The Tendencies in Buddhist Studies on Hetu-vidyā (Epistemology and Logic) in the USA*
The article is devoted to identifying trends in studies of Buddhist epistemology and logic (hetu-vidyā) conducted in the USA, based on Pali, Sanskrit and Tibetan sources, as well as the contents and evaluation of the methodological discussions of the American Buddhologists. It continues the analysis of the area of Buddhist studies, presented in earlier publications of the author on the research of hetu-vidyā in Europe and in Russia. In the article there are examined the ideas of such leading experts as K. Potter, R. Robinson, A. Wayman, R. Chi, C. Huntington, J. Cabezon, J. Garfield, J. Blumenthal, G. Dreyfus, J. Dunn, and others. Some of them believe in necessity of using symbolic language and concepts of Western logic for studies on the Buddhist logico-epistemological tradition (K. Potter, R. Chi, R. Robinson, J. Garfield), others (S. Huntington) categorically deny their usefulness. Nāgārjuna’s relation to logic received extremely contradictory evaluations of the researchers. Some of them, like C. Huntington, believed that Nāgārjuna used logic exclusively for the destruction of logic, others, like R. Robinson, proved that Nāgārjuna was well equipped with knowledge of axioms and rules of inference, and he employed them to substantiate metaphysical concepts.