The doctrine of the two truths--a conventional truth and an ultimate truth--is central to Buddhist metaphysics and epistemology. The two truths (or two realities), the distinction between them, and the relation between them is understood variously in different Buddhist schools and is of special importance to the Madhyamaka school. The fundamental ideas are articulated with particular force by Nagarjuna (2nd--3rd century CE) who famously claims that the two truths are identical to one another, and yet distinct. One of the most influential interpretations of Nagarjuna's difficult doctrine derives from the commentary of Candrakirti (6th century CE). While much attention has been devoted to explaining the nature of the ultimate truth in view of its special soteriological role, less has been paid to understanding the nature of conventional truth, which is often described as "deceptive," "illusion," or "truth for fools." But conventional truth is nonetheless truth. This book therefore asks, "what is true about conventional truth?" and "What are the implications of an understanding of conventional truth for our lives?"

Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPreface1. An Introduction to Conventional TruthGuy Newland and Tom J F Tillemans2. Taking Conventional Truth Seriously: Authority Regarding Deceptive RealityJay L Garfield3. Prasangika Epistemology in ContextSonam Thakch?e4. Weighing the Butter, Levels of Explanation and Falsification: Models of the Conventional in Tsongkhapa's Account of MadhyamakaGuy Martin Newland5. Identifying the Object of Negation and the Status of Conventional Truth: Why the dgag bya Matters So Much to Tibetan MadhyamikasJay L Garfield and Sonam Thakch?e6. Can a Madhyamaka be a Skeptic? The Case of Patsab NyimadrakGeorges Dreyfus7. Madhyamaka and Classical Greek SkepticismGeorges Dreyfus and Jay L Garfield8. The (Two) Truths about TruthGraham Priest, Mark Siderits and Tom J F Tillemans9. How Far can a Madhyamika Buddhist Reform Conventional Truth? Dismal Relativism, Fictionalism, Easy-easy Truth and the AlternativesTom J F Tillemans10. Is Everything Connected to Everything Else? What the Gopis KnowMark Siderits11. Carnap's Pragmatism and the Two TruthsBronwyn Finnigan and Koji Tanaka12. The Merely Conventional Existence of the WorldJan Westerhoff13. Two Truths: Two ModelsGraham Priest14. Ethics for MadhyamikasBronwyn Finnigan and Koji TanakaReferences and AbbreviationsIndex