- School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science
Botany House
University of Leeds
Leeds, LS2 9JT
United Kingdom
Mikel Burley
University of Leeds, Theology and Religious Studies, Faculty Member
- I teach in the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (PRHS) at the University of Leeds, UK. My main i... moreI teach in the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (PRHS) at the University of Leeds, UK. My main interests are in developing interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approaches to philosophy of religion that seek to clarify and understand religious practices and their place in human life.
I am module leader for:
PRHS3170 Religion, Belief and Ethics
THEO1900 Introduction to South Asian Religions
THEO2201/3306 Hindu Traditions
THEO2220 Buddhism
My current research projects include an extensive study of the relevance of narrative sources for the philosophy of religion plus a study of West African indigenous religions.
For further information about my teaching and publications, please visit my University of Leeds webpage at https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/philosophy/staff/30/dr-mikel-burleyedit
A Radical Pluralist Philosophy of Religion develops and exemplifies an approach that is both methodologically innovative and expansive in its cross-cultural and multireligious scope. Employing his expertise in interdisciplinary and... more
A Radical Pluralist Philosophy of Religion develops and exemplifies an approach that is both methodologically innovative and expansive in its cross-cultural and multireligious scope. Employing his expertise in interdisciplinary and Wittgenstein-influenced methods, Mikel Burley draws upon works of narrative fiction and ethnography, including his own fieldwork, to facilitate thick description and attention to particulars. Breaking away from the standard fixation on a narrow construal of theism, topics discussed include conceptions of compassion in Buddhist ethics, cannibalism in mortuary rituals, divine possession and animal sacrifice in Hindu Goddess worship and animism in indigenous traditions.
Original and engaging, Burley’s synthesis of philosophical, anthropological and literary elements enlarges and deepens the philosophy of religion, providing an essential introduction for anyone interested in studying the radical plurality of forms that religion takes in human life.
Original and engaging, Burley’s synthesis of philosophical, anthropological and literary elements enlarges and deepens the philosophy of religion, providing an essential introduction for anyone interested in studying the radical plurality of forms that religion takes in human life.
Research Interests:
Ludwig Wittgenstein was an outstanding 20th-century philosopher whose influence has reverberated throughout not only philosophy but also numerous other areas of inquiry, including theology and the study of religions. Exemplifying how... more
Ludwig Wittgenstein was an outstanding 20th-century philosopher whose influence has reverberated throughout not only philosophy but also numerous other areas of inquiry, including theology and the study of religions. Exemplifying how Wittgenstein's thought can be engaged with both sympathetically and critically, Wittgenstein, Religion and Ethics pushes forward our thinking about religion and ethics and their place in the modern world.
Bringing Wittgenstein's ideas into productive dialogue with several other important thinkers, including Elizabeth Anscombe, St Thomas Aquinas, Georg Cantor, Søren Kierkegaard and George Orwell, this collection fosters a highly informative picture of how different strands of contemporary and historical thought intersect and bear upon one another. Chapters are written by leading scholars in the field and tackle current debates concerning religious and ethical matters, with particular attention to the nature of religious language. This is a substantial contribution to religion and ethics, demonstrating the significance of Wittgenstein's ideas for these and related subjects.
Bringing Wittgenstein's ideas into productive dialogue with several other important thinkers, including Elizabeth Anscombe, St Thomas Aquinas, Georg Cantor, Søren Kierkegaard and George Orwell, this collection fosters a highly informative picture of how different strands of contemporary and historical thought intersect and bear upon one another. Chapters are written by leading scholars in the field and tackle current debates concerning religious and ethical matters, with particular attention to the nature of religious language. This is a substantial contribution to religion and ethics, demonstrating the significance of Wittgenstein's ideas for these and related subjects.
Research Interests:
Rebirth and the Stream of Life explores the diversity as well as the ethical and religious significance of rebirth beliefs, focusing especially on Hindu and Buddhist traditions but also discussing indigenous religions and ancient Greek... more
Rebirth and the Stream of Life explores the diversity as well as the ethical and religious significance of rebirth beliefs, focusing especially on Hindu and Buddhist traditions but also discussing indigenous religions and ancient Greek thought. Utilizing resources from religious studies, anthropology and theology, an expanded conception of philosophy of religion is exemplified, which takes seriously lived experience rather than treating religious beliefs in isolation from their place in believers’ lives. Drawing upon his expertise in interdisciplinary working and Wittgenstein-influenced approaches, Mikel Burley examines several interrelated phenomena, including purported past-life memories, the relationship between metaphysics and ethics, efforts to ‘demythologize’ rebirth, and moral critiques of the doctrine of karma. This range of topics, with rebirth as a unifying theme, makes the book of value to anyone interested in philosophy, the study of religions, and what it means to believe that we undergo multiple lives.
Research Interests:
A number of factors -- such as new research into human and animal consciousness, a heightened awareness of the methods and consequences of intensive farming, and modern concerns about animal welfare and ecology -- have made our... more
A number of factors -- such as new research into human and animal consciousness, a heightened awareness of the methods and consequences of intensive farming, and modern concerns about animal welfare and ecology -- have made our relationship to animals an area of burning interest in contemporary philosophy. Utilizing methods inspired by Ludwig Wittgenstein, the contributors to this volume explore this area in a variety of ways.
Topics discussed include:
* scientific vs. non-scientific ways of describing human and animal behaviour
* the ethics of eating particular animal species
* human nature, emotions, and instinctive reactions
* responses of wonder towards the natural world
* the moral relevance of literature
* the concept of dignity
* the question of whether non-human animals can use language
This book will be of great value to anyone interested in philosophical and interdisciplinary issues concerning language, ethics and humanity's relation to animals and the natural world.
Topics discussed include:
* scientific vs. non-scientific ways of describing human and animal behaviour
* the ethics of eating particular animal species
* human nature, emotions, and instinctive reactions
* responses of wonder towards the natural world
* the moral relevance of literature
* the concept of dignity
* the question of whether non-human animals can use language
This book will be of great value to anyone interested in philosophical and interdisciplinary issues concerning language, ethics and humanity's relation to animals and the natural world.
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) made profound contributions to many areas of philosophy and cultural understanding, and his thought and methods have inspired numerous inquirers into the forms of our religious life. D. Z. Phillips... more
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) made profound contributions to many areas of philosophy and cultural understanding, and his thought and methods have inspired numerous inquirers into the forms of our religious life. D. Z. Phillips (1934-2006) pioneered the application of Wittgenstein-influenced approaches to the philosophy of religion, and emphasized the contemplative, non-dogmatic nature of the philosophical task. In Contemplating Religious Forms of Life, Mikel Burley elucidates and critically examines the work of these two philosophers in relation to various aspects of religion, including ritual, mystical experience, faith and reason, realism and non-realism, conceptions of eternal life, and the use of literature as a resource for the contemplation of religious and non-religious beliefs. The book will be of significant value to academics, students and general readers interested in philosophy, religious studies, theology, and the interrelations between these disciplines.
Research Interests:
Samkhya and Yoga are two of the oldest and most influential systems of classical Indian thought and religious practice. In their classical forms they constitute two of the major systems of Brahmanical Hindu philosophy, and their influence... more
Samkhya and Yoga are two of the oldest and most influential systems of classical Indian thought and religious practice. In their classical forms they constitute two of the major systems of Brahmanical Hindu philosophy, and their influence has been pervasive throughout Indian culture.
This book provides a thorough analysis of Samkhya and Yoga. Placing particular emphasis on the metaphysical schema which underlies both systems, the author adeptly develops a new interpretation of these systems and exposes the weaknesses of standard views.
Drawing upon existing sources and using insights from both Eastern and Western philosophy and religious practice, this comprehensive interpretation is respectful to the underlying spiritual purpose of the Indian systems and illuminates the relation between their theoretical and practical dimensions. The book fills a gap in current scholarship and will be of interest to those concerned with Indology, especially Indian philosophies and their similarities and differences with other traditions.
This book provides a thorough analysis of Samkhya and Yoga. Placing particular emphasis on the metaphysical schema which underlies both systems, the author adeptly develops a new interpretation of these systems and exposes the weaknesses of standard views.
Drawing upon existing sources and using insights from both Eastern and Western philosophy and religious practice, this comprehensive interpretation is respectful to the underlying spiritual purpose of the Indian systems and illuminates the relation between their theoretical and practical dimensions. The book fills a gap in current scholarship and will be of interest to those concerned with Indology, especially Indian philosophies and their similarities and differences with other traditions.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
As with most great works of art, great films are typically amenable to multiple interpretations, and there need be no determinate answer to which interpretation is 'right' or even the 'best'. Yet some interpretations can... more
As with most great works of art, great films are typically amenable to multiple interpretations, and there need be no determinate answer to which interpretation is 'right' or even the 'best'. Yet some interpretations can render a work more compelling—perhaps more morally or religiously deep—than others. And that might be one reason for preferring the interpretation in question. This article focuses on Woody Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors", which has often been construed as an attempt to illustrate the thesis that crime sometimes pays (or, at any rate, that it is not the case that crime necessarily does not pay). I call this the unjust reading of the film and contrast it with the just reading. I argue, however, that both these readings presuppose a consequentialist conception of justice that is not the only conception available. Reinterpreted from a perspective of intrinsic justice, the film gains a depth that is unavailable in the light of the other i...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Despite a growing interest in philosophy of religion in secondary level education , especially in the United Kingdom, courses at undergraduate level frequently fail to build upon the preliminary understanding that students have gained. A... more
Despite a growing interest in philosophy of religion in secondary level education , especially in the United Kingdom, courses at undergraduate level frequently fail to build upon the preliminary understanding that students have gained. A fixation on the evaluation of religious “truth-claims” tends to detract from an appreciation of the variegated nature of religious forms of life and practice , while a limited palette of examples constrains the cross-cultural reach of the subject . After outlining weaknesses in the approach often taken to teaching philosophy of religion , this chapter considers both how increased interdisciplinary engagement can deepen and expand the cultural range of philosophy of religion and how Wittgenstein -inspired modes of investigation can facilitate such interdisciplinarity. The influence of Wittgenstein’s ideas in the study of religion outside philosophy is concisely surveyed, and examples are given from my own teaching of how to integrate Wittgensteinian ...
Research Interests:
This essay is a contribution to a roundtable on Bryan Van Norden's 2017 book, *Taking Back Philosophy: A Multicultural Manifesto*.
Research Interests:
It has been observed, by D. Z. Phillips among others, that philosophy suffers from a “lack of imagination”. That is, philosophers often fail to see possibilities of sense in forms of life and discourse due to narrow habits of thinking.... more
It has been observed, by D. Z. Phillips among others, that philosophy suffers from a “lack of imagination”. That is, philosophers often fail to see possibilities of sense in forms of life and discourse due to narrow habits of thinking. This is especially problematic in the philosophy of religion, not least when cross-cultural modes of inquiry are called for. This article examines the problem in relation to the philosophical investigation of reincarnation beliefs in particular. As a remedial strategy, I argue for increased attention both to ethnographic sources and to the articulation of distinctively religious moral visions that reincarnation-talk facilitates. 1. A Deficiency in Contemporary Philosophy of Religion Any philosopher who wishes to make pronouncements about whether a particular belief or verbal affirmation makes sense ought first to reflect carefully upon the range of situations in which the belief or words in question might be expressed. In one of the most dogmatic and ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Philosophy and Routledge
The significance of narrative artworks as resources for, and possibly as instances of, philosophical thinking has increasingly been recognized over recent decades. Utilization of such resources in philosophy of religion has, however, been... more
The significance of narrative artworks as resources for, and possibly as instances of, philosophical thinking has increasingly been recognized over recent decades. Utilization of such resources in philosophy of religion has, however, been limited. Focusing on film in particular, this article develops an account of film’s importance for a ‘contemplative’ approach to philosophizing about religious ethics, an approach that prioritizes the elucidation of possibilities of sense over the evaluation of ‘truth claims’. Taking Dead Man Walking as a case in point, the article shows how this film facilitates an enhanced comprehension of specific concepts, most notably the concepts of faith, truth and love, as they feature within a characteristically Christian form of life.
Research Interests:
How should a philosophical inquiry into the moral status of (nonhuman) animals proceed? Many philosophers maintain that by examining the “morally relevant” psychological or physiological capacities possessed by the members of different... more
How should a philosophical inquiry into the moral status of (nonhuman) animals proceed? Many philosophers maintain that by examining the “morally relevant” psychological or physiological capacities possessed by the members of different species, and comparing these with similar capacities possessed by human beings, the moral status of the animals in question can be established. Others contend that such an approach runs into serious moral and conceptual problems, a crucial one being that of how to give a coherent account of the natural sense of concern for profoundly cognitively impaired human beings if moral status is assumed to depend on features that centrally include cognitive capacities. The present article discusses this debate with reference to Wittgenstein-influenced philosophers whose respective approaches, on the face of it, diverge dramatically. With a primary focus on Hans-Johann Glock and Cora Diamond, and a secondary focus on recent work by Alice Crary, I argue that, des...
Research Interests:
Ambivalence is a prominent feature of religious traditions, with respect both to the attitudes exhibited in the faith of many religious practitioners and to the qualities embodied in conceptions of the divine. Yet these ambivalences have... more
Ambivalence is a prominent feature of religious traditions, with respect both to the attitudes exhibited in the faith of many religious practitioners and to the qualities embodied in conceptions of the divine. Yet these ambivalences have received little scrutiny from philosophy of religion, especially in its analytic mode. Helping to address this lacuna, the current article comprises critical and constructive components. In a critical vein, it challenges the tendencies of intellectualism and moralism that encourage an overemphasis on intellectual or cognitive dimensions of religion and a privileging of religious forms that accord with the investigator’s moral predilections. Constructively, the article looks to Wittgenstein-inspired philosophy and to aspects of the anthropology and phenomenology of religion for conceptual resources to deploy in relation to ambivalent, awesome, or even terrifying conceptions of divinity. In aid of enlarging the scope of (Western, principally analytic) philosophy of religion beyond the confines of standard Christian-centric or “theistic” strictures, examples of ambivalent deities are drawn from Hindu sources, most notably the Bhagavad Gītā and Śākta (Goddess-revering) traditions. The guiding purpose of the article is to promote a radically pluralist approach that seeks to do conceptual justice to the variety of forms that religion takes without imposing an overintellectualized or moralistic picture on them.
Research Interests:
The Hindu Divine Mother is revered by millions of religious practitioners in India and elsewhere, yet this goddess rarely receives attention in Western philosophy of religion. Focusing especially (though not exclusively) on her form as... more
The Hindu Divine Mother is revered by millions of religious practitioners in India and elsewhere, yet this goddess rarely receives attention in Western philosophy of religion. Focusing especially (though not exclusively) on her form as Kālī, this article utilizes sources from Hindu goddess traditions to explicate her contrasting characteristics, which include benign maternality and martial aggression. By adapting an embodied theological (or thealogical) approach derived from feminist discourse, the intelligibility of worshipping such a goddess is expounded; connections are delineated between the conceptualizing of divinity as radically ambivalent or multivalent and the lived experience of inhabiting an often hostile world.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Myths, or sacred narratives, have been underexplored in mainstream philosophy of religion, which has also had little to say about African indigenous religions. These lacunae impoverish the philosophy of religion by diminishing its... more
Myths, or sacred narratives, have been underexplored in mainstream philosophy of religion, which has also had little to say about African indigenous religions. These lacunae impoverish the philosophy of religion by diminishing its coverage both of the range of human religious possibilities and of the diverse modes through which religious ideas and world-views are conveyed. With particular attention to Yorùbá religion, this article promotes and exemplifies a pluralistic narrative approach that draws upon mythology to facilitate philosophical reflection upon a wider array of religious traditions, for the dual purpose of doing conceptual justice to those traditions while also furthering the discipline's conceptual enrichment.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Recent decades have witnessed a growing interest in narrative both in certain areas of philosophy and in the study of religion. The philosophy of religion has not itself been at the forefront of this narrative turn, but exceptions... more
Recent decades have witnessed a growing interest in narrative both in certain areas of philosophy and in the study of religion. The philosophy of religion has not itself been at the forefront of this narrative turn, but exceptions exist—most notably Eleonore Stump’s work on biblical stories and the problem of suffering. Characterizing Stump’s approach as an apologetic orientation, this article contrasts it with pluralistic orientations that, rather than seeking to defend religious faith, are concerned with doing conceptual justice to the range of possible human perspectives, both religious and nonreligious. By discussing various examples, the article makes a case for narrative philosophy of religion, especially in its pluralistic form.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Philosophy and Sophia
Research Interests:
Philosophers and other scholars of religion are increasingly recognizing that if philosophy of religion is to remain relevant to the study of religion, its scope must be expanded well beyond the confines of a highly intellectualized and... more
Philosophers and other scholars of religion are increasingly recognizing that if philosophy of religion is to remain relevant to the study of religion, its scope must be expanded well beyond the confines of a highly intellectualized and abstract “theism.” Means of engendering this expansion include methodological diversification—drawing upon thickly described accounts of religious life such as those afforded by ethnographies and certain narrative artworks. Focusing on the latter, this article engages with the question of whether works of narrative fiction—literary or cinematic—candophilosophy of religion in ways that illuminate what D.Z. Phillips characterizes as the “radical plurality” of contemporary religion. Closely examining the examples of Dostoevsky’sThe Brothers Karamazovand especially Soyinka’sDeath and the King’s Horseman, my discussion is contextualized within broader debates over whether philosophy’s purpose is to advocate certain religious and moral perspectives or to e...
Research Interests:
Despite the Buddha’s renowned aversion to metaphysical-cum-cosmological speculation, ostensibly cosmological systems have proliferated in Buddhist traditions. Debates persist over how to interpret these systems, a central puzzle being the... more
Despite the Buddha’s renowned aversion to metaphysical-cum-cosmological speculation, ostensibly cosmological systems have proliferated in Buddhist traditions. Debates persist over how to interpret these systems, a central puzzle being the relation between apparently cosmological and psychological aspects. This article critically analyzes three main interpretive orientations, namely psychologization, literalism, and the one-reality view. After examining a tendency in the third of these to equivocate between talk of two co-referential vocabularies and talk of two corresponding orders, I discuss at length the debate between literalist and psychologizing approaches. The latter emphasize how accounts of “realms of existence” are most cogently read as figurative descriptions of mental states, whereas literalists argue that at least some of the accounts should be understood cosmologically, as descriptions of spatiotemporal regions. Notwithstanding weaknesses in some literalist arguments, t...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Introduction 1. The body in illness 2. The social world 3. Illness as dis-ability and health within illness 4. Fearing death 5. Living in the present
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
What is the point of philosophy of religion? Is it to help us find the right path in life, with the philosopher as guide and mentor? Or is it, as D. Z. Phillips proposes, to contemplate ‘the world in all its variety’, deepening our... more
What is the point of philosophy of religion? Is it to help us find the right path in life, with the philosopher as guide and mentor? Or is it, as D. Z. Phillips proposes, to contemplate ‘the world in all its variety’, deepening our understanding of multiple perspectives (both religious and non-religious) without trying to appropriate or reject any of them? Recognizing certain shortcomings of the former conception, this article seeks to elucidate the latter and to engage with the critical reception of…
Research Interests:
Philosophy as well as anthropology is a discipline concerned with what it means to be human, and hence with investigating the multiple ways of making sense of human life. An important task in this process is to remain open to diverse... more
Philosophy as well as anthropology is a discipline concerned with what it means to be human, and hence with investigating the multiple ways of making sense of human life. An important task in this process is to remain open to diverse conceptions of human beings, not least conceptions that may on the face of it appear to be morally alien. A case in point are conceptions that are bound up with cannibalism, a practice sometimes assumed to be so morally scandalous that it probably never happens, at least in a culturally sanctioned form. Questioning this assumption, along with Cora Diamond's contention that the very concept of a human being involves a prohibition against consuming human flesh, the present article explores how cannibalism can have an intelligible place in a human society – exemplified by the Wari’ of western Brazil. By coming to see this, we are enabled to enlarge our conception of the heterogeneity of possible ways of being human.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Abstract Is it absurd to believe that, in the absence of bodily continuity, personal identity could be retained? Bernard Williams argued for an affirmative answer to this question partly on the basis of a well-known thought experiment.... more
Abstract Is it absurd to believe that, in the absence of bodily continuity, personal identity could be retained? Bernard Williams argued for an affirmative answer to this question partly on the basis of a well-known thought experiment. Some other philosophers, including D. Z. Phillips, have accepted, or appear to have accepted, Williams’ conclusion. Yet the argument has the consequence of dismissing as absurd the sorts of reincarnation beliefs which, within their proper contexts, have a meaningful role in the lives of many millions of people. Drawing upon philosophical work by David Cockburn, and also on anthropological studies concerning reincarnation beliefs, this paper questions the extent to which ostensibly meaningful beliefs can be deemed unintelligible in the absence of careful attention to their cultural contexts.
Research Interests:
Abstract: Critics of Havi Carel's 2008 book, Illness: The Cry of the Flesh, have contended that Carel's deployment of phenomenological philosophy adds little to commonsense views about illness and that Carel relies too heavily... more
Abstract: Critics of Havi Carel's 2008 book, Illness: The Cry of the Flesh, have contended that Carel's deployment of phenomenological philosophy adds little to commonsense views about illness and that Carel relies too heavily on emotion-laden autobiographical anecdotes. ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This book brings together a wealth of information that lies scattered across a wide textual, historical, and geographical terrain, and focuses this material into a fasci-nating study of the myths, doctrines, pilgrimage sites, and... more
This book brings together a wealth of information that lies scattered across a wide textual, historical, and geographical terrain, and focuses this material into a fasci-nating study of the myths, doctrines, pilgrimage sites, and religious sects associated with the name of Kapila ...
Research Interests:
Richard Beardsmore once argued that, although it is possible for atheists and religious believers alike to regard life as a gift, the regarding of one's own death as a gift is open only to the (Christian) believer. I discuss this... more
Richard Beardsmore once argued that, although it is possible for atheists and religious believers alike to regard life as a gift, the regarding of one's own death as a gift is open only to the (Christian) believer. I discuss this interesting contention, and argue that, notwithstanding some important differences between the attitudinal possibilities available to atheists and believers in God, there are at least three senses in which an atheist could regard death as a gift. Two of these involve death's being conceived as serving some particular purpose, whereas the third derives from a more pervasive affirmatory attitude to life as a whole.