[Buddha-l] Dogmatic opinions vs. philosophical convictions

[Dan Lusthaus]

Richard asks:

> Various scholars of Indian thought I have known have stressed the
> difference between an unconsidered view (dṛṣṭi) and a carefully
> reasoned position (darśana). What I am wondering is how widespread it
> was in classical Indian literature to use those two Sanskrit terms to
> refer to the distinction between a "dogmatic opinion" and a
> "philosophical theory".

Since dṛṣṭi and darśana are based on the same root, "to see, viewpoint,
perspective", the distinction suggested by Ruegg et al. seems artificial, an
assigning of an oppositional significance to terms that had/have no such
significance. A dṛṣṭi can, and often does indicate a "philosophical" or
rationally constructed viewpoint. Neither Nagarjuna nor Candrakirti would
appreciate being told that they embrace a darśana. The dṛṣṭis Nagarjuna
deconstructs in MMK are all philosophical.

>I also wonder when that distinction began to
> be made.

My hunch would be, if it entered the mainstream Buddhist lit., it would have
been during the same period discussed by Kevin Vose in his _Resurrecting
Candrakirti_, and for the same reason -- an attempt to harmonize Madhyamaka
with Dharmakirtian pramanavada, which required re-defining some basic terms.
Some sort of "legitimacy via logic" had to be imported into Madhyamaka in
order to preserve the legitimacy of pramana-vada.

>It seems not to have been operative at the time when the
> Buddhist eightfold path was formulated, since the first item on the
> list is samyagdṛṣṭi, which is unlikely to mean "Right dogmatic
> opinion."

There were periodic debates, esp. once Nagarjuna entered the picture,
concerning whether there was any such thing as an actual "right view" -- 
whether all views were misleading, moha, etc. (one understanding of
Madhyamaka, consistent with MMK and Candrakirti); or whether Buddhism
required the acceptance of some "right" view. Yogacara tended to make
arguments for the latter position, as did most other Buddhist schools,
although what each identified as acceptable "right views" invariably
differed between schools.

Just my two cents. Interested to see what light others might shed on this.

Dan