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In collaborazione con l'Università degli Studi di Napoli L'Orientale
 
Seminario
 
Elisa Freschi (University of Toronto)
 
The deontic system of Mīmāṃsā: Mapping the townscape

This talk will explore deontic concepts in the Mīmāṃsā school of Sanskrit philosophy, also looking at Mīmāṃsā-influenced jurisprudence (Dharmaśāstra). I will start with the basics of the system, that is, how prescriptions and prohibitions are not mutually definable ("X is obligatory" is not tantamount to "not-X is forbidden" and "Y is forbidden" is not tantamount to "not-Y is obligatory") and then move on to how permissions are not defined as the counterpart of prohibitions ("Z is permitted" is not tantamount to "Z is not forbidden"). In other words, for Mīmāṃsā authors it is not the case that whatever is not prohibited is permitted. In contrast, Mīmāṃsā authors consider Vedic permissions to be always exceptions to previous prohibitions or negative obligations.  I will then consider how Mīmāṃsā authors can deal with what Euro-American authors consider to be "free-standing" permissions, such as "Every human being is allowed to attend school until 18" (considered by some to be grounding rights). Could this concept have some resemblance with the Mīmāṃsā category of adhikāra?