Emory University
Department of Philosophy
PhD, 2004
Marlboro, Vermont, United States of America
Areas of Interest
Asian Philosophy
  •  168
    Levinas on suffering and compassion
    Sophia 45 (2): 43-59. 2006.
    This paper provides an analysis of suffering and compassion in the work of Emmanuel Levinas. Levinas describes compassion as ‘the nexus of human subjectivity’ and the ‘supreme ethical principle’. In his early texts, suffering discloses the burden of being, the limits of the self, and thus the approach of alterity. Levinas’s later phenomenology of suffering as passive, meaningless, and evil, functions as a refutation of rational explanations of suffering. I argue that Levinasian substitution, the…Read more
  •  60
    Moral Pluralism, Skillful Means, and Environmental Ethics
    Environmental Philosophy 3 (2): 8-16. 2006.
    J. Baird Callicott claims that moral pluralism leads to relativism, skepticism, and the undermining of moral obligations. Buddhist ethics provides a counterexample to Callicott; it is a robust tradition of moral pluralism. Focusing on one of the most significant texts in Buddhist ethics, Śāntideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra, I show how it draws on a multiplicity of moral principles determined by context and skillful means (upāya kauśalya). In contrast to Callicott’s description of pluralism as detriment…Read more
  •  49
    Foundations of Dharmakīrti's Philosophy (review)
    Journal of the History of Philosophy 45 (1): 154-155. 2007.
    William Edelglass - Foundations of Dharmakirti's Philosophy - Journal of the History of Philosophy 45:1 Journal of the History of Philosophy 45.1 154-155 Muse Search Journals This Journal Contents Reviewed by William Edelglass Colby College John D. Dunne. Foundations of Dharmakirti's Philosophy. Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2004. Pp. xix + 467. Paper, $39.95. The diverse traditions of Buddhist thought in South Asia shared a belief that the Buddha's enlight…Read more
  •  45
    Between Two Worlds: East and West: An Autobiography (review) (review)
    Philosophy East and West 55 (1): 139-148. 2005.
    In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Between Two Worlds: East and West: An AutobiographyWilliam EdelglassBetween Two Worlds: East and West: An Autobiography. By J. N. Mohanty. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Pp. x + 134.The British philosopher Anthony Quinton once described J. N. Mohanty as "The one and only x who is a specialist in Navya-Nyāya, Husserl, and Frege." Between Two Worlds: East and West is the extraordinary story of Mohanty's career as a …Read more
  •  44
    The Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy (edited book)
    Oup Usa. 2011.
    The Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy provides the advanced student or scholar a set of introductions to each of the world's major non-European philosophical traditions.
  •  41
    Getting Back into Place (review)
    Environmental Philosophy 7 (2): 168-171. 2010.
  •  36
    The Svatantrika-Prasangika Distinction: What Difference Does a Difference Make? (review) (review)
    Philosophy East and West 54 (3): 415-420. 2004.
    In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:The Svātantrika-Prāsaṅgika Distinction: What Difference Does a Difference Make?William EdelglassThe Svātantrika-Prāsaṅgika Distinction: What Difference Does a Difference Make? Edited by Georges B. J. Dreyfus and Sara L. McClintock. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2003. Pp. viii + 398.As early as Bhāvaviveka (sixth century), Indian Buddhist doxographers situated important philosophers in schools and sub-schools characterized …Read more
  •  35
    Animal Philosophy (review)
    Environmental Philosophy 3 (1): 78-81. 2006.
  •  28
    The Routledge handbook of Indian Buddhist philosophy (edited book)
    with Sara L. McClintock and Pierre-Julien Harter
    Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. 2023.
    The Routledge Handbook of Indian Buddhist Philosophy is an outstanding reference source to the principal philosophers in the diverse Buddhist traditions of India, from the early Pāli writings to the twentieth century. The Handbook provides thorough coverage of the most significant figures, texts and debates that animate Buddhist philosophy. A key feature is the attention given to the ideas and works of particular Buddhist thinkers, placing the author at the centre of inquiry. Forty chapters by …Read more
  •  28
    Teaching Environmental Philosophy (review)
    Teaching Philosophy 37 (4): 523-536. 2014.
    This essay reviews four recent texts—two anthologies and two monographs—designed for environmental ethics or environmental philosophy courses. I describe the different approaches the authors and editors have chosen, and why, depending on the teaching context, one or another of these books may be the best choice for a particular group of students. The final pages briefly discuss elements I often weave into my own environmental philosophy courses, including drawing on the resources of particular p…Read more
  •  26
    Philosophy and Animal Life (review)
    Environmental Philosophy 6 (1): 120-122. 2009.
  •  22
    Facing Nature: Levinas and Environmental Thought (edited book)
    with James Hatley and Christian Diehm
    Duquesne University Press. 2012.
    "Applies Emmanuel Levinas's thought in approaching environmental philosophy from both humanistic and nonanthropocentric points of view, arguing that themes at the heart of his work--the significance of the ethical, responsibility, alterity, the vulnerability of the body, bearing witness, and politics--are important for thinking about many of our most pressing contemporary environmental questions" --Provided by publisher.
  •  21
    This essay arose from a collaborative project exploring the meaning of apophatic discourse in different religious traditions. I focus on the paradox of language as both liberating and ensnaring that resonates across the great diversity and heterogeneity of Buddhist traditions. Apophatic discourse is a widespread response to this paradox, as it is motivated by a recognition of the limits of words and concepts even as it seeks to point to that which is beyond these limits. The questions of whether…Read more
  •  15
    Buddhist Ethics and Western Moral Philosophy
    In Steven M. Emmanuel (ed.), A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy, Wiley-blackwell. 2013.
    This chapter shows how some forms of Buddhist ethics share features with Western moral philosophies, especially virtue ethics and consequentialism. Interpreting various forms of Buddhist ethics with the aid of diverse Western moral theories can increase our understanding. The author suggests that no one Western meta‐ethical theory provides an adequate theoretical framework for grasping moral thinking in any of the major traditions of Buddhism and, a fortiori the vast and heterogeneously diverse …Read more
  •  9
    Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy
    with Jay L. Garfield and Chenyang Li
    Oxford University Press. 2011.
    This book provides a set of introductions to each of the world's major non-European philosophical traditions. It offers the non-specialist a way into unfamiliar philosophical texts and methods and the opportunity to explore non-European philosophical terrain and to connect their work in one tradition to philosophical ideas or texts from another. Sections on Chinese philosophy, Indian philosophy, Buddhist philosophy, East Asian philosophy, African philosophy, and recent trends in global philosoph…Read more
  • (edited book)
    Oxford University Press. 2010.