Episode 24: The Self Made Simple with Dr Monima Chadha
Episode 24 of M3CS’s Contemplative Science Podcast saw Dr Monima Chadha come on to the show to talk about the Buddhist view of the ‘self’ and how that translates into the human experience in desire, freedom and community.
For the full podcast, check out the episode here.
In this episode, we cover...
The Buddhist view of the ‘self’ and how it interacts with Hindu and Western views.
How Monima picked up on the idea that there is no phenomenology of feeling free.
Why she believes we are slaves to our desires, senses, mental and physical conditions.
Dr Monima Chadha is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Monash University and the Sage School of Philosophy's first Jack Karp Fellow at Cornell University. Her work focuses on the cross-cultural philosophy of mind - dissected in papers such as Self-Control without a Self.
Here are some of the key insights from the conversation...
Buddhist values foster a culture in which gifts and knowledge are shared, not sold.
”As an academic, I spend a lot of time... but you have to think about your service as a gift you give to them, you know, it's a gift of knowledge. I don't expect anything back from them, the University, of course, pays me. But I don't think of that as a transaction, right? That's the Buddhist model on any kind of dealing with one another.”
Monima believes that the lack of clarity over moral responsibility is an urgent issue.
”That we don't have an account of moral responsibility is not just a problem for the Buddhist. It's a problem for most contemporary philosophers: Humeans, those who take the Frankfurt line, those who take the Parfit line... all of them talk in terms of mental states. What I want to do is make it an urgent problem, so that everyone wants to look at it.”
Central to Buddhist ideals is the notion of moving forward as one, not as individuals.
”Wouldn't it be nice if we all made progress together? Rather than me getting this and you getting that and so on and so forth. That, I think, is the basic Buddhist idea... but it’s very difficult to realise.”
The best place to find Dr Monima Chadha is here.
See you next week!
