Müller, R.

Ralf Müller

After graduating from Humboldt University Berlin and following (post-)doctoral research in Munich, Zurich and Kyoto, I am currently a research fellow at the Institute of Philosophy at Hildesheim University (Germany), which specializes in Asian and World philosophy.

My research focuses on the philosophy of language and culture, particularly based on the works of Ernst Cassirer and Wilhelm von Humboldt. My interests also encompass regional philosophies including pre-modern Buddhist and modern Japanese philosophy. I have published widely in various languages and translated seminal philosophical works from Japanese into German and English.

Throughout my career, I have been engaged in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary research activities inside and outside of academia. I am the founding member of the research network »Morphology as Scientific Paradigm« (funded by the German Research Council, DFG) and have co-curated (as »Konzeptbegleiter«) the new permanent exhibit »Play of culture/s« (»Spiel der Kultur/en«) at Historisches und Völkerkundemuseum in Sankt Gallen, Switzerland. (Source Accessed May 14, 2020)

Library Items

Article

Philosophy and the Practice of Reflexivity: On Dōgen's Discourse about Buddha-Nature

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Is Dōgen a philosopher? Or even an example of what he scolds a "word-counting scholar"?'"`UNIQ--ref-0000028E-QINU`"' Despite the difficulties of classifying Dōgen, many would still agree, at least with regard to his magnum opus, the Shōbōgenzō, that his writings are philosophical.'"`UNIQ--ref-0000028F-QINU`"' This, however, requires some clarification, since there is not much left of this work if one were to exclude all the fascicles that are not explicitly cited for philosophical interpretation. The philosophic scope becomes even smaller if one were to consider the respective passages of the few fascicles pertinent for explicit philosophical reading. At the risk of oversimplifying, the philosophical reception of Dōgen's works is almost entirely grounded in the fascicle "Uji",'"`UNIQ--ref-00000290-QINU`"' which is distinguished for its thought–provoking discourse on time.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000291-QINU`"' Furthermore the philosophical reading of other fascicles, including "Genjōkōan" and "Zenki"'"`UNIQ--ref-00000292-QINU`"' revolves around a related interpretation of "Uji."
      Nevertheless, we can still ask if there might be yet another accessible vantage point from which one could regard Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō as philosophical? This paper will argue that the answer is "yes," there is such a vantage point, so long as one distinguishes what Dōgen writes from how Dōgen writes. For the claim of the paper is that while it remains ambiguous to maintain that his writings exhibit a philosophical system based on content, their form realizes what philosophy is at its core, i.e. reflexivity or philosophy’s inherent self reference.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000293-QINU`"' (Müller, "Philosophy and the Practice of Reflexivity," 545–46)

Müller, Ralf. "Philosophy and the Practice of Reflexivity: On Dōgen's Discourse about Buddha-Nature." In Concepts of Philosophy in Asia and the Islamic World, Vol. 1: China and Japan, edited by Raji C. Steineck, Ralph Weber, Elena Louisa Lange, and Robert H. Gassmann, 545–76. Leiden: Brill - Rodopi, 2018.

Müller, Ralf. "Philosophy and the Practice of Reflexivity: On Dōgen's Discourse about Buddha-Nature." In Concepts of Philosophy in Asia and the Islamic World, Vol. 1: China and Japan, edited by Raji C. Steineck, Ralph Weber, Elena Louisa Lange, and Robert H. Gassmann, 545–76. Leiden: Brill - Rodopi, 2018.;Philosophy and the Practice of Reflexivity: On Dōgen's Discourse about Buddha-Nature;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism;Zen - Chan;Dōgen;Shōbōgenzō;Ralf Müller

Affiliations & relations

• Institute of Philosophy, Hildesheim University, Germany - Lecturer · workplace affiliation
• Visiting Research Fellow, Host: Graham Priest, Depart. of Philosophy, Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), USA · secondary affiliation
• Personal Website; University of Hildesheim · websites