Work

The Interdependence of All Things

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The concept of the interdependence of all things appears across Eastern and Western philosophical traditions. Jizang (549−623 CE), a prominent Chinese Madhyamaka Buddhist philosopher, contends that all objects are established by virtue of their mutual dependence. He endorses what can be termed “the interdependence thesis”—the view that the referents of complementary concepts or words are interdependent. In this paper, I clarify this thesis and characterize Jizang’s ontology as a form of metaphysical nonrealism. Drawing on this ontology, I construct an argument for the plausibility of the interdependence thesis. I also respond to several objections to the argument.

Source: Philosophers Imprint

DOI: 10.3998/phimp.7396

Author: Chien-hsing Ho

Institutions: Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy, Academia Sinica, Academia Sinica

Language: English

Topic: Indian and Buddhist Studies

Subfield: Religious studies

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W4413317355

FWCI:

Cites: 13

Cited by:

Related to: 10