Dharmakirti on Thought and Language: Translation of Pramanavarttika-Svavrtti, the Apoha Section (part 1: PVSV 24,14 - 45, 20)

FAIN: RQ-230552-15

Regents of the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001)
John A. Taber (Project Director: December 2014 to March 2021)
Vincent Eltschinger (Co Project Director: February 2015 to March 2021)

Translation of a section of the first chapter of the seventh-century Buddhist philosopher Dharmakirti’s work, Pramanavarttika (the apoha section, part one). (24 months)

The two year funding will support a joint translation of a section of the first chapter of Dharmakirti's Pramanavarttika. Dharmakirti (seventh century C.E.) was one of the most influential philosophers in Indian Buddhism. He cofounded, with his predecessor Dignaga, the logico epistemological school of Buddhist thought, Buddhist Logic, and wove Buddhist teachings into a comprehensive philosophical system, grounding them in metaphysics, epistemology, logic, and philosophy of language. His views set the agenda for Indian philosophy through the eleventh century. John Taber, as PI, will collaborate with two European scholars, Vincent Eltschinger of the Institut für Kultur und Geistesgeschichte Asiens in Vienna, Austria, and Isabelle Ratié of the University of Paris. The section on apoha exclusion they will translate concerns linguistic and cognitive meaning in Pramanavarttika 1. The team will meet in Vienna before the grant, and twice in New Mexico and Vienna during the grant.

Associated Products

Dharmakirti's Theory of Exclusion (Apoha) Part I On Concealing; An Annotated Translation of Pramanavarttikasvavrtti 24, 16-45, 20 (Pramanavarttika 1.40-91) (Book)
Title: Dharmakirti's Theory of Exclusion (Apoha) Part I On Concealing; An Annotated Translation of Pramanavarttikasvavrtti 24, 16-45, 20 (Pramanavarttika 1.40-91)
Author: Dharmakirti
Editor: Vincent Eltschinger
Editor: John Taber
Editor: Michael Torsten Much
Editor: Isabelle Ratie
Abstract: The Prama?avarttika (Commentary on the Means of Knowledge) is the magnum opus of the great sixth-century Indian Buddhist philosopher Dharmakirti, one of the founders of the logico-epistemological school of Buddhist thought or “Buddhist Logic.” The Prama?avarttika was regarded, both by his followers and opponents, as the definitive attempt to ground the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism rigorously on theories of metaphysics, epistemology, logic, and philosophy of language. Dharmakirti’s positions on problems in these areas set the agenda for Indian philosophy through the eleventh century CE. Key to Dharmakirti’s system is the theory of apoha, “exclusion.” Although originally a theory of meaning proposed by his predecessor Dignaga, Dharmakirti used it as a vehicle for articulating, in a philosophically precise way, the central Mahayana Buddhist teaching of the (ultimately) erroneous nature of all conceptual thought. This volume is the first part of a three-part translation of the lengthy presentation and defense of the theory of apoha in the first chapter of the Prama?avarttika (verses 40–185, together with Dharmakirti’s autocommentary or Svav?tti)
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://www.worldcat.org/title/dharmakirtis-theory-of-exclusion-apoha/oclc/1088877436&referer=brief_results
Primary URL Description: WorldCat listing
Secondary URL: http://www.icabs.ac.jp/en/news/iibs/post-2877
Secondary URL Description: Publisher's listing
Access Model: Book
Publisher: Tokyo: The International Institute for Buddhist Studies of The International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies 2018
Type: Translation
ISBN: 9784906267767
Translator: Vincent Eltschinger, John Taber, Michael Torsten Much, Isabelle Ratie
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

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