History of Philosophy: India, Africana, China
HPI 45 - Motion Denied - Nagarjuna on Change
Jun 25, 2017
Nagarjuna applies his emptiness theory to motion and change. Delving into the concept of motion and location in relation to verbs. Examining Sanskrit grammatical theory and exploring objects' roles in motion. Comparing Nagarjuna and Zeno's paradoxes of motion, language, and knowledge. Analyzing Nagarjuna's critique of the validation of sources of knowledge.
23:21
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Quick takeaways
- Motion is impossible according to Nagarjuna's argument as it occurs in a place being moved across.
- Nagarjuna demonstrates the incoherence of defining the starting point of motion by analyzing the motion of a participant in three time periods.
Deep dives
Nagarjuna's denial of motion and its location
Nagarjuna challenges the concept of motion by questioning its location. He argues that if we divide a path into different portions - the part already traversed, the part yet to be traversed, and the part currently being traversed - none of these portions can be the location of the motion. This leads to the conclusion that motion is occurring in a place that is being moved across, which is impossible according to Nagarjuna's argument. By using Sanskrit grammatical notions and examples, Nagarjuna highlights the emptiness and redundancy of statements about motion and argues that our natural languages have inadequate resources for describing it.
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