Language and Consciousness in Early Buddhist Thought: On the Early Reflections on the Theme of Language and the Perception of Reality in the Pāli Canon

Archaic Buddhism, as recorded in the Pāli Canon, contains a well-articulated theory of knowledge that includes a sophisticated view on language and its role in perception and cognition. The paper argues that Buddhist considerations on language are comparable to Saussure's early linguistic theories and address fundamental issues in the philosophy of perception and theories of cognition. This comparison offers a technical approach to the problem of consciousness, aiming to structure a systematic dialogue between the philosophy of mind and language, cognitive sciences, and linguistics, thereby providing an original perspective on these topics through Buddhist thought.

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Abstract

In this paper, the Buddhist view on language and its implications for perception and cognition will be analyzed. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that archaic Buddhism, as documented in the suttas of the Pāli Canon, already presents a well-articulated theory of knowledge, and that Buddhist considerations on the problem of language are comparable to Saussure’s early linguistic theories, as well as to fundamental issues in the philosophy of perception and theories of cognition. This comparison with Buddhist thought seeks to provide a technical approach to the problem of consciousness in order to structure a systematic dialogue between the philosophy of mind and language, cognitive sciences, and linguistics, offering an original perspective on these topics through Buddhist thought.