Jan Christoph Westerhoff is a philosopher and orientalist whose work delves into metaphysics and the philosophy of language. His research explores the intricacies of thought and expression, with a particular focus on Indo-Tibetan philosophy. Westerhoff also engages with the history of ideas during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, connecting philosophical inquiry with historical context. His approach is marked by profound knowledge and precise analysis, offering readers a compelling exploration of fundamental philosophical questions.
Jan Westerhoff unfolds the story of one of the richest episodes in the history of Indian thought, the development of Buddhist philosophy during the first millennium CE. He aims to offer the reader a systematic grasp of key Buddhist concepts such as non-self, suffering, reincarnation, karma, and nirvana.
'What is real?' has been one of the key questions of philosophy since its beginning in antiquity. But it is not just a question that philosophers ask. This Very Short Introduction discusses what reality is by looking at a variety of arguments, theories, and thought-experiments from philosophy, physics, and cognitive science.
This Oxford Guide is designed for the philosophically interested student or scholar reading Candrakirti's Introduction to the Middle Way, a key text in the Buddhist philosophical tradition. Jan Westerhoff's commentary focuses on the philosophical content of the text, using Candrakirti's auto-commentary as the main explicatory resource.