Abstract
In Sect. 1 an argument for Yogācāra Buddhist Idealism, here understood as the view that everything in the universe is of the nature of consciousness / cognition, is laid out. The prior history of the argument is also recounted. In Sect. 2 the role played in this argument by light as an analogy for cognition is analyzed. Four separate aspects of the light analogy are discerned. In Sect. 3, I argue that although light is in some ways a helpful analogy for the Buddhist Idealist, in other ways it is thoroughly inappropriate. At the end of the article I ask whether the lack of fit between light and cognition is unavoidable, or whether the Buddhist Idealists could have chosen a better analogy.
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Watson, A. Light as an Analogy for Cognition in Buddhist Idealism (Vijñānavāda). J Indian Philos 42, 401–421 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-013-9192-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-013-9192-5