Nyāyasūtra
Nyāyasūtra is the foundational text of the Nyaya school, one of the non-Buddhist Indian schools mentioned in Buddhist texts on logic and reasoning.[1][2] It is a Hindu text, notable for focusing on knowledge and logic, and making no mention of Vedic rituals.[3][note 1]
The date when the text was composed, and the biography of its author is unknown, but variously estimated between 6th-century BCE and 2nd-century CE.[5][6] The text may have been composed by more than one author, over a period of time.[5]
The text consists of five books, with two chapters in each book, about rules of reason, logic, epistemology and metaphysics.[7][8][9]
The first book is structured as a general introduction and table of contents of sixteen categories of knowledge.[5] Book two is about pramana (epistemology), book three is about prameya or the objects of knowledge, and the text discusses the nature of knowledge in remaining books.[5] It set the foundation for Nyaya tradition of the empirical theory of validity and truth, opposing uncritical appeals to intuition or scriptural authority.[10]
The Nyāyasūtra covers a wide range of topics, including Tarka-Vidyā, the science of debate or Vāda-Vidyā, the science of discussion.[11] The Nyāya Sutras are related to but extend the Vaiśeṣika epistemological and metaphysical system.[12]
Notes
- ↑ Francis Clooney states, "Nyaya is the traditional school of Hindu logic. In the early centuries BCE the Nyaya logicians undertook the project of describing the world in a coherent rational fashion and without reliance on revelation or a commitment to any particular deity. Nyaya's primary text, the Nyaya Sutras of Gautama, can be read as a neutral analysis neither favoring nor opposing the idea of God".[4]
References
- ↑ Klaus K Klostermaier (1998), A concise encyclopedia of Hinduism, Oneworld, ISBN 978-1851681754, page 129
- ↑ Jeaneane Fowler (2002), Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1898723943, pages vii, 33, 129
- ↑ Jeaneane Fowler (2002), Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1898723943, page 129; Quote: "In focusing on knowledge and logic, Gautama's Sutras made no mention of Vedic ritual".
- ↑ Francis X Clooney (2001), Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Break Down the Boundaries between Religions, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199738724, page 18
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Jeaneane Fowler (2002), Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1898723943, page 129
- ↑ B. K. Matilal "Perception. An Essay on Classical Indian Theories of Knowledge" (Oxford University Press, 1986), p. xiv.
- ↑ Jeaneane Fowler (2002), Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1898723943, pages 127–136
- ↑ Ganganatha Jha (1999 Reprint), Nyaya-Sutras of Gautama (4 vols.), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-1264-2
- ↑ SC Vidyabhushan and NL Sinha (1990), The Nyâya Sûtras of Gotama, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120807488
- ↑ Karl Potter (2004), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Indian metaphysics and epistemology, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120803091, pages 3, 1–12
- ↑ Karl Potter (2004), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Indian metaphysics and epistemology, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120803091, pages 191–199, 207–208
- ↑ Jeaneane Fowler (2002), Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1898723943, pages 98, 103–104, 128
External links
Nyāya Sūtras, Wikipedia
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