Bronwyn Finnigan will be giving her talk on Friday, September 11 2015, in BUCH A202 at 3pm.
TITLE: Inciting Fear to Achieve Fearlessness: A puzzle in Buddhist moral psychology
ABSTRACT: Buddhists hold that fear is a root of much suffering. In his Bodhicaryāvatāra, Śāntideva provides a series of provocative verses aimed at inciting fear (bhaya) to motivate taking refuge in the Buddhas and ‘Supreme Beings’ and thereby achieve fearlessness (nābhayaṃ). This is puzzling. Why would one incite fear in order to eradicate fear? And how are we to understand the role of taking refuge in making this transition? To answer this question, I will provide a structural analysis of fear that is grounded in, and expands upon, an Abhidharma Buddhist analysis of mind. I shall argue that fear is a complex intentional attitude with objects that are typically construed as (a) possibilities, the actualisation of which is uncertain in a way that manifests a sense of personal limitation, and that are (b) unwanted in a sense that is imbued with a localised sense of value. The potential transition from fearing to fearlessness, so I will argue, involves transformation in these aspects. I shall contend that ‘taking refuge’ in the protection of the Buddhas is best understood as a mode of trust that ameliorates the relevant sense of uncertainty but assumes a certain reflexive sense of value. Taking refuge in the Buddha’s teachings on non-self (anātman) and depended origination (pratītyasamutpāda), however, is intended to remedy both.