Yogic metaethics: what it is and why it matters
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
9:30 am to 11:00 am
- Venue
- SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies
- Room
- Online
- Event type
- Webinar
About this event
SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies is delighted host Dr Brett Parris to discuss the topic, 'Yogic metaethics: what it is and why it matters'.
This talk is based on Dr Parris's DPhil (2025) at the University of Oxford that looks at the implicit metaethical philosophies of Patañjali’s Yoga, Nondual Śaivism, Advaita Vedānta, and Theistic Vedānta. Parris will explain the motivation for his thesis, map out some of the major metaethical positions, and talk about where these major yogic traditions sit. Parris concludes that while modern transnational yoga has brought benefits to millions, it also faces numerous ethical and epistemological challenges.
Some yogic traditions mesh well with universal human rights perspectives, and have an approach to the phenomenal world which more naturally coheres with modern physical and social-science concerns. For other traditions, the bridges between their philosophies and such concerns are weaker.
Contemporary yoga teacher-training bodies, teachers, and students, would benefit from greater awareness of the diversity of metaethical perspectives in traditional teachings, and the extent to which they may either support or undermine ethical codes of conduct, human rights principles, and evidence-based teaching and policy.
Speaker
Brett Parris completed his DPhil (2025) in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford. Brett has an MPhil in Classical Indian Religion from Oxford, as well as a PhD in development economics from Monash University in Melbourne. Brett has worked for NGOs focused on poverty, human rights, and climate change for several years. While maintaining his previous interests, Brett's current research focusses on the ethical dimensions of yogic philosophy and practice, and on broader inter-religious dialogue. He also teaches yoga in both the UK and Australia.
