Consciousness in Early Buddhism and the Abhidharma Schools
Buddhist Physicalism? August 5, 2025 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1093/9780197799697.003.0004
Summary
The chapter explores the role of consciousness in early Buddhism and Abhidharma, asserting that all classical Indian Buddhist schools consider consciousness to be ultimately real, a view opposed by physicalist Buddhism. It examines whether a non-egological perspective on consciousness can align with Buddhist metaphysics, highlighting challenges such as the loneliness test and issues with metaphysical determinacy, as well as the complexities of meta-cognition.
Study at a glance
| Key finding | All schools of classical Indian Buddhism maintain that consciousness is ultimately real, conflicting with physicalist views. |
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Abstract
Abstract This chapter discusses the place of consciousness in early Buddhism and Abhidharma. All schools of classical Indian Buddhism hold that consciousness is ultimately real, a claim a physicalist Buddhism would have to deny. The question is raised whether a non-egological account of consciousness can be formulated in a way that is consistent with the metaphysical scruples shaping the Buddhist philosophical project. A core difficulty is that no such account seems able to comply with the loneliness test imposed by the intrinsic-nature criterion for ultimate reals. But there are also sorites difficulties that run afoul of the requirement that the ultimately real be metaphysically determinate. The difficulty of accounting for the capacity for meta-cognition is also discussed.