Recognizing Reality : Dharmakirti's Philosophy and Its Tibetan Interpretations

Contents: Preface. Technical notes. I. Ontology and philosophy of language : A. Ontology : 1. Ontology and categories. 2. Dharmakirti’s ontology. 3. The ambiguities of the concept of existence. 4. The purview of the "real". 5. Ge-luk thinkers on specific ontology. B. The problem of universals : 6. Introducing universals. 7. Dharmakirti on universals. 8. Sa-gya antirealism and the problems of predication. 9. Ge-luk realism. 10. Realism in Buddhist tradition. C. Philosophy of language : 11. Introduction to Apoha. 12. Dharmakirti on concept formation. 13. The concept of negation and the evolution of the Apoha theory. 14. Object universal and concept formation. 15. Philosophy of language. II. Epistemology : A. Valid cognition : 16. Dharmakirti’s epistemology of valid cognition. 17. Was Dharmakirti a pragmatist? 18. Can inference be valid? B. Perception : 19. Philosophy of perception. 20. Dharmakirti’s account of perception. 21. A new epistemology begins: Dharmottara on perception. 22. Tibetan new epistemology. 23. Cha-ba’s philosophy of mind. 24. Sa-pan’s critique of the new epistemology. 25. Perception and apperception. 26. Are external objects perceptible? 27. Epistemology, metaphysics, and religion. Conclusion: philosophy as an education of the mind. Notes. Glossary: Tibetan – Sanskrit –English. Glossary: Sanskrit – Tibetan – English. Bibliography. Author Index. Subject Index.