Alexandra S. Ilieva - Utopias and Progress: A Buddhist-Pragmatist Perspective

Season 8 continues with a recording from our 2021 annual conference, The Future as a Present Concern. This episode features a presentation from Alexandra S. Ilieva Abstract: If taking “the future as a present concern” is to generate tangible effects regarding our responsibilities towards the future— in light of the ecological and humanitarian crises facing the world today—it warrants utopian thinking. Such a claim emerges when we bring together the distinct socio-historical-cultural perspectives of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhism and the Pragmatist Richard Rorty. Despite their temporal distance, both share pragmatically-oriented dialectical styles and complementary utopian visions—whether they be Rorty’s liberal utopia or the Buddhist soteriological aspiration to eliminate the suffering of all sentient beings—which together reveal that discussions of ‘the future’ are only relevant in their pragmatic relation to our specific economic and political goals and humanitarian visions for the future. Indeed, Buddhism is often accused of being world-renouncing, yet the Madhyamaka provide a useful example of how a utopian vision, even if “otherworldly”, can provide an ethically rigorous framework that can guide us to make changes in the here and now. It also suggests that discussions of the future and its relation to the present need not be underpinned by a linear model of time, as the Buddhist belief in the cyclical existence of the material world does not preclude them from offering a distinct utopian vision with direct, pragmatic implications for our present conduct. Indeed, on these intercultural planes, what emerges is that “the future is a present concern” means nothing more than “there are pragmatic steps we can take to get closer to the goal of eliminating cruelty and suffering across the globe”. The upshot of such an intercultural approach is that it can help guide discourse in both external (political, economic) directions, but also internal (ethical, spiritual) paths. How exactly to achieve this end is for further discussion, but I hope the present paper at least opens this conversational door. Biography: Alexandra is a final year PhD candidate at the Faculty of Divinity in the University of Cambridge. She received her BA from New York University in Philosophy and Psychology. Her MA '22 was in ‘Transcultural Studies’ at the University of Heidelberg, where she focused on early Buddhist philosophy. Her current research examines the intersections between Rortyan Pragmatism and Madhyamaka Buddhism in relation to their peculiar non-positions relative to philosophical dialectical spaces. She is interested in the promotion of ‘fusion’ philosophy, and is especially concerned with reconceptualising what ‘philosophy’ means in light of intercultural investigations and Pragmatist critiques. Further Information: This recording is taken from our Annual UK Conference 2021, co-organised with University of Galway and The Irish Philosophical Society. This conference was held online consisting of live webninars with keynote presents and pre-recorded presentations from panel speakers. Biographical information of speakers is taken from the programme of that event and therefore may not be up-to-date. The British Society for Phenomenology is a not-for-profit organisation set up with the intention of promoting research and awareness in the field of Phenomenology and other cognate arms of philosophical thought. Currently, the society accomplishes these aims through its journal, events, and podcast. About our events: https://www.thebsp.org.uk/events/ About the BSP: https://www.thebsp.org.uk/about/