Buddhism and the postmodern : the nature of identity and tradition in contemporary society
By and large, modem societies have understood themselves to be increasingly without religion. This is reflected in religion's marginalised position within academic disciplines such as sociology and philosophy and, in turn, their isolation from developments in religious studies. The discipline of religious studies itself has sometimes colluded in this process of marginalisation and isolation by a reluctance to engage with the intellectual dynamism of similarly eclectic disciplines such as cultural studies, as well as with current developments in sociology and philosophy. This is now beginning to change, and the purpose of this thesis is to contribute to this transformation by drawing upon debates surrounding the notion of 'postmodemity', and to suggest that forms of religious tradition not only persist in contemporary Western societies, but can exhibit a dynamic and challenging engagement with the cultural conditions which shape them. Concentrating on notions of self-hood and identity, I argue that the encounter between Buddhism and Western society provides an opportunity to examine a role for the religious in the context of a modernity which appears to exhibit increasingly ephemeral aspects, culminating with
Smith, Simon Gareth
Philosophy
Buddhism and the postmodern : the nature of identity and tradition in contemporary society. By and large, modem societies have understood themselves to be increasingly without religion. This is reflected in religion's marginalised position within academic disciplines such as sociology and philosophy and, in turn, their isolation from developments in religious studies. The discipline of religious studies itself has sometimes colluded in this process of marginalisation and isolation by a reluctance to engage with the intellectual dynamism of similarly eclectic disciplines such as cultural studies, as well as with current developments in sociology and philosophy. This is now beginning to change, and the purpose of this thesis is to contribute to this transformation by drawing upon debates surrounding the notion of 'postmodemity', and to suggest that forms of religious tradition not only persist in contemporary Western societies, but can exhibit a dynamic and challenging engagement with the cultural conditions which shape them. Concentrating on notions of self-hood and identity, I argue that the encounter between Buddhism and Western society provides an opportunity to examine a role for the religious in the context of a modernity which appears to exhibit increasingly ephemeral aspects, culminating with
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