Nāgārjuna and Wittgenstein's Linguistic Anti-Essentialism
Date
2023-05
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Nāgārjuna and Ludwig Wittgenstein are both considered titans of their
respective philosophical traditions. Despite the massive temporal and geographic
distances that separate the two, a number of scholars have pointed out many parallels
that run through their work, particularly in their views of language, anti-essentialism,
metaphysics, and skepticism. This thesis explores some of those parallels, the
perspectives of various Nāgārjuna and Wittgenstein scholars, and contemporary
debates which can be informed by their work. Chapters 1 and 2 explicate the views of
Nāgārjuna and Wittgenstein, respectively. Chapter 3 compares and contrasts the two
with emphasis on their view of linguistic anti-essentialism, similarities in the
philosophical traditions that each responded to, the goal of philosophy, and what each
philosopher has to contribute to the others’ thought. Chapter 4 applies the
contributions of both philosophers to eliminative materialism, a position in analytic
philosophy of mind first proposed by Paul Churchland in 1981. Finally, Chapter 5
examines contemporary debates over bioessentialist accounts of gender identity in
light of the anti-essentialism held in common by Nāgārjuna, Wittgenstein, and a
number of feminist philosophers. Thus, while both Nāgārjuna and Wittgenstein are
long dead, their philosophical contributions are alive and highly relevant to social,
political, and philosophical debates being had today.