Selfless Ethics: The Equality of Non-Existence

Abstract

A number of scholars have attempted to situate the Buddha’s teachings within the primary Western ethical theories, namely consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. One challenge that each has confronted is Buddhism’s emphasis on the ultimate non-existence of the self. In his writings, Charles Goodman has put forward an account of ho w the realization of the ultimate non-existence of the self would lead a practitioner to consequentialism. The present comment challenges the account offered b y Goodman, and argues that an ethical-particularist account better squares Buddhist ethics with Buddhist metaphysics. This comment also shows how Goodman’s more recent work, while constituting a significant retreat from his earlier argumentation, still fails to motivate a consequentialist reading of Buddhist ethics.