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A Buddhist Theory of Killing

A Philosophical Exposition

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  • © 2022

Overview

Authors:
  1. Martin Kovan

    1. Sydney, Australia

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  • Provides an unprecedented study of the philosophical grounds for the Buddhist ethics of killing

  • Goes beyond a largely hermeneutical approach to develop a theory from the ground up

  • Updates a theorisation of Buddhist ethics within the context of contemporary philosophical standards

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxii
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  2. General Introduction

    • Martin Kovan
    Pages 1-10

  5. Back Matter

    Pages 243-254
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Keywords

About this book

This book provides a philosophical account of the normative status of killing in Buddhism. Its argument theorises on relevant Buddhist philosophical grounds the metaphysical, phenomenological and ethical dimensions of the distinct intentional classes of killing, in dialogue with some elements of Western philosophical thought. In doing so, it aims to provide a descriptive account of the causal bases of intentional killing, a global justification and elucidation of Buddhist norms regarding killing, and an intellectual response to and critique of alternative conceptions of such norms presented in recent Buddhist Studies scholarship. It examines early and classical Buddhist accounts of the evaluation of killing, systematising and rationally assessing these claims on both Buddhist and contemporary Western philosophical grounds. The book provides the conceptual foundation for the discussion, engaging original reconstructive philosophical analyses to both bolster and critique classical Indian Buddhist positions on killing and its evaluation, as well as contemporary Buddhist Studies scholarship concerning these positions. In doing so, it provides a systematic and critical account of the subject hitherto absent in the field. Engaging Buddhist philosophy from scholastic dogmatics to epistemology and metaphysics, this book is relevant to advanced students and scholars in philosophy and religious studies.



Authors and Affiliations

  • Sydney, Australia

    Martin Kovan

About the author

Martin Kovan graduated with a PhD. (Philosophy) at University of Melbourne in 2020. He has held exchange and visiting scholar positions at the National University of Singapore (Singapore), UC Davis (Davis, California), Mahidol University (Bangkok) and the Vrije Universiteit (Amsterdam). He also holds an M.Phil. in Buddhist Studies (University of Queensland, 2009) and an M.A. in English Literature (University of Sydney, 2003). He has lived and worked in France, India and Southeast Asia and has for over twenty years studied and practised in the (Gelug) Tibetan Buddhist tradition in Australia, India, the USA, UK and France. 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: A Buddhist Theory of Killing

  • Book Subtitle: A Philosophical Exposition

  • Authors: Martin Kovan

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2441-5

  • Publisher: Springer Singapore

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-19-2440-8Published: 21 June 2022

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-981-19-2443-9Published: 22 June 2023

  • eBook ISBN: 978-981-19-2441-5Published: 20 June 2022

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXII, 254

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Philosophy, general, Buddhism, Ethics, Sociology of Religion, Asian Criminology

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