京都大学 白眉センター

We can now observe our universe from astronomical distances and look deep into the microscopic structures of matter and life. Yet, our own mind largely remains a mystery. Consciousness has actually an epistemological primacy: scientific observation does presuppose an observer. So who knows the knower? This question is at the heart of humanities, following Socrates’ famous injunction: “Know Thyself.” From a rather phenomenological point of view, I will argue that Buddhist philosophy offers a valuable legacy for the study of the structures of subjective experience and its transformations. In this aim, I will focus on the highest philosophical view known in the Himalayas as “the Great Perfection” or Dzogchen in Tibetan. I will introduce its history within Tibetan Buddhism at the crossroads of the great civilizations of India, Persia and China, and discuss its specific philosophy of mind. Finally, we shall see how its insights on self-knowledge, empathy, freedom or happiness may contribute to the dialogue between Eastern and Western philosophies, Buddhism and cognitive sciences, and what are the challenges awaiting us.