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Nagarjuna: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from Nagarjuna, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

• Nagarjuna said nothing exists on its own — only in relation to everything else

  The 2nd-century Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna argued that no thing has fixed, independent existence: a chariot is only a chariot relative to its wheels, its rider, its use. He cal…

  — Nagarjuna, Mulamadhyamakakarika (Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way)

• A 2nd-century logician argued a claim can be true, false, both, or neither

  Most logic assumes a statement is either true or false. Nagarjuna's catuskoti ('four corners') instead tests every claim against four possibilities — true, false, both, or neither …

  — Nagarjuna, Mulamadhyamakakarika (Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way)

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