The Bodhisattva's Brain

If we are material beings living in a material world--and all the scientific evidencesuggests that we are--then we must find existential meaning, if there is such a thing, in thisphysical world. We must cast our lot with the natural rather than the supernatural. Many Westernerswith spiritual (but not religious) inclinations are attracted to Buddhism--almost as a kind ofmoral-mental hygiene. But, as Owen Flanagan points out in The Bodhisattva's Brain, Buddhism ishardly naturalistic. Atheistic when it comes to a creator god, Buddhism is otherwise opulentlypolytheistic, with spirits, protector deities, ghosts, and evil spirits. Its beliefs include karma,rebirth, nirvana, and nonphysical states of mind. What is a nonreligious, materially groundedspiritual seeker to do? In The Bodhisattva's Brain, Flanagan argues that it is possible to subtractthe "hocus pocus" from Buddhism and discover a rich, empirically responsible philosophythat could point us to one path of human flourishing. "Buddhism naturalized," as Flanaganconstructs it, contains a metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics; it is a fully naturalistic andcomprehensive philosophy, compatible with the rest of knowledge. Some claim that neuroscience is inthe process of validating Buddhism empirically, but Flanagan's naturalized Buddhism does not reduceitself to a brain scan showing happiness patterns. Buddhism naturalized offers instead a tool forachieving happiness and human flourishing--a way of conceiving of the human predicament, of thinkingabout meaning for finite material beings living in a material world.

Owen Flanagan is James B. Duke Professor of Philosophy at Duke University. He is the author of Consciousness Reconsidered and The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material World, both published by the MIT Press, and other books.