Deconstructing Aniccā Through Semantic, Logic and Ethics in Early Buddhism and Western Philosophy

Abstract

This research paper explores the multifaceted concept of anicc¯ a. It is defined as “impermanence” by combining perspectives from early Western philosophy, P¯ali Tipit .aka texts and current scholarly discussions. This work aims to clarify the original meaning of anicc¯ a, out side its temporal aspect. It clarifies its logical relationships with dukkha (suffering) and anatt¯a (non-self). A methodological framework of comparative philosophical analysis and textual exegesis was employed, drawing on Western fragments (Heraclitus, Parmenides, Aristotle, Stoics) alongside key P¯ali suttas and commentaries. The findings reveal that anicc¯a encompasses both the universal flux of phenomena and the subjective perception of unsatisfactoriness when one seeks permanence in conditioned realities; logically, (anicc¯a → dukkha → anatt¯a) collapses into anicc¯a ↔ anatt¯a, signifying the inseparability of change and non-self. Limitations include reliance on textual sources without empirical or ethnographic validation and a primary focus on Therav¯ada commentarial traditions to the exclusion of Mah¯ay¯ana interpre tations. The implications of this reconceptualization extend to Buddhist studies, ethics and cross-cultural philosophy, inviting reappraisal of how impermanence informs contemporary debates on identity and suffering. The originality of this work lies in its logical critique of “impermanence” as an incomplete translation. Its synthesis of Waharaka Thera’s linguistic arguments and its reintegration of early Western and P¯ali insights into a cohesive account of anicc¯a’s full semantic range.