaps best known for his appearance in the Ha n Feizi as an advocate for positional power (勢 shi)\, he also makes an app earance in the Xunzi as one who is blinded by his focus on 法 fa (models\, standards\, laws). We will examine the fragments that discuss fa in an at tempt to come to a deeper understanding of the role that these fragments s ee for the fa\, how they are to be determined\, and why Shen Dao took them to be central to a strong\, stable\, and flourishing state. The fragments \, in classical Chinese with English translations (Harris 2016)\, are incl uded here as a PDF attachment.\n \nDATE: October 22\, 2021\nTIME: 7:00-8:3 0 pm\n \nThis seminar will take place via Zoom (please scroll down for the full invitation). Below you will find the link to join the meeting. The a ttached file is an instruction manual to help you familiarize yourself wit h the program. In addition to familiarizing yourself with the program’s ba sic functions\, there are two things we ask you to do before the meeting c an start. First\, you will need to sign in by typing your name in the chat . Subsequently\, we will have to agree on the privacy policy for the meeti ng. The privacy policy provided by the Columbia University Seminars Office will be read aloud. To indicate your agreement\, you will raise your virt ual Zoom hand in the Participants panel. In the manual\, you will find ste p-by-step instructions of how to sign in and to raise your hand.\nLead Pre senter: Eirik Lang Harris\nDiscussants: Alejandro Bárcenas (Texas State U niversity)\, Yutang Jin (Princeton University)\, Mercedes Valmisa (Gettysb urg College)\nNote Regarding Donations: Due to COVID-19\, donations are on ly accepted through Columbia University’s secure online giving form\, Givi ng to Columbia. DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211022T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211022T203000 GEO:+40.712775;-74.005973 LOCATION:ZOOM - see site for details @ New York\, NY\, USA SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:A Discussion of Fa (法) in the Shenzi: Eirik Lang Harris URL:https://www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress/event/a-discussion-of-fa-%e6%b 3%95-in-the-shenzi-eirik-lang-harris/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n
\\nABS TRACT: The Shenzi Fragments\, numbering a mere 3\,000 or so characters in length\, is all that remains of a work attributed to Shen Dao (ca. 350-275 BCE). While perhaps best known for his appearance in the Han Feizi as an advocate for positional power (勢 shi)\, he also makes an appearance in the Xunzi as one who is blinded by his focus on 法 fa (models\, standards\, la ws). We will examine the fragments that discuss fa in an attempt to come to a deeper understanding of the role that these fragments see for the fa\ , how they are to be determined\, and why Shen Dao took them to be central to a strong\, stable\, and flourishing state. The fragments\, in classica l Chinese with English translations (Harris 2016)\, are included here as a PDF attachment.
\n\n
DATE: October 22\, 2021
\nTIME: 7:00-8:30 pm
\n\n
This seminar w ill take place via Zoom (please scroll down for the full invitation). Belo w you will find the link to join the meeting. The attached file is an inst ruction manual to help you familiarize yourself with the program. In addit ion to familiarizing yourself with the program’s basic functions\, there a re two things we ask you to do before the meeting can start. First\, you w ill need to sign in by typing your name in the chat. Subsequently\, we wil l have to agree on the privacy policy for the meeting. The privacy policy provided by the Columbia University Seminars Office will be read aloud. To indicate your agreement\, you will raise your virtual Zoom hand in the Pa rticipants panel. In the manual\, you will find step-by-step instructions of how to sign in and to raise your hand.
\nLead Presenter : Ei rik Lang Harris
\nDiscussants: Alejandro Bárcenas (Texas State University)\, Yutang Jin (Princeton University)\, Mercedes Valmisa (Gettysburg College)
\nNote Regarding Donations: Due to COVID-19\, donations are o nly accepted through Columbia University’s secure online giving form\, Giving to Columbia.
\n X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-US:Chinese\,comparative END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-7750@www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress DTSTAMP:20240328T203114Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Columbia U CONTACT:https://universityseminars.columbia.edu/seminars/comparative-philos ophy/ DESCRIPTION:THE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY\n \nPresents: L i Zehou on the ‘Deep Structures of Confucianism’\nLead Presenter: Andrew L ambert (College of Staten Island\, CUNY)\nDiscussants: Robert A. Carleo I II (East China Normal University)\, Emma Buchtel (Hong Kong Education Univ ersity)\nABSTRACT: Contemporary Chinese intellectual Li Zehou’s cross-cult ural methodology blends traditional Confucian thought with thinkers such a s Kant and Marx. This seminar addresses the question of culture and its ro le in Li’s thought. Li has made several claims about how a settled cultura l tradition influences the subjects within it. One such claim concerns the existence of ‘deep structures’ of Confucianism\, as outlined in this prep aratory reading. The idea is that culture\, history\, and social practice (collectively\, a tradition) shape human psychology (including the formati on of concepts\, emotions\, and values) in ways not always apparent to the subject. Within the Chinese tradition\, Confucianism constitutes such a d eep structure\, and its effects cannot be captured by textual studies alon e\, nor studies of material culture. Rather\, the deep structure is articu lated in terms of an emergent shared subjectivity. Such traditions can evo lve and ultimately dissolve\; nevertheless\, their effects are deep-rooted . This seminar meeting will aim to identify the parameters of Li’s ambitio us theoretical framework and its plausibility\, and to explore connections with current work in related fields\, such as cultural and empirical psyc hology.\nDATE: March 25\, 2022\nTIME: 6:30 – 8:00 pm EST\nThis seminar wil l take place via Zoom (please scroll down for the full invitation). Below you will find the link to join the meeting. Here is an instruction manual to help you familiarize yourself with the program. In addition to familiar izing yourself with the program’s basic functions\, there are two things w e ask you to do before the meeting can start. First\, you will need to sig n in by typing your name in the chat. Subsequently\, we will have to agree on the privacy policy for the meeting. The privacy policy provided by the Columbia University Seminars Office will be read aloud. To indicate your agreement\, you will raise your virtual Zoom hand in the Participants pane l. In the manual\, you will find step-by-step instructions of how to sign in and to raise your hand. \nNote Regarding Donations: Due to COVID-19\, d onations are only accepted through Columbia University’s secure online giv ing form\, Giving to Columbia.\n \nAccessibility Statement: Columbia Unive rsity encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. The University Seminars participants with dis- abilities w ho anticipate needing accommodations or who have questions about physical access may contact the Office of Disability Services at 212.854.2388 or di sability@columbia.edu. Disability accommodations\, including sign-language interpreters\, are available on request. Requests for accommodations must be made two weeks in advance. On campus\, seminar participants with disab ilities should alert a Public Safety Officer if they need assistance acce ssing campus. \nPLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://universityseminars.colum bia.edu/seminars/comparative-philosophy/ DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220325T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220325T200000 GEO:+40.712775;-74.005973 LOCATION:Zoom @ New York\, NY\, USA SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Li Zehou. Deep Structures of Confucianism URL:https://www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress/event/li-zehou-deep-structures -of-confucianism/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\nTHE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSO PHY
\n\n
Presents:
Lead Presenter : Andrew Lambert (College of Staten Island\, CUNY)
\nDiscussants: Robert A. Carleo III (East China Normal University)\, Emma Buchtel (Hong Kong Education Uni versity)
\nABSTRAC
T: Contemporary Chinese intellectual Li Zehou’s cross-cultural methodo
logy blends traditional Confucian thought with thinkers such as Kant and M
arx. This seminar addresses the question of culture and its role in Li’s t
hought. Li has made several claims about how a settled cultural tradition
influences the subjects within it. One such claim concerns the existence o
f ‘deep structures’ of Confucianism\, as outlined
DATE: March 25\, 2022
\n< p class='gmail-p1'>TIME: 6:30 – 8:00 pm EST< /span>\nThis seminar will t ake place via Zoom (please scroll down for the full invitation). Below you will find the link to join the meeting. Here is an instruction manual to help you familiariz e yourself with the program. In addition to familiarizing yourself with th e program’s basic functions\, there are two things we ask you to do before the meeting can start. First\, you will need to sign in by typing your na me in the chat. Subsequently\, we will have to agree on the privacy policy for the meeting. The privacy policy provided by the Columbia University S eminars Office will be read aloud. To indicate your agreement\, you will r aise your virtual Zoom hand in the Participants panel. In the manual\, you will find step-by-step instructions of how to sign in and to raise your h and.
\nNote Regar ding Donations: Due to COVID-19\, donations are only accepted through Columbia University’s secure online giving form\, Giving to Co lumbia.
\n\n
Accessibility Statement: Columbia University encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. The University Seminars parti cipants with dis- abilities who anticipate needing accommodations or who h ave questions about physical access may contact the Office of Disability S ervices at 212.854.2388 or disability@columbia.edu. Disability accommodations\, includi ng sign-language interpreters\, are available on request. Requests for acc ommodations must be made two weeks in advance. On campus\, seminar partici pants with disabilities should alert a Public Safety Officer if they need assistance accessing campus.
\nPLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: http s://universityseminars.columbia.edu/seminars/comparative-philosophy/
\n\n X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-US:Chinese\,comparative\,Confucianism END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-7774@www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress DTSTAMP:20240328T203114Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Columbia U CONTACT:https://universityseminars.columbia.edu/seminars/comparative-philos ophy/ DESCRIPTION:THE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY\nWelcomes you t o an IN-PERSON meeting:\nAllison Aitken (Columbia University)\n« A Case ag ainst Simple-mindedness: Śrīgupta on Mental Mereology »\nWith responses fr om Alexander Englert (Princeton University)\nABSTRACT: There’s a common li ne of reasoning which supposes that the phenomenal unity of conscious expe rience is grounded in a mind-like simple subject. To the contrary\, Mādhya mika Buddhist philosophers beginning with Śrīgupta (seventh-eighth century ) argue that any kind of mental simple is incoherent and thus metaphysical ly impossible. Lacking any unifying principle\, the phenomenal unity of co nscious experience is instead an ungrounded illusion. In this talk\, I wil l present an analysis of Śrīgupta’s “neither-one-nor-many argument” agains t mental simples and show how his line of reasoning is driven by a set of implicit questions concerning the nature of and relation between conscious ness and its intentional object. These questions not only set the agenda f or centuries of intra-Buddhist debate on the topic\, but they are also que stions to which any defender of unified consciousness or a simple subject of experience arguably owes responses. DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220513T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220513T193000 GEO:+40.807536;-73.962573 LOCATION:Faculty House\, Columbia U @ New York\, NY 10027\, USA SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:A Case against Simple-mindedness: Śrīgupta on Mental Mereology. All ison Aitken\, Columbia URL:https://www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress/event/a-case-against-simple-mi ndedness-srigupta-on-mental-mereology-allison-aitken-columbia/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n
\\nTHE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSO PHY
\nWelcomes you to an IN-PERSON meeting:
\nAllison Aitken (Columbia University)
\n« A Case against Simple-mindedn ess: Śrīgupta on Mental Mereology »
\nWith responses from Alexander Englert (Princet
on University)
ABST RACT: There’s a common line of reasoning whi ch supposes that the phenomenal unity of conscious experience is grounded in a mind-like simple subject. To the contrary\, Mādhyamika Buddhist philo sophers beginning with Śrīgupta (seventh-eighth century) argue that any ki nd of mental simple is incoherent and thus metaphysically impossible. Lack ing any unifying principle\, the phenomenal unity of conscious experience is instead an ungrounded illusion. In this talk\, I will present an analys is of Śrīgupta’s “neither-one-nor-many argument” against mental simples an d show how his line of reasoning is driven by a set of implicit questions concerning the nature of and relation between consciousness and its intent ional object. These questions not only set the agenda for centuries of int ra-Buddhist debate on the topic\, but they are also questions to which any defender of unified consciousness or a simple subject of experience argua bly owes responses.
\n\n X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-US:Buddhism\,comparative\,mind END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-7863@www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress DTSTAMP:20240328T203114Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Columbia U CONTACT:https://philosophy.columbia.edu/content/colloquium-lectures-2022-20 23 DESCRIPTION:Thursday\, September 29th\, 2022\nChristina Van Dyke (Barnard C ollege)\nTitle “I feel it in my fingers\, I feel it in my toes: Imaginativ e Meditation and Experience of Love in Medieval Contemplative Philosophy” \n4:10-6:00 PM\n716 Philosophy Hall DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220929T161000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220929T180000 GEO:+40.807536;-73.962573 LOCATION:716 Philosophy Hall @ New York\, NY 10027\, USA SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:I feel it in my fingers\, I feel it in my toes: Imaginative Meditat ion and Experience of Love in Medieval Contemplative Philosophy. Christina Van Dyke\, Barnard URL:https://www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress/event/i-feel-it-in-my-fingers- i-feel-it-in-my-toes-imaginative-meditation-and-experience-of-love-in-medi eval-contemplative-philosophy-christina-van-dyke-barnard/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n
\\nThursday\, Se
ptember 29th\, 2022
\nChristina Van Dyke (Barnard College)
\nTit
le “I feel it in my fingers\, I feel it in my toes: Imaginative Meditation
and Experience of Love in Medieval Contemplative Philosophy”
\n4:10-
6:00 PM
\n716 Philosophy Hall
With responses from Mark Siderits (Illin ois State University)
\nABSTRACT: Buddhist philosophers often dra w a distinction between two different kinds of truth: conventional truth ( saṃvṭi-satya) and ultimate truth (paramārtha-satya). Abhidharma Buddhists philosophers typically understand this distinction in terms of an ontologi cal distinction between two different kinds of entities: ultimately real e ntities (paramārtha-sat) and conventionally real entities (saṃvṛti-sat). S imilar to contemporary philosophical discussions about ordinary objects\, Buddhist philosophers debate the ontological status of conventional entiti es and the semantics of discourse concerning them. Mark Siderits (2015\, 2 021\, 2022) has influentially argued for an eliminitivist position he call s “Buddhist reductionism” that interprets the Abhidharma position as one t hat denies conventional entities exist but that retains discourse involvin g apparent reference to them. However\, in a recent article Kris McDaniel (2019)\, a prominent defender of ontological pluralism\, challenges that v iew by proposing that the Abhidharma Buddhist distinction between conventi onal truth and ultimate truth be “defined up” from a more basic distinctio n between two different ways an entity can exist: conventionally or ultima tely. In this paper I argue that Saṃghabhadra’s account of conventional re ality and truth does lends itself well to McDaniel’s proposal but I will a lso argue that the account of conventional and ultimate truth that results differs in important ways from the models he offers. I will end by offeri ng a modification of McDaniel’s account of conventional truth that is deri ved from Saṃghabhadra’s pluralist ontology. That view will\, unlike the vi ews suggested by both Siderits and McDaniel\, allow for there to be ultima te truths about what is conventionally true.
\n\n
Dinner will be kindly offered by the C olumbia University Seminars.
\nRSVP is req uired for dinner. Please email Lucilla with eating requirements at lm3335@columbia.edu.
\n X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-US:Buddhism\,metaphysics\,truth END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-7872@www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress DTSTAMP:20240328T203114Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Columbia U CONTACT:https://universityseminars.columbia.edu/seminars/comparative-philos ophy/ DESCRIPTION:With responses from Timothy Connolly (East Stroudsburg Universi ty)\nABSTRACT: Recent philosophical discussions on compassion focus on the value and the nature of compassion as an emotion. Ancient Asian philosoph ical traditions such as Confucianism and Buddhism\, however\, emphasize co mpassion as a character trait that should be nurtured. This paper examines the insights drawn from these traditions to help inform the nurturing of compassion. For example\, is empathy a necessary tool? What is the role o f love and care? Does self-reflection contribute to the process?\n\n \nDi nner will be kindly offered by the Columbia University Seminars. \nRSVP is required for dinner. Please email Lucilla with eating requirements at lm3 335@columbia.edu. DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20221014T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20221014T193000 GEO:+40.806753;-73.959136 LOCATION:Faculty House\, Columbia U @ 64 Morningside Dr\, New York\, NY 100 27\, USA SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:How to nurture compassion? Some lessons from Asian philosophical tr aditions. Sin Yee Chan (U Vermont) URL:https://www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress/event/how-to-nurture-compassio n-some-lessons-from-asian-philosophical-traditions-sin-yee-chan-u-vermont/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\nWith responses from Timothy Connolly (Ea st Stroudsburg University)
\nABSTRACT: Recent philosophical discu
ssions on compassion focus on the value and the nature of compassion as an
emotion. Ancient Asian philosophical traditions such as Confucianism and
Buddhism\, however\, emphasize compassion as a character trait that should
be nurtured. This paper examines the insights drawn from these traditions
to help inform the nurturing of compassion. For example\, is empathy a ne
cessary tool? What is the role of love and care? Does self-reflection co
ntribute to the process?
\n
\n
Dinner will be kindly offered by the Columbia Univ ersity Seminars. < /p>\n
RSVP is required for di nner. Please email Lucilla with eating requirements at lm3335@columbia.edu.
\n X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-US:Buddhism\,Confucianism END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-7963@www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress DTSTAMP:20240328T203114Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Columbia U CONTACT:https://universityseminars.columbia.edu/seminars/comparative-philos ophy/ DESCRIPTION:The COVID-19 pandemic is said to be a once-in-a-century inciden t\, and it brought to us a sense of crisis at various levels. What is a cr isis\, though? Can any unnerving moment or period be called a crisis\, or are there different dimensions of a crisis to which we need to be attentiv e? Is solidarity possible after experiencing a crisis like Covid-19? Can B uddhism make any contribution to facilitating solidarity? This presentatio n explores the meaning and nature of a crisis and our responses to it by d rawing on modern Korean political thinker Pak Ch’iu’s (1909–1949) analysis of crisis and feminist-Buddhist thinker Kim Iryŏp’s (1896–1971) Buddhist philosophy. By doing so\, this presentation considers what social\, politi cal\, existential\, and even religious meaning we can draw from our experi ence of crises\, and what questions these insights present to us.\nWith re sponses from Karsten Struhl (John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, CUNY) \nPresented by THE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY\nRSVP is re quired for dinner. If you would like to participate in our dinner\, a $30 fee is required. Please contact Lucilla at lm3335@columbia.edu for further information. DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230303T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230303T193000 GEO:+40.806753;-73.959136 LOCATION:Faculty House\, Columbia U @ 64 Morningside Dr\, New York\, NY 100 27\, USA SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Philosophy of Crisis and a Question of Solidarity. Jin Y. Park (Ame rican) URL:https://www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress/event/philosophy-of-crisis-and -a-question-of-solidarity-jin-y-park-american/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\nThe COVID-19 pandemic is said to be a once-in-a-century inciden t\, and it brought to us a sense of crisis at various levels. What is a cr isis\, though? Can any unnerving moment or period be called a crisis\, or are there different dimensions of a crisis to which we need to be attentiv e? Is solidarity possible after experiencing a crisis like Covid-19? Can B uddhism make any contribution to facilitating solidarity? This presentatio n explores the meaning and nature of a crisis and our responses to it by d rawing on modern Korean political thinker Pak Ch’iu’s (1909–1949) analysis of crisis and feminist-Buddhist thinker Kim Iryŏp’s (1896–1971) Buddhist philosophy. By doing so\, this presentation considers what social\, politi cal\, existential\, and even religious meaning we can draw from our experi ence of crises\, and what questions these insights present to us. p>\n
With responses from Kars ten Struhl (John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, CUNY)
\n< p class='gmail-p2'>Presented by THE COLUMBIA SOC IETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY\nRSVP is required for dinner. If you would like to participate in our dinner\, a $30 fee is required. Please contact Lucilla at lm3335@colu mbia.edu for further information.
\n\n X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-US:Buddhism\,comparative\,existentialism\,Korean\,politi cal\,religion\,social END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-7977@www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress DTSTAMP:20240328T203114Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Columbia U CONTACT:https://universityseminars.columbia.edu/seminars/comparative-philos ophy/ DESCRIPTION:Conceptual misalignment is a pervasive phenomenon in the studie s of Non-Western philosophy and the History of Philosophy (NW&HP). However \, conceptual misalignment is often undetected\, unsuspected\, or seen as a hurdle that NW&HP materials need to overcome to contribute to contempora ry discussions. Specifically\, conceptual misalignment refers to the follo wing: In the process of crystalizing NW&HP materials\, a linguistic coordi nation of concepts is formed between the speaker\, i.e.\, NW&HP\, and its context of contemporary anglophone philosophy. However\, in philosophicall y meaningful ways\, the original NW&HP concept and its anglophone counterp art misalign. This misalignment is particularly intricate and hard to dete ct when it comes to emotion concepts\, as they are thought to involve phen omenal and/or intentional features. Through investigating the concept of e motion in Chinese philosophy\, I propose a refocusing on conceptual misali gnment as a method of cross-cultural comparative and history of philosophy . Moreover\, I argue that conceptual misalignment is an important resource for contemporary conceptual engineering and amelioration projects.\nWith responses from Andrew Lambert (College of Staten Island\, CUNY)\nRSVP is r equired for dinner. Dinner will take place at a nearby restaurant. Please contact Lucilla at lm3335@columbia.edu for further information.\n DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230317T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230317T193000 GEO:+40.807527;-73.960864 LOCATION:Philosophy Hall\, Columbia @ 1150 Amsterdam Ave\, New York\, NY 10 027\, USA SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:From Conceptual Misalignment to Conceptual Engineering: A Case Stud y on Emotion from Chinese Philosophy. Wenqing Zhao (Whitman) URL:https://www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress/event/from-conceptual-misalign ment-to-conceptual-engineering-a-case-study-on-emotion-from-chinese-philos ophy-wenqing-zhao-whitman/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n
\\nConceptual mi salignment is a pervasive phenomenon in the studies of Non-Western philoso phy and the History of Philosophy (NW&HP). However\, conceptual misalignme nt is often undetected\, unsuspected\, or seen as a hurdle that NW&HP mate rials need to overcome to contribute to contemporary discussions. Specific ally\, conceptual misalignment refers to the following: In the process of crystalizing NW&HP materials\, a linguistic coordination of concepts is fo rmed between the speaker\, i.e.\, NW&HP\, and its context of contemporary anglophone philosophy. However\, in philosophically meaningful ways\, the original NW&HP concept and its anglophone counterpart misalign. This misal ignment is particularly intricate and hard to detect when it comes to emot ion concepts\, as they are thought to involve phenomenal and/or intentiona l features. Through investigating the concept of emotion in Chinese philos ophy\, I propose a refocusing on conceptual misalignment as a method of cr oss-cultural comparative and history of philosophy. Moreover\, I argue tha t conceptual misalignment is an important resource for contemporary concep tual engineering and amelioration projects.
\nWith responses from Andrew Lambert (College of Staten Island\, CUNY)
\nRSVP is r equired for dinner. Dinner will take place at a nearby restaurant. Ple ase contact Lucilla at lm3335@columbia.edu for further information.
\n\n X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-US:Chinese\,comparative\,emotion END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-7951@www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress DTSTAMP:20240328T203114Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Columbia U CONTACT:https://sofheyman.org/events/an-afternoon-with-judith-butler DESCRIPTION:The pandemic compels us to ask fundamental questions about our place in the world: the many ways humans rely on one another\, how we vita lly and sometimes fatally breathe the same air\, share the surfaces of the earth\, and exist in proximity to other porous creatures in order to live in a social world. What we require to live can also imperil our lives. Ho w do we think from\, and about\, this common bind?\nIn What World Is This? A Pandemic Phenomenology\, Judith Butler shows how COVID-19 and all its c onsequences—political\, social\, ecological\, economic—have challenged us to reconsider the sense of the world that such disasters bring about. Draw ing on the work of Max Scheler\, Maurice Merleau-Ponty\, and critical femi nist phenomenology\, Butler illuminates the conditions in which we seek to make sense of our disorientation\, precarity\, and social bonds. What Wor ld Is This? offers a new account of interdependency in which touching and breathing\, capacities that amid a viral outbreak can threaten life itself \, challenge the boundaries of the body and selfhood. Criticizing notions of unlimited personal liberty and the killing forces of racism\, sexism\, and classism\, this book suggests that the pandemic illuminates the potent ial of shared vulnerabilities as well as the injustice of pervasive inequa lities.\nExposing and opposing forms of injustice that deny the essential interrelationship of living creatures\, Butler argues for a radical social equality and advocates modes of resistance that seek to establish new con ditions of livability and a new sense of a shared world.\nSpeaker\nJudith Butler is a Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School at the Universi ty of California\, Berkeley. They are the author of several books\, most r ecently The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind (2020). Butler’ s previous Columbia University Press books include Parting Ways: Jewishnes s and the Critique of Zionism (2012)\, Antigone’s Claim: Kinship Between L ife and Death (2000)\, and Subjects of Desire: Hegelian Reflections in Twe ntieth-Century France (1987).\nRespondents \nMia Florin-Sefton is a Ph.D. candidate and University Writing Instructor in the English & Comparative L iterature Department at Columbia University\, where she specializes in 20t h and 21st-century transatlantic anglophone literatures and culture. She i s also working on a project that looks at the history of sex glands and ea rly history of hormone replacement therapy in the context of theories of r acial degeneration and eugenics post-World War I.\nProfessor Goyal is an A ssistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Columbia University Medica l Center and founding director of the major in Medical Humanities. Profess or Goyal completed his residency in Emergency Medicine as Chief Resident w hile finishing his PhD in English and Comparative Literature. His research interests include the health humanities\, the study of the novel\, and me dical epistemology. His writing has appeared in The Living Handbook of Nar ratology\, Aktuel Forskning\, Litteratur\, Kultur og Medier\, and The Los Angeles Review of Books\, among other places. He is a Co-Founding Editor o f the online journal\, Synapsis: A Health Humanities Journal\nMarianne Hir sch is the William Peterfield Trent Professor Emerita of English and Compa rative Literature at Columbia University and Professor in the Institute fo r the Study of Sexuality and Gender. She is a member of the American Acade my of Arts and Sciences and a former President of the Modern Language Asso ciation of America. Along with a group of local scholars\, artists and act ivists\, Hirsch is currently co-directing the Zip Code Memory Project\, an initiative that seeks to find art and community-based ways to repair the devastating losses resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic while also ackn owledging its radically differential effects on Upper New York City neighb orhoods. DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230324T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230324T173000 GEO:+40.807536;-73.962573 LOCATION:Jerome Greene Hall (Law School) Rm 101 @ New York\, NY 10027\, USA SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:An Afternoon with Judith Butler: On the Pandemic and Our Shared Wor ld URL:https://www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress/event/an-afternoon-with-judith -butler-on-the-pandemic-and-our-shared-world/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\n
The pandemic compels us to ask fundamental questions about our place in the world: the many ways humans rely on one another\, how we vitally and sometimes fatall y breathe the same air\, share the surfaces of the earth\, and exist in pr oximity to other porous creatures in order to live in a social world. What we require to live can also imperil our lives. How do we think from\, and about\, this common bind?
\nIn What World Is This? A Pandemic Phenomenology \, Judith Butler shows how COVID-19 and all its consequences—politica l\, social\, ecological\, economic—have challenged us to reconsider the se nse of the world that such disasters bring about. Drawing on the work of M ax Scheler\, Maurice Merleau-Ponty\, and critical feminist phenomenology\, Butler illuminates the conditions in which we seek to make sense of our d isorientation\, precarity\, and social bonds. What World Is This? offers a new account of interdependency in which touching and breathing\, capacities that amid a viral outbreak can threaten life itself\, challeng e the boundaries of the body and selfhood. Criticizing notions of unlimite d personal liberty and the killing forces of racism\, sexism\, and classis m\, this book suggests that the pandemic illuminates the potential of shar ed vulnerabilities as well as the injustice of pervasive inequalities.
\nExposing and opposing forms of injustice that deny the essential inte rrelationship of living creatures\, Butler argues for a radical social equ ality and advocates modes of resistance that seek to establish new conditi ons of livability and a new sense of a shared world.
\nSpeak er
\nJudith Butler< /a> is a Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School at the Un iversity of California\, Berkeley. They are the author of several books\, most recently The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind (2020). Butler’s previous Columbia University Press books include Part ing Ways: Jewishness and the Critique of Zionism (2012)\, Antigon e’s Claim: Kinship Between Life and Death (2000)\, and Subjects o f Desire: Hegelian Reflections in Twentieth-Century France (1987).
\nRespondents
\nMia Florin-Sefton is a Ph.D. candidate and University Writing Instructor in the English & Comparative L iterature Department at Columbia University\, where she specializes in 20t h and 21st-century transatlantic anglophone literatures and culture. She i s also working on a project that looks at the history of sex glands and ea rly history of hormone replacement therapy in the context of theories of r acial degeneration and eugenics post-World War I.
\nProfessor Goyal is an Assistant Profes sor of Emergency Medicine at the Columbia University Medical Center and fo unding director of the major in Medical Humanities. Professor Goyal comple ted his residency in Emergency Medicine as Chief Resident while finishing his PhD in English and Comparative Literature. His research interests incl ude the health humanities\, the study of the novel\, and medical epistemol ogy. His writing has appeared in The Living Handbook of Narratology\, Aktuel Forskning\, Litteratur\, Kultur og Medier\, and The < em>Los Angeles Review of Books\, among other places. He is a Co-Found ing Editor of the online journal\, Synapsis: A Health Humanities Journal
\nMarianne Hirsch is the William Peterfield Trent Professor Emerita of English and Comparati ve Literature at Columbia University and Professor in the Institute for th e Study of Sexuality and Gender. She is a member of the American Academy o f Arts and Sciences and a former President of the Modern Language Associat ion of America. Along with a group of local scholars\, artists and activis ts\, Hirsch is currently co-directing the Zip Code Memory Project\, an ini tiative that seeks to find art and community-based ways to repair the deva stating losses resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic while also acknowle dging its radically differential effects on Upper New York City neighborho ods.
\n X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-US:medical\,phenomenology\,social END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-8044@www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress DTSTAMP:20240328T203114Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Columbia U CONTACT:http://universityseminars.columbia.edu/seminars/comparative-philoso phy/ DESCRIPTION:What is an appropriate response to humiliating treatments such as insults? This question is not only relevant to today’s discourse but ha s also piqued the curiosity of thinkers in classical Chinese philosophy. T he Warring States period debate regarding whether one’s inner sense of sha me can shield one from insulting situations and from experiencing shame is frequently presented as a one-sided narrative that focuses on the Confuci an texts. Meanwhile\, the views of their rival thinkers\, such as the Daoi st\, legalist\, or much-neglected Songzi (3rd century BCE)\, are rarely th e focus of attention. This paper brings Songzi\, a key player in the debat e of emotions as responses to external triggers\, into the picture and res tores the historical intellectual discourse over the topic of what constit utes an appropriate response to humiliating situations such as insults. Mo re importantly\, I point out the philosophical significance of this debate \, namely how Songzi prompts Xunzi to respond to an ambiguity within the C onfucian doctrine: The early Confucians appear to think that an individual ’s internal virtues can isolate and shield one from hostile external stimu li while also maintaining that the external environment impacts one’s mora l cultivation and moral life in significant ways. Xunzi’s strategic move\, I argue\, is to give credit to both an inner sense of shame and the funct ion of external stimuli in inducing negative emotions\, thus making an imp ortant philosophical concession compared to Confucius and Mencius.\n\n\n\n \nWith responses from Nalei Chen (New York University)\n\n\n\n\n\nWe hope you’ve had restful and productive summers\, and we look forward to seeing you at our upcoming meetings. Below is the list of our scheduled speakers. Please save these dates!\n\nSeptember 15 – Jing Hu (Concordia)\nOctober 1 3 – Bill Waldron (Middlebury)\nOctober 27 – David Wong (Duke)\nDecember 1 – Stephen Angle (Wesleyan)\n\nFurther details will be circulated in due co urse. DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230915T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230915T193000 GEO:+40.807536;-73.962573 LOCATION:Philosophy Hall\, Room 716 @ 116th and Broadway\, New York\, NY 10 027\, USA SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:War and Shame –A Debate on the Appropriate Response to Insults betw een the Confucians and their Interlocutors. Jing Hu (Concordia University) URL:https://www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress/event/war-and-shame-a-debate-o n-the-appropriate-response-to-insults-between-the-confucians-and-their-int erlocutors-jing-hu-concordia-university/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\nWhat i s an appropriate response to humiliating treatments such as insults? This question is not only relevant to today’s discourse but has also piqued the curiosity of thinkers in classical Chinese philosophy. The Warring States period debate regarding whether one’s inner sense of shame can shield one from insulting situations and from experiencing shame is frequently prese nted as a one-sided narrative that focuses on the Confucian texts. Meanwhi le\, the views of their rival thinkers\, such as the Daoist\, legalist\, o r much-neglected Songzi (3rd century BCE)\, are rarely the focus of attent ion. This paper brings Songzi\, a key player in the debate of emotions as responses to external triggers\, into the picture and restores the histori cal intellectual discourse over the topic of what constitutes an appropria te response to humiliating situations such as insults. More importantly\, I point out the philosophical significance of this debate\, namely how Son gzi prompts Xunzi to respond to an ambiguity within the Confucian doctrine : The early Confucians appear to think that an individual’s internal virtu es can isolate and shield one from hostile external stimuli while also mai ntaining that the external environment impacts one’s moral cultivation and moral life in significant ways. Xunzi’s strategic move\, I argue\, is to give credit to both an inner sense of shame and the function of external s timuli in inducing negative emotions\, thus making an important philosophi cal concession compared to Confucius and Mencius.
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWith responses from Nalei Chen (New York University)
\n
How do we exp erience space? And what does this mean for the spaces we design? We explor e these questions by bringing together speakers from Architecture\, Neuros cience\, and Virtual Reality\, with two specific aims: First\, we explore what Architecture and Virtual Reality can learn from each other\, as two d istinct approaches to “spatial design”. Whilst spatial experience has long been a central question of Architecture\, Virtual Reality is only beginni ng to grapple with these questions\, as technology transitions from 2D scr eens to 3D spatial interfaces. Second\, we explore the nature of spatial e xperience itself\, with two approaches to understanding the human mind. Wh ilst contemporary Architecture is influenced by Philosophy (specifically t he “Phenomenological” tradition)\, the tools of Neuroscience are increasin gly being applied to questions of Architecture as well. Through this multi disciplinary exchange we hope to deepen our understanding of spatial exper ience\, and how it informs the physical and virtual spaces we design.
\nFree and open to the pu blic. Registration i s required via Eventbrite. Online attendees will receive a Zoom link from Eventbrite. Please email presidentialscholars@columbia.edu with any questions.
\nThis e vent is hosted by the Presidential Scholars in Society and N euroscience as part of the Seminars in Society and Neuroscience series. Co-sponsored by the< a class='external' href='https://italianacademy.columbia.edu/' target='_bl ank' rel='noopener'> Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America a nd the Zuckerman Institute at Columbia Univer sity.
\nThe Center for Science and Society makes every reasonable ef fort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you require disabili ty accommodations to attend a Center for Science and Society event\, pleas e contact us at scienceand society@columbia.edu or (212) 854-0666 at least 10 days in advance of the event. For more information\, please visit the campus accessibility webpage.
\nTickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/designing-space-tickets -681760884157.
X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-US:mind\,neuroscience\,phenomenology X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/designing-space-tickets-68176088 4157 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-8030@www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress DTSTAMP:20240328T203114Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Columbia U CONTACT:https://philosophy.columbia.edu/content/colloquia-lectures-2023-202 4 DESCRIPTION:Samantha Matherne has written the first recent book in English on the philosophy of Cassirer\, covering the full range of his thought. He r research also explores the reciprocal relationship between perception an d aesthetics. She approaches these issues largely through a historical len s\, as they are taken up by Kant and developed in Post-Kantian traditions in the 19th and 20th centuries\, especially Phenomenology and Neo-Kantiani sm. DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231012T161000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231012T180000 GEO:+40.807536;-73.962573 LOCATION:716 Philosophy Hall @ 116th and Broadway\, New York\, NY 10027\, U SA SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Samantha Matherene (Harvard) URL:https://www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress/event/samantha-matherene-harva rd/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\nSamantha Math erne has written the first recent book in English on the philosophy of Cas sirer\, covering the full range of his thought. Her research also explores the reciprocal relationship between perception and aesthetics. She approa ches these issues largely through a historical lens\, as they are taken up by Kant and developed in Post-Kantian traditions in the 19th and 20th cen turies\, especially Phenomenology and Neo-Kantianism.
\n X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-US:German\,idealism\,Kant\,phenomenology END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-8078@www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress DTSTAMP:20240328T203114Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Columbia U CONTACT:http://universityseminars.columbia.edu/seminars/comparative-philoso phy/ DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT: Yogācāra Buddhists articulated in the 3-5th c. CE Ind ia an explicit model of how we collectively\, yet mostly unconsciously\, c onstruct our shared social realities\, our cultures. These “worlds” are su pported by cognitive processes informed by cultural influences occurring o utside our conscious awareness\, in the “store-house consciousness” (ālaya -vijñāna). Through development and socialization\, we come to identify wit h these cultural norms\, thinking “I am this” and “this is mine.” Moreover \, and in agreement with cognitive scientists\, Yogācārins argue that huma ns have developed to be “innate essentialists\,” so that we imagine that o ur constructed social and cultural identities have their own essential\, i ntrinsic characteristics\, set apart from all others\, generating the “us/ them” dichotomies that underlie conflicts between groups. We can counterac t these harmful patterns\, Yogācārins say\, by analyzing how our social an d cultural “realities” are collectively constructed\, and by showing how—t hrough logical\, psychological\, and contemplative exercises—we may weaken our unreflective\, knee-jerk reaction to different peoples and cultures\, and thereby foster more tolerance\, empathy and understanding for all bei ngs. In sum\, Yogācāra Buddhism offers a rigorous and nuanced analysis of the origins of our prejudices and a set of methods to overcome them\, root ed in ancient traditions yet relevant to contemporary issues.\nWith respon ses from Jonathan Gold (Princeton University)\nDATE: October 13th\, 2023\n TIME: 5:30 pm EST\nLOCATION: Philosophy Hall\, Room 716\, Columbia Univers ity\n1150 Amsterdam Ave\, New York\, NY 10027\nNOTE ON ENTRY FOR NON-COLUM BIA GUESTS: The door to Philosophy Hall will only open with a Columbia Uni versity ID card. If you do not have this card please arrive early where so meone will be standing outside until the meeting begins. If you arrive lat e\, you can ask someone walking nearby to let you in or contact Cole at cf 2798@columbia.edu. Please only contact Cole as a final resource so as not to interrupt the talk.\n\n\n\n\nWe hope you’ve had restful and productive summers\, and we look forward to seeing you at our upcoming meetings. Belo w is the list of our scheduled speakers. Please save these dates!\n\nSepte mber 15 – Jing Hu (Concordia)\nOctober 13 – Bill Waldron (Middlebury)\nOct ober 27 – David Wong (Duke)\nDecember 1 – Stephen Angle (Wesleyan)\n\nFurt her details will be circulated in due course. DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231013T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231013T193000 GEO:+40.807536;-73.962573 LOCATION:Philosophy Hall\, Room 716 @ 116th and Broadway\, New York\, NY 10 027\, USA SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Buddhist Analyses of the Unconscious Construction of our Collective ‘Life-Worlds. William Waldron (Middlebury) URL:https://www.noahgreenstein.com/wordpress/event/buddhist-analyses-of-the -unconscious-construction-of-our-collective-life-worlds-william-waldron-mi ddlebury/ X-COST-TYPE:free X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:\\n\\n\\nABSTRACT: Yogācāra Bud dhists articulated in the 3-5th c. CE India an explicit model of how we co llectively\, yet mostly unconsciously\, construct our shared social realit ies\, our cultures. These “worlds” are supported by cognitive processes in formed by cultural influences occurring outside our conscious awareness\, in the “store-house consciousness” (ālaya-vijñāna). Through development an d socialization\, we come to identify with these cultural norms\, thinking “I am this” and “this is mine.” Moreover\, and in agreement with cognitiv e scientists\, Yogācārins argue that humans have developed to be “innate e ssentialists\,” so that we imagine that our constructed social and cultura l identities have their own essential\, intrinsic characteristics\, set ap art from all others\, generating the “us/them” dichotomies that underlie c onflicts between groups. We can counteract these harmful patterns\, Yogācā rins say\, by analyzing how our social and cultural “realities” are collec tively constructed\, and by showing how—through logical\, psychological\, and contemplative exercises—we may weaken our unreflective\, knee-jerk rea ction to different peoples and cultures\, and thereby foster more toleranc e\, empathy and understanding for all beings. In sum\, Yogācāra Buddhism o ffers a rigorous and nuanced analysis of the origins of our prejudices and a set of methods to overcome them\, rooted in ancient traditions yet rele vant to contemporary issues.
\nWith responses from Jonathan Go ld (Princeton University)
\nDATE: October 13th\, 2023
\nTIME: 5:30 pm EST
\nLOCATION: Philosophy Hall \, Room 716\, Columbia University
\n1150 Amsterdam Ave\, New York\, NY 10027
\nNOTE ON ENTRY FOR NON-COLUMBIA GUESTS: The door to Philosophy Hall will only open with a Columbia University ID card. If you do not have this card please arrive early where someone will be standing outside until the meeting begins. If you arrive late\, you can ask someone walking nearby to let you in or contact Cole at cf2798@columbia.edu. Please only contact Cole as a final resource so as not to interrupt the talk.
\nThe first sec tion of the talk will give an account of the Hindu-Buddhist debate about t he existence of selves. The particular Hindu / Brāhmaṇical tradition conc entrated on is Nyāya\, and ‘Buddhism’ is used to refer specifically to Dha rmakīrtian Buddhism with its doctrine of momentariness. The second sectio n looks at a Nyāya argument against Buddhism. I will argue that it is not difficult for the Buddhist to come up with a satisfactory response. The third section will introduce the view of Rāmakaṇṭha (950–1000 CE) and look at three of his arguments against the Buddhist view. These I view as mor e difficult for the Buddhist to respond to. The fourth section introduces the view of Galen Strawson\, relates it to the Buddhist view\, and consid ers the extent to which it is susceptible to Rāmakaṇṭha’s arguments.
\nWith responses from Martin Lin (Rutgers University)
\nNOTE ON ENTRY FOR NON-COLUMBIA GUESTS: The door to Philosophy Ha ll will only open with a Columbia University ID card. If you do not have t his card please arrive early where someone will be standing outside until the meeting begins. If you arrive late\, you can ask someone walking nearb y to let you in or contact Cole at cf2798@columbia.edu. Please only contact Cole as a final resource so as not to interrupt the talk.
\nNOTE REGARDING DONATIONS: Due to COVID-19\, donations are only accepted thr ough Columbia University’s secure online giving form\, Giving to Columbia.
\nRSVP is required for dinner. Dinner will take place at a n earby restaurant. Please contact Cole at cf2798@columbia.edu for further inf ormation.
\nComparative Philosophy Seminar:
\nHow does the imagination change us ? Why should picturing ourselves a certain way have any real effect on wha t we are? These questions are central to debates in Buddhist tantric liter ature regarding the generation stage (utpattikrama)\, wherein pract itioners visualize themselves as buddhas ensconsed in magnificent mandala- palaces. For some\, this practice is what sets Buddhist tantra apart: thro ugh this “yoga of the imagination\,” as David Shulman puts it\, a practiti oner can achieve buddhahood in a single lifetime. And yet\, as the Buddhis t tantric author Indrabhūti (8th century) argues\, a pauper who imagines h imself to be a king does not thereby become one—so\, in the same way\, pra ctitioners who visualize themselves as buddhas will not thereby become bud dhas. The mental imagery (ākāra) involved in this practice is just so much unreal fabrication. Why should it have real transformative effects ? I’ll consider here how these debates played out in Sanskrit Buddhist tan tric texts from the 10th–11th centuries. I’ll focus on early authors in th e Kālacakra tradition\, who upheld Indrabhūti’s critique of the generation stage\, and authors like Ratnākaraśānti\, Vāgīśvarakīrti\, and Advayavajr a (aka Maitrīpa)\, who each in their own way critiqued mental imagery yet defended the importance and effectiveness of generation-stage practice. In the first part of the paper\, I’ll consider arguments against mental imag ery as these appear in generation-stage practice texts and the early Kālac akra tradition. In the second part\, I’ll turn to why we might think unrea l mental imagery can nevertheless have real transformative effects\, payin g special attention to the ways Buddhist tantric authors writing in Sanskr it take up ideas from the tradition of dramatic theory (nāṭyaśastra ) and Sanskrit culture more broadly.
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWith responses from Thoma s Yarnall (Columbia University)
\nDATE: February 2nd\, 2024
\nTIME: 5:30 pm EST
\nLOCATION: Philosophy Hall\, Room 716\, Columbia Univer sity
\n1150 Amsterdam Ave\, New York\, NY 10027
\nNOTE ON E NTRY FOR NON-COLUMBIA GUESTS: The door to Philosophy Hall will only op en with a Columbia University ID card. If you do not have this card please arrive early where someone will be standing outside until the meeting beg ins. If you arrive late\, you can ask someone walking nearby to let you in or contact Cole at cf2798@columbia.edu. Please only contact Cole as a final resource so as not to interrupt the talk.
\nNOTE REGARDING DONAT IONS: Due to COVID-19\, donations are only accepted through Columbia U niversity’s secure online giving form\, Giving to Columbia.
\nRSV P is required for dinner. Dinner will take place at a nearby restauran t. Please contact Cole at cf2798@columbia.edu for further information.
\nACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT: Columbia University encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. The Unive rsity Seminars’ participants with dis- abilities who anticipate needing ac commodations or who have questions about physical access may contact the O ffice of Disability Services at 212.854.2388 or disability@columbia.edu. Disability accommodations\, including sign-language interpreters\, are av ailable on request. Requests for accommodations must be made two weeks in advance. On campus\, seminar participants with disabilities should alert a Public Safety Officer if they need assistance accessing campus.
\nPLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: h ttps://universityseminars.columbia.edu/seminars/comparative-philosophy/
\n(Please do not reply to this announcement. You may contact th e Co-Chairs using the link above.)
\nComparative Philosophy Sem inar:
\n\n
\n X-TAGS;LANGUAGE=en-US:Buddhism\,comparative\,imagination END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR- January 19 – Alex Watson (Ashoka University)
\nFebruary 2 – Davey Tomlinson (Villanova University)\n - April 5 – Laura Specker (Fordham University)
\n- May 3 – Daniel Stephens (Univ ersity at Buffalo)
\n