Philosophy & What Matters. Ep. 15: Philosophies in Asia with Graham Priest (CUNY)

"Philosophy & What Matters" deals with questions that matter to us from a philosophical point of view.

In philosophy, we study metaphysics (the nature of reality), epistemology (the nature and limits of human knowledge, and ethics (the nature of morality), and we learn what the “great” philosophers have said about these matters. We read the works of Plato and Aristotle; Augustine, Anselm, and Thomas Aquinas; Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant; and everyone who came after Hegel.

The canon of philosophy, however, is dominated by philosophers from the “West”. But what of the works by the Taoists, the Confucians, the Hindus, and the Buddhists? What could these “philosophies” found in Asia offer us and would they even matter?

Joining us to discuss the Philosophies of the East is Graham Priest, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.