Buddhist Metaethics

Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies (JIABS), 33 (1-2): p.267-297 (2010-11) 

This article argues for the importance of pursuing Buddhist Meta-Ethics. Most contemporary studies of Buddhist Ethics proceed in isolation from the highly sophisticated epistemological theories developed within the Buddhist tradition. This article demonstrates that an intimate relationship holds between ethics and epistemology in Buddhism. To draw this out, I demonstrate the ways in which Damien Keown's influential virtue ethical theorisation of Buddhist Ethics conflicts Dunne´s exposition of the epistemological theories of Dharmakīrti and Candrakīrti. I argue that the resolution of this conflict requires revision (either in interpretation of theories or in the theories themselves) by all parties. In so doing, I exemplify some of the virtues of engaging with a meta-ethical methodology for the advancement of the respective domains of inquiry.