Five aggregates

Is AI sentient? I argue the question may not have a clear yes-or-no answer — and that this tells us something profound about the nature of personhood itself. Drawing on the ancient "sorites" paradox, philosopher Derek Parfit's work on…

What lies behind our idea of self in Buddhism? We'll look at the building blocks of it all, the so-called "five aggregates of clinging". We'll also consider ways that we can cling to each of the aggregates, and so create suffering.

The the Buddha's image plays a complex role in Buddhist history. We will look at how Buddhism seems to have changed from a largely aniconic tradition into one that was considered by its religious rivals as the epitome of "idolatry".

We construct our own identities throughout our lives. While these constructs can be useful and healthy at times, often they are not, and in the longer term they can get in our own way. Using a Buddhist understanding of the person we will…

What are the five aggregates of Buddhism? The Buddha analyzed the person into these parts. We will look at each of them and how they can in turn be analyzed into further parts. We will also consider how understanding this analysis can…