Mikel Burley

University of Leeds, Theology and Religious Studies, Faculty Member

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I 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-burley
Address: School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science
Botany House
University of Leeds
Leeds, LS2 9JT
United Kingdom

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Books by Mikel Burley

A RADICAL PLURALIST PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION Cross-Cultural, Multireligious, Interdisciplinary

A Radical Pluralist Philosophy of Religion develops and exemplifies an approach that is both meth... 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.

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Wittgenstein, Religion and Ethics: New Perspectives from Philosophy and Theology

Ludwig Wittgenstein was an outstanding 20th-century philosopher whose influence has reverberated ... 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.

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Rebirth and the Stream of Life: A Philosophical Study of Reincarnation, Karma and Ethics

Rebirth and the Stream of Life explores the diversity as well as the ethical and religious signif... 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.

Language, Ethics and Animal Life: Wittgenstein and Beyond

A number of factors -- such as new research into human and animal consciousness, a heightened awa... 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.

Contemplating Religious Forms of Life: Wittgenstein and D. Z. Phillips

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) made profound contributions to many areas of philosophy and cultu... 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.

Classical Samkhya and Yoga: An Indian Metaphysics of Experience

Samkhya and Yoga are two of the oldest and most influential systems of classical Indian thought a... 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.

Papers by Mikel Burley

Randy Ramal: On philosophy, intelligibility, and the ordinary: going the bloody hard way

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 2022

14 Rebirth and ‘ethicisation’ in Greek and South Asian thought

Universe and Inner Self in Early Indian and Early Greek Thought, 2016

Underlying many speculations about the origins of beliefs in rebirth or reincarnation is an assum... more Underlying many speculations about the origins of beliefs in rebirth or reincarnation is an assumption about the relation between metaphysics and ethics. Roughly speaking, the assumption is that ethical outlooks are grounded in metaphysical beliefs or theories, and hence that, in any given case, a metaphysical conception of the world is prior, logically and chronologically, to the ethical outlook. I call this the assumption of metaphysical priority. Among the theories in which we see this assumption at work is that developed by the anthropologist Gananath Obeyesekere in several publications since the late 1960s, which concerns how conceptions of rebirth evolved from 'non-ethicised' to 'ethicised' forms. 1 Equating 'ethicised' with 'karmic', Obeyesekere posits a transition from 'rebirth eschatologies' to 'karmic eschatologies'. According to this view, rebirth

format_quoteOsborne's challenge of metaphysical priority prompts questioning of the assumed precedence between metaphysics and ethics.format_quote

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Getting Away with Murder? "Crimes and Misdemeanors" and Alternative Conceptions of Justice

As with most great works of art, great films are typically amenable to multiple interpretations, ... 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...

format_quoteThe film's moral message hinges on whether Judah truly avoids consequence for his crime and how Ben's blindness symbolizes ethical insights.format_quote

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Wittgenstein, Religion and Ethics : New Perspectives from Philosophy and Theology

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Imagining Philosophy of Religion Differently: Interdisciplinary Wittgensteinian Approaches

Despite a growing interest in philosophy of religion in secondary level education , especially in... 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 ...

“A Certain Purity of Attention to the World”

Ethics after Wittgenstein, 2021

“Citizens of the Universe”: Bryan Van Norden and the Taking Back of Philosophy

Expositions, 2018

This essay is a contribution to a roundtable on Bryan Van Norden&#39;s 2017 book, *Taking Bac... more

Burley Eternal Life as a Present Possession Mikel Burley

This article examines the contention, made by some Christian theologians, that 'eternal life' is ... more This article examines the contention, made by some Christian theologians, that 'eternal life' is best understood to mean not a life that goes on forever, but a characteristic of, or perspective upon, the finite life that each of us is now living. It includes a tentative suggestion that certain ideas in theoretical physics and the philosophy of time are comparable to this contention.

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Reincarnation and the Lack of Imagination in Philosophy

It has been observed, by D. Z. Phillips among others, that philosophy suffers from a “lack of ima... 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 ...

format_quoteRemembrance before birth can make sense in cultures that believe in reincarnation, illustrating culturally contingent understandings of memories.format_quote

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Death, immortality and nirvāṇa in Buddhist traditions

‘That’s What Art Does’: Disclosing Religious and Ethical Possibilities Through Film

The significance of narrative artworks as resources for, and possibly as instances of, philosophi... 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.

format_quoteThe film Dead Man Walking illustrates spiritual growth between characters amidst varied religious perspectives, highlighting its philosophical significance.format_quote

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“We are Human Beings, and We Value Human Life”: Glock and Diamond on Mental Capacities and Animal Ethics

How should a philosophical inquiry into the moral status of (nonhuman) animals proceed? Many phil... 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...

format_quoteGlock argues that while animals have moral status based on mental capacities, this does not equate their moral status to that of humans.format_quote

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Philosophy of Religion in a Radically Pluralist Spirit: A Reply to Responses

Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 2021

“A Shuddering Awareness of Death and Life Together”: Doing Justice to Ambivalence in the Philosophy of Religion

The Journal of Religion, 2021

Ambivalence is a prominent feature of religious traditions, with respect both to the attitudes ex... 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.

Mikel Burley

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