於當代國際佛教哲學界，印度中觀哲學備受重視，其研究常著重於揭顯這哲學的現代哲學價值。相對地，以僧肇(374?−414 CE)與吉藏(549−623 CE)為首的中國中觀思想則未受關注。為此，需要有哲學地深化、重構中國中觀思想的英文專書，以呈現這思想的哲學價值。本計畫為三年期專書寫作計畫，擬撰寫英文專書Language and Reality in Chinese Madhyamaka，尋求於國際出版社出版，以促使國際學界留意中國中觀傳統。 本計畫採文獻研究法、哲學分析法以及比較哲學方法。將探究初期印度中觀宗師龍樹(Nāgārjuna; c. 150−250 CE)的空性哲學以及某些當代西方的相關哲學理論，但置重點於僧肇與吉藏的存在觀和語言思想。主要研究議題包括：(1)萬物的存在狀態、不可說實相以及二者的關係；(2)概念的相待性與遍在性以及此者的反實在論意含；(3)語言的本性、有限性以及言默關係；(4)字詞的意義、指涉及其與事物實在的關係；(5)與實相相關的特殊語用類型。申請人過去已撰寫數篇相關學術論文，將大幅增補與修改為前述專書。希望藉此顯明中國中觀思想的哲學意趣，為此國際學界少人問津的領域做出學術貢獻。 In the contemporary scholarship of Buddhist philosophy, Indian Madhyamaka thought has been widely attended to, with a number of studies intended to showing its contemporary philosophical value. By contrast, Chinese Madhyamaka thought developed by Sengzhao (374?-414 CE) and Jizang (549-623 CE), the two main philosophical exponents of the Sanlun tradition of Chinese Buddhism, has been largely neglected so far. There is need for an English work that philosophically deepens and reconstructs the thought to reveal its intrinsic philosophical value. In this three-year long research project, we intend to make contributions in this direction. The main methods adopted in the project are philological research, philosophical analysis, and comparative philosophy. We will investigate into the philosophy of emptiness propounded by Nāgārjuna (c. 150−250 CE), founder of Indian Madhyamaka, and compare Chinese Madhyamaka with certain Western philosophical theories. However, the focus will be on Sengzhao's and Jizang's ontology and linguistic thought, discussing such issues as the ontological status of the myriad things, the provisionality of language, the ineffability of the real, the relation between language and actuality, and so forth. We shall considerably revise previously written or published academic papers on the subject to produce an English book tentatively titled Language and Reality in Chinese Madhyamaka.
