Metaphysical Dependence, East and West

Abstract

This chapter looks at the relation (or relations) of metaphysical dependence as they feature in philosophy - both historical and contemporary. It first discusses metaphysical dependence in Eastern traditions, specifically the Buddhist tradition. The following are three parts of the Buddhist tradition: Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, and Huayan. Next, the chapter discusses metaphysical dependence in the Western traditions. In Western literature, two aspects are immediately striking. The first is that there is an absolute orthodoxy on how reality is structured: some kind of foundationalism. The second is that the contemporary period, at least, in the West has seen concerted attempts to theorize about the dependence relation itself - in terms both of its nature and its structure. The chapter shows that the notion of metaphysical dependence is an important feature of both Western and Eastern traditions, and alerts philosophers who are aware of only one side of this divide to the existence of the other.