Buddhist Philosophy — Madhyamaka & Emptiness
Essays engaging Nāgārjuna hermeneutics, Madhyamaka metaphysics, the doctrine of emptiness (śūnyatā), two truths epistemology, and Indo-Tibetan philosophical developments.
PIJCACE & Dhvani Publication · Special Call for Papers
Emptiness, Mind, and the Global Turn in Philosophy
A Commemorative Special Volume in Honour of Professor Jay L. Garfield
Poorvam International Journal invites scholars from across the philosophical world to contribute to a double-blind peer-reviewed commemorative volume honouring one of the most influential philosophers of our time — the scholar who inaugurated our Authors in Conversation series.
Abstract deadlineJanuary 2027
Full paperJuly 2027
PublicationJanuary 2028
सर्वं च युज्यते तस्य यस्य शून्यं युज्यते।
सर्वं न युज्यते तस्य यस्य शून्यं न युज्यते॥
For whom emptiness is possible, all things are possible; for whom emptiness is impossible, nothing is possible. — Nāgārjuna, Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (XXIV:14)
Intellectual legacy
A Philosopher Who Enlarged the Boundaries of the Discipline
Jay Lazar Garfield — Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities at Smith College, Visiting Professor of Buddhist Philosophy at Harvard Divinity School, Professor at the University of Melbourne, and Adjunct Professor at the Central University of Tibetan Studies — has spent four decades demonstrating that philosophy is a global conversation, not a Eurocentric monologue.
"We suggest that any department that regularly offers courses only on Western philosophy should rename itself 'Department of European and American Philosophy.'" — Jay L. Garfield & Bryan W. Van Norden (The New York Times)
His landmark translation and commentary on Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Oxford University Press, 1995), his collaborative treatises on Buddhist ethics with the Cowherds collective, his rigorous examinations of the no-self thesis (Losing Ourselves, Princeton UP, 2022), and his cross-cultural cognitive science foundations have established him among the fifty most influential living philosophers worldwide.
This special commemorative volume represents an active philosophical exchange: Professor Garfield has agreed to author a dedicated response to each thematic section, turning this volume into an enduring dialogue.
Selected bibliography
Major Works by Professor Jay L. Garfield
Four decades of transformative contributions to Buddhist philosophy, comparative hermeneutics, logic, and cognitive science.
Losing Ourselves
Learning to Live without a SelfPrinceton UP, 2022Buddhist Ethics
A Philosophical ExplorationCambridge UP, 2021
Knowing Illusion
Tibetan Debates in Contemporary ThoughtOxford UP, 2021
The Middle Way
Nāgārjuna's MūlamadhyamakakārikāOxford UP, 1995
Investigation of Percept
Dignāga in India & TibetOxford UP, 2015
Engaging Buddhism
Why It Matters to PhilosophyOxford UP, 2015
Empty Words
Buddhist Philosophy & HermeneuticsOxford UP, 2002
Moonshadows
Conventional Truth in BuddhismOxford UP, 2010
Archival images
Professor Garfield in Academe & Dialogue
Keynotes, symposium assemblies, and academic residences worldwide.
Thematic scope
Six Domains of Philosophical Inquiry
The commemorative volume is organized around the six major tracks of Professor Garfield's scholarship. Contributions may engage a single theme or trace intersections across domains.
Philosophy of Mind & Cognitive Science
The no-self thesis (anātman), consciousness, cognitive illusion, Buddhist psychology in dialogue with contemporary Western cognitive science, and 4E cognition.
Ethics & Moral Phenomenology
Buddhist moral theory, compassion-based ethics, Śāntideva's moral psychology, conventional truth in ethical life, and cross-cultural moral phenomenology.
Logic & Epistemology (Pramāṇa)
Dignāga's epistemology (ālambana-parīkṣā), Dharmakīrti, dialetheism, the Catuṣkoṭi (four-cornered negation), paradox in East Asian thought, and formal reasoning.
Cross-Cultural & Comparative Philosophy
Methodologies of cross-cultural interpretation, Indian philosophy during colonialism (K.C. Bhattacharyya), translation hermeneutics, and post-comparative frameworks.
Diversifying Philosophy & Decolonizing the Canon
Global curriculum debates, the 2016 NYT manifesto and its international impact, pedagogical transformation, and institutional canon reform.
Author instructions
Submission Guidelines & Protocol
1. Contribution Types
- Scholarly Essay: 6,000–8,000 words (including footnotes). Undergoes full double-blind peer review.
- Critical Response: 3,000–5,000 words engaging directly with a specific Garfield thesis or book.
- Personal / Collegial Tribute: 500–800 words, reflective, from scholars with direct academic association.
- Dialogue / Interview: By editorial invitation in conversation with Prof. Garfield.
2. Submission Requirements
- Abstract First: 300–400 words submitted via this portal for initial editorial review.
- Citation Style: MLA 9th Edition.
- Diacritics: Standard scholarly IAST for Sanskrit/Prakrit and Wylie for Tibetan.
- Licensing: All accepted papers are published open-access under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
4. Editorial Review Process
All scholarly essays and critical responses are subjected to rigorous double-blind peer review by two specialist reviewers. Authors will receive written reviewer reports. Accepted papers receive individual Crossref DOIs.
3. Key Dates & Deadlines
- Abstract portal opensActive now
- Abstract submission deadlineJanuary 31, 2027
- Abstract decisions communicatedFebruary 2027
- Full manuscripts dueJuly 31, 2027
- Peer review reports dispatchedSeptember 2027
- Revised manuscripts dueNovember 2027
- Commemorative volume releaseJanuary 2028
Official portal
Abstract Submission Application Form
Submit your proposed abstract for the Garfield Commemorative Volume. The volume editorial desk will acknowledge receipt within 5 working days.