# Buddhist Illogic - A Critical Examination of Nagarjuna's Arguments by Avi Sion **URL:** \ **Category:** Uncategorized\ **Created:** [March 26, 2025, 10:43pm UTC](https://classicaltheravada.org/t/buddhist-illogic-a-critical-examination-of-nagarjunas-arguments-by-avi-sion/1746 "2025-03-26T22:43:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![renaldo](https://classicaltheravada.org/user_avatar/classicaltheravada.org/renaldo/32/2033_2.png) [@renaldo](https://classicaltheravada.org/u/renaldo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2025, 10:43pm UTC](https://classicaltheravada.org/t/buddhist-illogic-a-critical-examination-of-nagarjunas-arguments-by-avi-sion/1746/1 "2025-03-26T22:43:22Z")
I recently read an excellent critique of Nagarjuna’s Madhyamaka philosophy from a philosopher and logician trained in Western logic and philosophy. Here are some excerpts from the forward to the book: \*_This essay is a critical review of some of the main arguments proposed by the Indian Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna (c. 113-213 CE), founder of the Madhyamika (Middle Way) school, one of the Mahayana streams, which strongly influenced Chinese (Ch’an), Korean (Sôn) and Japanese (Zen) Buddhism, as well as Tibetan Buddhism. Specifically, the text referred to here is Empty Logic - Madhyamika Buddhism from Chinese Sources…_ _…The title Empty Logic was not intended pejoratively by its author, but simply to mean ‘logic of emptiness’, the term “emptiness” (Shunyata) referring to the Buddhist doctrine that (briefly put, very roughly) things have no abiding core, no essence, no fixed nature. Cheng’s work is a clear exposition of Madhyamika history and logical techniques, but it makes no attempt to criticize those techniques. All criticism of Madhyamika or Buddhist logic, here, is my own._ _ **The present essay is not a religious tract and has no polemical intent. It is a work of philosophy, a fair-minded logical evaluation of certain propositions and arguments taken as philosophical positions open to discussion like any other. It examines and discusses a goodly array of Buddhist, and in particular Madhyamika, doctrines, but does not pretend to be an exhaustive treatment of all doctrines or of all aspects of those dealt with.** However, I do not attempt here to develop a historical perspective, or to list the various tendencies and their interrelations. Cheng’s book includes an interesting exposition of the development phases (starting 1st cent. CE, and before) of Mahayana reaction (e.g. the Mahasanghikas)[2]. To better understand Nagarjuna’s motives and goals, it would be well to be acquainted with this background[3]._ _**My naming the present essay Buddhist Illogic should not be taken to imply that I consider all Buddhist philosophy or even all Madhyamika as illogical. It merely reflects my focus here on some of the (many) illogical arguments used in Nagarjuna’s discourse.** Indeed, some of Nagarjuna’s arguments and beliefs have been refuted or rejected by other Buddhist philosophers. Buddhist philosophy is not monolithic, but a constellation of philosophies with as their common ground the (alleged) pronouncements of Buddhism’s founder. I do here challenge some underlying Buddhist_ _doctrines, but only incidentally, not systematically._ _**I would have named this essay less pejoratively ‘Buddhist Logic’ if I had found some interesting new thought forms to report. Buddhism and Nagarjuna do indeed use valid as well as invalid forms of reasoning, but these forms (those I found so far) are all familiar to us today, and so not notable except for historical purposes (where we would try and determine whether Buddhist usage antedates usage in Greek or other writings). However, my main justification is that much of Buddhism itself, and particularly Nagarjuna’s version of it, cheerfully proclaims itself free of or beyond logic, or illogical and even anti-logical.**_ _ **On a personal note, I want to stress my admiration for Buddhism in general, which has taught me much, both in the way of living skills and through its philosophical insights. So I cannot be accused of approaching this subject with any antagonistic prejudice. I read Empty Logic eager to learn from it, rather than to find fault with it. As a philosopher and logician I am however duty bound to analyze and judge philosophies dispassionately, and this is what I do here. Generally speaking, I have little interest in criticizing other people’s philosophical works, because I could write thick volumes doing so. Life is unfortunately too short for that, so I prefer to pass it developing a constructive statement. Nevertheless, one generally learns a lot through debate, and I can say that challenging Nagarjuna has helped me to clarify various philosophical problems and possible solutions.** _ _Finally, let me say that the message of “Buddha” (the enlightened) Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BCE), about “emptiness”, which as is well known is essentially non-verbal, should not be confused with Nagarjuna’s or any other writer’s attempted philosophical interpretation, explanation and justification of related ideas. Thus, to refute the latter does not necessarily deny the former._ _Sion, Avi. Buddhist Illogic (pp. 9-11). Avi Sion. Kindle Edition._\* I think that should suffice as a tease. I will refrain from posting any quotations from the chapter entitled Not ‘Empty Logic’, But Empty of Logic, or from his appendix of fallacies of Nagarjurna’s work. I will leave those to be discovered by people interested enough to read this excellent work. Renaldo ---
**Author:** ![Zans](https://classicaltheravada.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/z/7ab992/32.png) [@Zans](https://classicaltheravada.org/u/Zans)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2025, 1:22am UTC](https://classicaltheravada.org/t/buddhist-illogic-a-critical-examination-of-nagarjunas-arguments-by-avi-sion/1746/2 "2025-10-06T01:22:12Z")
Whoa. This is awesome! I was thinking I had posted about this but could only see it under my “drafts” section. So I did a search of the author’s name and found your post. Glad to see others found this book, too! ---
**Author:** ![renaldo](https://classicaltheravada.org/user_avatar/classicaltheravada.org/renaldo/32/2033_2.png) [@renaldo](https://classicaltheravada.org/u/renaldo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 9:01pm UTC](https://classicaltheravada.org/t/buddhist-illogic-a-critical-examination-of-nagarjunas-arguments-by-avi-sion/1746/4 "2026-10-31T21:01:30Z")
> [@Zans](#): > > Whoa. This is awesome! I was thinking I had posted about this but could only see it under my “drafts” section. So I did a search of the author’s name and found your post. Glad to see others found this book, too Not only is this a short book, making it a very quick read, but it is the best refutation of Nagarjuna/Madhyamaka that I have come across. Recently, I also had the opportunity to reflect on the best work that I am aware of that explains how Buddhist tantra/vajrayana developed. The following paper is the best work, in my opinion, on the genesis of Buddhist tantra. It traces a lot of the development of tantra within the Hindu religious sphere, and then details how, when tantra was basically fully developed within Hundiusm (and especially Shaivism), Buddhists appropriated it, often copying whole texts and just changing the names and figures in them. The Buddhists who did this believed in the incorrect philosophy of Nagarjuna, which is a misinterpretation of the Buddha’s Teachings that first developed in the 2nd century CE. I highly recommend the following paper. [https://zenodo.org/records/4395629](https://zenodo.org/records/4395629) 🙏 R ---
**Author:** ![Zans](https://classicaltheravada.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/z/7ab992/32.png) [@Zans](https://classicaltheravada.org/u/Zans)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://classicaltheravada.org/t/buddhist-illogic-a-critical-examination-of-nagarjunas-arguments-by-avi-sion/1746/5 "2026-10-31T21:47:24Z")
Much appreciated ---
**Author:** ![renaldo](https://classicaltheravada.org/user_avatar/classicaltheravada.org/renaldo/32/2033_2.png) [@renaldo](https://classicaltheravada.org/u/renaldo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://classicaltheravada.org/t/buddhist-illogic-a-critical-examination-of-nagarjunas-arguments-by-avi-sion/1746/6 "2026-11-01T00:49:49Z")
> **[Buddhist Illogic - Kindle edition by Sion, Avi. Religion & Spirituality Kindle...](https://www.amazon.com/Buddhist-Illogic-Avi-Sion-ebook/dp/B007R20FF4)** > > Buddhist Illogic - Kindle edition by Sion, Avi. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Buddhist Illogic. > **[The Śaiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval...](https://zenodo.org/records/4395629)** > > Alexis Sanderson, "The Śaiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval Period," in Genesis and Development of Tantrism, Institute of Oriental Culture Special Series, 23, edited by Shingo Einoo (Tokyo: Institute of Oriental... R