Jacob Fisher

Summary of doctoral thesis: My DPhil focusses on Indian and Tibetan Buddhist solutions to the central philosophical question of relativism and intersubjectivity. It specifically focuses on how Indian śāstra literature and their Tibetan commentaries resolve these questions through simultaneously bolstering the importance of conventional valid knowledge while at the same time undermining it through ascribing an illusory nature to all existence. The classic Buddhist example used by both Indian and Tibetan epistemologists to illustrate the issues of relativism and intersubjectivity is the perception across world spheres of a river. Which depending on the realm one belongs to, will be perceived as either blood for hungry ghosts, water for humans, or nectar for the gods. This classic Buddhist example of at least three contradictory perceptions emphasises the paradox of relativism and elicits novel philosophical and epistemological solutions to this real-world problem. A study solely focussed on this pan-Buddhist example has yet to be undertaken and hopes to clarify the historical and conceptual development of the example, the different interpretations of it offered by major Indian commentators, and by each of the four Tibetan Buddhist traditions. In particular, how Tibetan contemplatives utilised this example to teach important aspects of meditative training and what constitutes valid knowledge of the Ultimate.