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Who Identifies with the Aggregates? Philosophical Implications of the Selected Khandha Passages in the Nikāyas

Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: In this paper, I discuss some philosophical problems connected with the notion of regarding the aggregates (khandha) as self in the Nikāyas. In particular, I focus on the attitude represented by the formula “I am this” (esohamasmi) which may be labeled as that of identifying with the aggregates. In the first part of the paper, I point out and analyze certain similes contained in the Nikāyas which may be read as implying the existence of a distinction between the aggregates and the individual who regards them as self. Then, I consider a hypothesis that the aggregates are not objective constituents of a human being but subjectively experienced representational phenomena. I argue that several Nikāya texts imply the existence of important aspects of a human being, in particular cognitive ones, which are not conceptualized in the terms of the five aggregates. I also discuss the possibility of interpreting khandhas as not active in character but as resultant of other cognitive processes. In the last part of the paper I offer a hypothesis that one of the key aspects of regarding the aggregates as self lies in the identification of a human individual with one’s own phenomenal self-representation which results in a mistaken projection of the notions of agency, identity and subjectivity onto something that is inherently devoid of it. I also consider certain parallels between the ideas present in the Nikāyas and the concepts of the modern philosophy of mind.
DOI: 10.1007/s10781-023-09550-8
Language: English
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,890
OpenAlex ID: W4386569106
FWCI: 10.64
Cites: 20
Cited by: 3
Related to: 10