The Bodhisattva’s Brain

The “Introduction” is a paean, a song in praise of comparative philosophy.

Some think that studying ancient wisdom traditions involves anachronism and ethnocentrism. One talks across too much time and one talks and thinks in a biased way from one’s own perspective for the inquiry, for the reflection to be profitable. Plus these are old dead people.

I say, accept that such inquiry is anachronistic and ethnocentric, and get over it. We live in the most exciting multicultural and cosmopolitan times, where people come from numerous different traditions. It is by paying respectful attention to where others are coming from that we can see more clearly how others see and do things, as well as the multifarious ways we might see and do things differently, possibly better.

I would like the book to undermine glib claims about neuroscience and what it can show or reveal about what really matters for human flourishing, namely, living with worthy aims and in excellent social relations. I would like it if it made my fellow analytic philosophers appreciated what a rich theory “Buddhism naturalized” is, and if the book made them more receptive to doing comparative work and searching for wisdom, and less inclined to pedantic professionalism.