Why I Am Not a Buddhist

Evan Thompson challenges the widespread view that Buddhism holds a special status in the modern world. In recent years, numerous books have promoted meditation and mindfulness as scientifically validated practices applicable to business, relationships, and other areas of life. Buddhism is increasingly presented as a rational spirituality compatible with contemporary science—even as a "science of the mind." Thompson argues this representation is inaccurate. Drawing on both Western and Buddhist philosophy, he explains that science and religion have fundamentally different goals. Attempts to merge them are misguided and produce distorted understandings of both disciplines. He proposes cosmopolitanism as an alternative worldview, one with established roots in Eastern and Western traditions alike. The book examines Buddhism's role in contemporary culture through rigorous philosophical analysis.