Unit 4: Nyaya and Vaisheshika

1. Nyaya Epistemology: The Four Pramanas

The Nyaya school, founded by Gautama, is primarily concerned with the logic and the means of valid knowledge (Pramanas). They accept four distinct sources of knowledge:

• Pratyaksha (Perception): Knowledge that arises from the contact of the sense-organs with objects. It is divided into Laukika (ordinary) and Alaukika (extraordinary).
• Anumana (Inference): Knowledge that follows from some other knowledge (e.g., seeing smoke and inferring fire).
• Upamana (Comparison): Knowledge of the relation between a word and the object denoted by it (e.g., learning what a wild cow is by comparing it to a domestic cow).
• Sabda (Testimony): Knowledge derived from the words of a reliable person (Apta).

2. Structure of Anumana (Inference)

Nyaya is famous for its five-membered syllogism, which is more comprehensive than the Aristotelian three-membered syllogism.

The Five Members (Avayavas):

1. Pratijna (Proposition): The hill has fire.
2. Hetu (Reason): Because it has smoke.
3. Udaharana (Universal Law + Example): Whatever has smoke has fire, e.g., a kitchen.
4. Upanaya (Application): The hill has smoke which is invariably associated with fire.
5. Nigamana (Conclusion): Therefore, the hill has fire.

Vyapti: The nerve of inference is Vyapti, the universal and invariable relation between the middle term (smoke) and the major term (fire).

3. Vaisheshika: The Seven Padarthas

While Nyaya focuses on logic, Vaisheshika (founded by Kanada) focuses on Ontology—the classification of all existing things (Padarthas).

4. Vaisheshika Atomism (Paramanuvada)

Vaisheshika propounds a unique theory of the creation of the universe called Paramanuvada. They believe the physical world is composed of four types of invisible, eternal, and indivisible atoms (Earth, Water, Fire, and Air).

• Atoms are the material cause of the world.
• God (Ishvara): Atoms are inactive by themselves. God is the efficient cause who provides the "Adrishta" (unseen force of Karma) to set the atoms in motion and create the world.