James Giles studied at the University of British Columbia and the University of Edinburgh, where he gained a PhD in philosophy. He is external associate professor of psychology at Roskilde University and lecturer in
the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education. He has also held appointments at other universities in the UK, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Guam, and Hawaii.
The purpose of Giles' work is to create a philosophical psychology that explains the core features of the human condition. The unifying theme in his work is the fundamental role that human awareness, in its diverse modes, plays in that condition. Giles' research ranges over metaphysics, the theory of perception, personal identity, the self, human relationships, and evolutionary theory. He has argued for an experiential account of the material world and the non-existence of a persisting self, describing self-awareness as the awareness of a constructed self-image.
Giles is well-known as a scholar of Asian philosophy, working in the areas of Chinese, and also Japanese and Indian thought, with particular interests in Buddhism and Daoism. His interpretations of the Buddhist doctrine of no-self and Buddhist philosophy are widely cited. He also offers a new understanding of Daoism as an account of the metaphysics of awareness, arguing that the ancient Daoists have much to offer contemporary philosophy of mind. Author to several works, Giles is typically interdisciplinary and intercultural in his research, drawing on such areas as philosophy, psychology, anthropology, and biology, while exploring their expression in different cultures. Only through such an approach, argues Giles, can we hope to understand the human condition.
Copyright © 2015-2020 James Giles
the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education. He has also held appointments at other universities in the UK, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Guam, and Hawaii.
The purpose of Giles' work is to create a philosophical psychology that explains the core features of the human condition. The unifying theme in his work is the fundamental role that human awareness, in its diverse modes, plays in that condition. Giles' research ranges over metaphysics, the theory of perception, personal identity, the self, human relationships, and evolutionary theory. He has argued for an experiential account of the material world and the non-existence of a persisting self, describing self-awareness as the awareness of a constructed self-image.
Giles is well-known as a scholar of Asian philosophy, working in the areas of Chinese, and also Japanese and Indian thought, with particular interests in Buddhism and Daoism. His interpretations of the Buddhist doctrine of no-self and Buddhist philosophy are widely cited. He also offers a new understanding of Daoism as an account of the metaphysics of awareness, arguing that the ancient Daoists have much to offer contemporary philosophy of mind. Author to several works, Giles is typically interdisciplinary and intercultural in his research, drawing on such areas as philosophy, psychology, anthropology, and biology, while exploring their expression in different cultures. Only through such an approach, argues Giles, can we hope to understand the human condition.
Copyright © 2015-2020 James Giles
