The Moon Points Back investigates central areas of Buddhist philosophy -- most importantly the notion of emptiness (sunyata) -- using the techniques of contemporary analytic philosophy and logic. The volume's approach allows for novel understandings and insights of these areas, showing how Buddhist philosophers can engage with debates in contemporary Western philosophy.

The Moon Points Back comprises essays by both established scholars in Buddhist and Western philosophy and young scholars contributing to cross-cultural philosophy. It continues the program of Pointing at the Moon (Oxford University Press, 2009), integrating the approaches and insights of contemporary logic and analytic philosophy along with those of Buddhist Studies in order to engage with Buddhist ideas in a contemporary voice. The essays in the volume focus on the Buddhist notion of emptiness (sunyata), exploring its relationship to core philosophical issues concerning the self, the nature of reality, logic, and epistemology. The volume closes with reflections on methodological issues raised by bringing together traditional Buddhist philosophy and contemporary analytic philosophy. The Moon Points Back demonstrates convincingly that integration of Buddhist philosophy with contemporary analytic philosophy and logic allows for novel understandings of and insights into Buddhist philosophical thought. It also shows how Buddhist philosophers can contribute to debates in contemporary Western philosophy and how contemporary philosophers and logicians can engage with Buddhist material.

This volume collects essays by philosophers and scholars working at the interface of Western philosophy and Buddhist Studies. Many have distinguished scholarly records in Western philosophy, with expertise in analytic philosophy and logic, as well as deep interest in Buddhist philosophy. Others have distinguished scholarly records in Buddhist Studies with strong interests in analytic philosophy and logic. All are committed to the enterprise of cross-cultural philosophy and to bringing the insights and techniques of each tradition to bear in order to illuminate problems and ideas of the other. These essays address a broad range of topics in the philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, logic, epistemology, and metaphysics, and demonstrate the fecundity of the interaction between the Buddhist and Western philosophical and logical traditions.

Tensions rise when Samuel “Scorcher” Robertson—a fresh-faced outsider arriving at a remote outpost for lunar mining—encounters the grave of an astronaut whose death goes unexplained. Lines blur between paranoia and corporate coverup while life on the Moon is constantly a tightrope-walk millimeters from death. When crises escalate as a result of shortcuts taken, Scorcher must finally confront what he has always run away from…. This realistic, near-future thriller is a fresh and evocative take on humanity’s struggle for a better future—on Earth and beyond.