THE IDENTITY PROBLEM IN BUDDHIST ETHICS



The Buddhist tradition offers a reductionist view of the subject – the ‘weak’ view
-which appears to undercut concern for the consequences of action. The doctrine of
morally conditioned rebirth – that is, the perpetuation of a persistent individual through
death - entails a ‘strong’ view. Each view has a bearing on morality, and each is
problematic: the two seem incompatible. The notion of rebirth and the associated
doctrine of karman are deeply connected with this. It is in this complex that I find what
I call ‘the identity problem’.

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