{"title":"The Brahmavihāras and the Achievement of Nonegocentricity","authors":"J. Garfield","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190907631.003.0009","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This chapter characterizes the four brahmavihāras, or divine states: friendliness, care, sympathetic joy, and impartiality. Also addressed are their relationship both to their antitheses and to their “near enemies,” or the states that are similar enough to masquerade as these virtuous ones, yet differ because they are egocentric, and thus become a vice. The chapter examines the question of why morality is rational, including discussions of this topic in both Western and Buddhist thought, and its connections to egoism, and argues that the four divine states, when considered together, can be understood to constitute an analysis of a non-egocentric ethical perspective.","PeriodicalId":38727,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Buddhist Ethics","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2021-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Buddhist Ethics","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190907631.003.0009","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Arts and Humanities","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This chapter characterizes the four brahmavihāras, or divine states: friendliness, care, sympathetic joy, and impartiality. Also addressed are their relationship both to their antitheses and to their “near enemies,” or the states that are similar enough to masquerade as these virtuous ones, yet differ because they are egocentric, and thus become a vice. The chapter examines the question of why morality is rational, including discussions of this topic in both Western and Buddhist thought, and its connections to egoism, and argues that the four divine states, when considered together, can be understood to constitute an analysis of a non-egocentric ethical perspective.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Buddhist Ethics is the first academic journal dedicated entirely to Buddhist ethics. We promote the study of Buddhist ethics through the publication of research and book reviews and by hosting occasional online conferences. Our subject matter includes: Vinaya and Jurisprudence Medical Ethics Philosophical Ethics Human Rights Ethics and Psychology Ecology and the Environment Social and Political Philosophy Cross-cultural Ethics Ethics and Anthropology Interfaith Dialogue on Ethics.