According to Mark Siderits, conventional reality in the Abhidharma Buddhist philosophy, particularly as expounded by Vasubandhu (4 c.e.), is “useful fiction” that is “reducible” to ultimate reality or dharma. It is argued here that if conventional reality is useful in the way Siderits describes it in his “Consequentialist justification,” then weak emergentism better represents the Buddhist metaphysics than reductionism.
目次
Introduction 1218 Vasubandhu’s Definition of Conventional and Ultimate Realities 1219 Conventional Reality as Useful Fiction: The Consequentialist Justification 1221 The Person Convention as Uniquely Useful 1223 The Weak Emergentist Solution 1225 Conclusion 1227 Notes 1228