Agamben's Buddhism

Offering a fresh perspective on the work of leading Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, this ground-breaking volume explores the affinities between Agamben’s philosophy and the core principles of Buddhism.

The centrepiece of the book is an extensive interview with Agamben himself, conducted over nine months. In this exclusive dialogue Agamben explains with remarkable subtlety how his thinking has, over many years, been shaped by Buddhism and the Indian tradition more broadly.

Subsequent chapters authored by Steven DeCaroli, Adam Lobel, and Jessica Locke take seriously these points of connection and further probe the depth of Agamben’s engagement with Buddhist principles in both his early and recent works. Topics examined include the influence of Nagarjuna’s philosophy of emptiness on Agamben’s political ontology; similarities between Agamben’s sense of inoperative contemplation and the Tibetan Buddhist “Great Completion” tradition (Dzogchen); and his explorations into the notion of fault in Karman, inspired by the etymological link between the Sanskrit ‘karman’ and Latin ‘crimen’.

With a foreword by esteemed Agamben translator Adam Kotsko, Agamben’s Buddhism opens up a completely new area of research into Agamben’s philosophy. It uncovers for the first time how Agamben, long considered a scholar of the Western tradition, in fact challenges parochial views in Western thought and, in doing so, demonstrates the great richness that cross-cultural dialogue can bring to philosophy.