An Existential Attention Norm for Affectively Biased Sentient Beings: A Buddhist Intervention from Buddhaghosa
Journal of the American Philosophical Association January 9, 2025 Sean M. Smith
Attention is pervasively biased by embodied affects, and people are normatively assessable in light of this bias. Buddhist philosophy, particularly the work of Buddhaghosa (5th–6th century CE), offers a rich tradition of normative theorizing about attention. Through an analysis of how wholesome empathy can go wrong, the article argues that Buddhaghosa posits an existential norm of attention: it commands not only proper attention to oneself and the world but also a gradual transformation of one's cognitive-emotional constitution, leading to liberation from suffering.