Was The Buddha a Reductionist About The Self?

Abstract

This paper examines whether a reductionist view of the self can be found in the Suttas of early Buddhism. I will argue that the views of the self exemplified in the Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga) and the Abhidhamma Commentaries are similar to reductionist views of the self put forward by Western philosophers such as David Hume and Derek Parfit. I shall argue that the views of the Visuddhimagga can be seen as a legitimate development of the ideas of the Suttas. I will also argue however that an opposing view, namely the rejection of a 'realist semantics', can be found in nascent form in the Suttas. I will demonstrate that, when legitimately developed, this view can be seen to contradict the reductionist view of the self.