Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Logic

The aim of this workshop is to explore the philosophical and logical aspects pertaining to religion coming from the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain perspectives. The participants will inquire into how the relations between logic and religion are supported by rational inquiry on religious matters. They will scrupulously examine a wide range of arguments postulated by Indian philosophers, logicians, and theologians. The main themes will center around: the doctrine of karma and the related concepts of suffering, accumulation of merits, and detachment, the belief in an afterlife, rebirth, and/or liberation, the main arguments for the existence and non-existence of a permanent self, and the disputes between the theists and atheists over the existence of the divine realm(s) and God.