Indian Logic and its Relevance to Computer Science and Information Technology1

Prof. V. V. S. Sarma, FNA, FASc

Department of Computer Science and Automation

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560012

5 February 2001

1. Introduction

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way in the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake

Rabindranath Tagore

Indian Logic (Nyaya Sastra) has a long history spanning about three thousand years. Nyaya Sastra includes logic, the art of
debate ( Tarka Sastra ) and the science of reasons or causes ( Hetu Vidya ). There have been three distinct phases of
development of logic in India. The ancient school spans the period (650 B. C. up to 100 A. D.). The earliest name of this
science is Anvikshiki (The Science of Inquiry). Akshapada Gautama?s work Nyaya Sutra is the representative text of this
period. The medieval school extends from 100 A. D. up to 1000 A. D. This period witnessed extensive contributions by
Buddhist and Jaina logicians. An important text is Pramana Samuchchaya of Dignaga. In this period, the subject is called
Pramana Sastra (The Science of Right Knowledge). The modern school, called Navya Nyaya (New logic) includes the work
done after 1000 A. D. continued to this day by traditional schools of Sanskrit learning. The most influential work of this
period is Gangesa?s Tattva Chintamani (The Jewel of Reflection of Reality). Panini derives the word Nyaya from the root
"i", (as in niyate prapyate vivakshitarthasiddhir anena), which conveys the same meaning as "gam" (= to go) and so it is
etymologically identical to Nigama. Nyaya is the apprehension (or examination) of an object with the help of all Pramanas.
Vatsyayana?s Nyaya Bhashya states " pramanair arthapariksha nyayah". Nyaya is also known through other words such as
Tattva Sastra (the science of categories), and "Vadartha"(the art of discussion and debate). Gangesa?s Tattva Chintamani is
considered the foremost text of new logic or the modern school of Indian logic. According to Philips, the success of Tattva
Chintamani is due to "Gangesa?s uncanny ability to distill arguments, to bring out the clear thrust of a consideration, or a host
of considerations and counter considerations and to decisively formulate a bottom line, a thesis ( siddhanta ) or position
established by argument. The Tattva Chintamani is also a masterpiece of organization; its focus is epistemology, with other
topics such as ontology, semantics, theology and theory of debate taken up according to their relation to epistemological
considerations. There are also numerous other innovations." According to Gangesa, the means to veridical awareness are:

The "Pramana" of veridical perception

Cogent inference

Analogical vocabulary acquisition

Reliable testimony

The techniques of Navya Nyaya are so thorough and subtle that it is almost impossible to conceive a more perfect and
unambiguous method of expression in Sanskrit and the methodology can easily be extended to all Indian languages. In the
last millennium, the whole of India has accepted this methodology in all branches of learning in Sanskrit language.

Sanskrit grammar has, of late, received much attention in the context of Natural Language processing (NLP) and Information
Technology in Indian Languages. NLP is computer processing of languages such as English or Sanskrit. This is different
from computers using programming languages such as FORTRAN, COBOL, C++ or JAVA for solving problems. One of the
main application areas of NLP is Machine Translation (MT). Machine Translation appeared an easy matter once one had
access to a dictionary and the grammars of both the languages. It took several decades of effort to realize the
knowledge-intensive nature of MT. Panini?s Ashtadhyayi, a classic on Sanskrit grammar, composed prior to 600 BC is surely
one of the greatest monuments of human intelligence. This work with about 4000 rules and aphorisms presents the
framework appropriate for a universal grammar that might be used for any language. Chomsky and others have discussed
similar generative structures for English only in the twentieth century. Recent researches have shown that it is possible to
evolve a Paninian approach to NLP. Two lines of work have received attention. In the first approach, the procedural
knowledge contained in Panini?s work is used as a basis for building grammars for all natural languages. In the second
approach, knowledge of Sanskrit is used for designing MT systems for Indian languages. In India, IIT, Kanpur, CDAC, Pune
and IIIT, Hyderabad and several other institutions are involved in the development of information systems using Indian
languages.

Computers have evolved from simple data processing systems to global networks of Information and Knowledge.
Applications of "Intelligent Systems" span the domains of entertainment, information storage, dissemination and retrieval for
commerce, business management and warfare. The subject of ?Artificial Intelligence? (AI) evolved simultaneously with the
development of computers. The philosophy of AI has been outlined succinctly by Herbert Simon, one of the early leaders of
the field. While natural sciences are concerned with generating knowledge about natural objects and phenomena, Simon notes
that AI is concerned with design of artifacts, involving artificial (= man-made) objects or artifacts such as a digital computer.
He further notes that a computer is a physical symbol system analogous to human mind-brain system capable of exhibiting
intelligent behaviour. AI has interactions with mathematics, software engineering, linguistics and psychology. A computer
engineer?s primary goal is to build intelligent machines (such as the Chess-playing program ?DEEP-BLUE?) while his
secondary goal is to understand the nature of human intelligence. A challenging task here is to endow computer programs
with the ability to change themselves for the better as a result of their own experience.

Logic is a major tool used by Computer Scientists in the design of intelligent systems. Logic may be used both as an
information (or knowledge) representation tool (i. e. as a symbolic language or a programming language such as PROLOG)
and as a reasoning tool. Living in today?s highly competitive, complex and interconnected world requires new paradigms for
the very survival of human species. It is being increasingly realized by many that the concepts of right knowledge, wisdom
and ethical action (characterized by jnana, prajna, viveka, dharma and karma ) emphasized in the enormous Sanskrit
literature left by ancient seers and sages come to our rescue in these turbulent times. In this paper, we concern ourselves with
Logic, its development in India over three millennia and its relevance to science today in the information age. A
comprehensive study of the developments in Nyaya and its relations to Philosophy and Western Logic may be found in the
work of Matilal.

2. Logic

Logic (from Greek logos, meaning collection, word, speech, reason, account etc.) is concerned with the structure of correct
reasoning. This approach has nothing to do with our feelings and emotions but depends on cold reasoning. Greek philosopher
Aristotle (384-322 BC) is considered father of Western logic. Aristotle gave an account of logic in his Organan. He talked of
prior and posterior analysis, term, proposition and inference. The concepts survive to this day as predicate logic. The most
familiar example of his deductive logic is the following syllogism:

All a are b. (All men are mortal.)

X is a. (Socrates is a man.)

Then conclude

X is b. (Socrates is mortal.)

Aristotle is concerned with real or existing things. A man is a real object and mortality is one of his attributes. It has been
recognized by 19 th century mathematicians that the above conclusion is reached purely by the structure of the sentences
(syntax) rather than through their meanings (semantics). Leibnitz, Boole and Russell are credited with the development of
mathematical (or symbolic) logic used for proving theorems. This logic is very useful in closed-world applications such as set
theory and plane geometry but is not that useful for the real world. Each "sentence" in the example is considered a FACT
(described as being TRUE) and the conclusion is another fact.
A basic question is the relation of logic to the real world in which we choose to apply it. Apart from a logic of categorical
statements (such as those containing, " X is a" or "X is not c"), we have to consider MODAL LOGICS with statements such
"X may be d" and "X must be e". These are questions of possibility and necessity. In a modern logic such as the fuzzy logic,
TRUTH itself is a matter of degree expressed by term such as: {ABSOLUTELY TRUE, TRUE, QUITE TRUE, MORE OR
LESS TRUE, NOT QUITE TRUE, FALSE} just as a "LINGUISTIC VARIABLE" (e.g. "TALL") can be described using
several linguistic terms. Tallness is a matter of degree and may be described by the elements of the set {VERY TALL,
TALL, QUITE TALL, MORE OR LESS TALL, NOT SO TALL, SHORT}. What these terms mean depends on the context
or "the Universe of Discourse". Fuzzy Sets, introduced by Zadeh in 1965, deal with linguistic ambiguity in modeling real
world systems. Fuzzy Logic and Fuzzy sets are finding many applications in the design of Intelligent Systems. These
supplement probabilistic models for accounting for chance phenomena.

Example: Krishna?s height is 180 cm. Rama?s height is 165cm. An observer?s perception of the heights of Rama and
Krishna may be expressed by the statements, ?Krishna is TALL? and ? Rama is MORE OR LESS TALL?. The first sentence
is a precise statement while the second set consists of fuzzy (ambiguous) propositions.

Computing, over the last few decades, has gone through the stages of numerical computation, data processing, information
processing and knowledge engineering. What is stored in a computer is not really KNOWLEDGE. It is either DATA or
INFORMATION. Data is to be processed to obtain information. For example, if a person gives his date of birth in an
application form, we may treat it as data. From this we can calculate his present age, by comparing his date of birth with the
present date. This is termed data processing and this helps in obtaining specific information. From this information, if we
attempt to assess his suitability for a job, it becomes a sort of knowledge processing. We may come up with judgments of the
form "He is too old" or "He is too young" for the job on hand. This is the result obtained by using inputs from several
knowledge sources.

2.1 Truth

Truth itself is a complex concept. Theories of truth are different accounts aiming at defining truth by some criterion or other.
Truth, Reality and Certainty are related concepts and have been objects of study both in philosophies of East and West.

2.1.1 Correspondence Theory

A statement is true if it corresponds with a fact. (Plato states that a statement is true if it states things as they are. This is not
always possible. There is an observer and an observed entity. Cognition comes into picture.)

2.1.2 Coherence Theory

A statement is TRUE if it hangs consistent with a whole system of other truths. This is the notion of truth used in
mathematics. Aristotle?s deduction is of this type.

2.1.3 Redundancy theory

This looks at the redundancy in the truth of a proposition P such as:

P is TRUE

"P is TRUE" is TRUE et cetera.

There are other theories of truth such as Semantic Theory and Pragmatic Theory.

3. Indian Logic - The Ancient School (Nyaya Sastra - Prachina)

Vaiseshika and Nyaya are the two basic ancient Indian Logic schools. Vaiseshika is one of the earliest Darsanas. Vaiseshika
Sutra of Kanada is the ancient text available. According to Kanada, the highest goal (nihsreyasa) is obtained by tattva-jnana
(knowledge of reality or nature) of six elements. These are dravya (matter or substance), guna (property or quality attribute),
karma (action) samanya (particular or generic property) visesha (particular or differentiating individuality) and samavaya
(inherence) on account of their sadharmya (similarity of properties) and vaidharmya (dissimilarity of properties). The
categories (padarthas) are specified in terms such as dravya, guna etc. More general qualities (dharmas) which may be found
in categories include existence, causes and effects, permanence or non-permanence, universal or particular. Knowledge in this
system is obtained by two means - perception ( pratyaksha) and inference (laingika), through an intermediary characteristic
(middle term or linga). These means of knowledge are due to a quality (guna) in the Vaiseshika system called consciousness
(or intellect, buddhi) of the substance soul (or atman). Inference is based on relations (sambandhas), namely, effect (karya),
cause (karana), conjunction (samyoga) and contradiction (virodha) and combination (samavaya). In Nyaya, the very first
sutra of Gautama indicates that supreme felicity ( nihsreyassadhigama ) is attained by the knowledge about true nature of
sixteen categories. See Table 1 for these categories and approximate English terms.

At the outset, it should be noted that many technical terms present problems in translation. The appendix presents some of the
popular terms of Logic and Philosophy. Even a relatively simple term such as "knowledge" as it is used in English and a term
such as jnana as it is used in Sanskrit are different in scope and usage. This must be remembered while trying to understand
the classical texts. In many translations of Nyaya Sastra the term "knowledge" is usually denoted as jnana and one of its
attributes, say "truth" or "validity" is denoted by "pramanya". Jnana is not an activity, but a product. (Na hi kriyasvabhavam
jnanamapi tu phalasvabhavam - Nyayamanjari). Jnana is a guna of the self. In Nyaya, even samsaya (doubt) is considered as
a species of jnana. In ordinary English usage, "I doubt" is not included in "I know". In Computer Science applications,
handling of uncertainty in knowledge is an important aspect of system design. By definition, a finite human being?s
knowledge is incomplete, inconsistent, vague and uncertain. He has also only "bounded rationality (limited ability to
reason)".

3.1 Anvikshiki (The Science of Inquiry)

This may be considered the early theory of causes and reasons.(hetu). Kautilya in his Artha Sastra (327 B. C.) held it in high
regard as seen from the following aphorism. According to Kautilya, the proper education of a ruler should include four
disciplines: Vedas ( Trayi ), Commerce and Agriculture ( Varta ), Legal system, army and police ( Dandaneethi ) and Logic
(Anvikshiki)

Anvikshiki trayi, varta dandaneetischeti vidya

Anvikshiki is praised as the lamp of all sciences, the resource of all actions and the shelter of all virtues.

Pradeepah sarva vidyanamupayah sarva karmanam

Asrayah sarva dharmanam saswadnvikshiki mata.

3.2 Charaka and Logic

Progress in medicine is marked especially by the great work of Charaka (100 A. D.). Charaka?s work contains a section on
Logic, as a branch of knowledge requiring to be cultivated by doctors (physicians) both for the purpose making inferences
connected with diagnosis of a disease and for arguments with colleagues and others and also for the study of ethics in the
medical tradition. Charaka?s work should be classified under Vaiseshika Darsana. The logical inference is of the variety of
INDUCTION but introduces the idea of a middle term (linga). ABDUCTION is the term used now to describe the logical
explanation of observed symptoms in the process of medical diagnosis. Charaka?s form of proof remained the basis of
debate and argument in India down to modern times. The concept "Symptom" ( linga ) is important in diagnosis (Pattern
Recognition) while that of Cause ( Hetu ) is important for etiology (Explanation). Charaka introduces additional terms in
Nyaya such as

Sthapana Argument to establish proof

Upanaya Application

Nigamana Conclusion

Pratisthapana Counter establishment of an opposite statement

Vakya Sentence

Pratijna Proposition (or statement) to be proved

Hetu Middle term

In addition, Charaka enumerates five faults, which must be avoided in a proof:

Nyuna : Deficiency, missing any part of the argument

Adhika: Redundancy, including something irrelevant

Anarthaka: Meaninglessness

Aparthaka: Disorder

Viruddha: Contradiction

3.3 The Five-Limbed Syllogism

To validate the knowledge obtained by inference, the Indian logicians ( Naiyayikas ) introduced a five-limbed syllogism
(panchavayava) as a standard format for inferential information. Its structure is:

1. Hypothesis (Assertion) (Pratijna) (To assert: The hill has fire.) (Parvato vahnimaniti Pratijna)
2. Reason or cause (Hetu) (Because it has smoke) ( Dhumavatvat iti hetuh)
3. Example or analogy (Udaharana) (Wherever there is smoke, there is fire, e.g. a hearth in a kitchen.) (Yo yo dhumavan
sa vahniman yatha mahanasa ityudaharanam)

4. Application (Upanaya) (The example applies to the present situation.) (Tatha cha ayamiti upanayah)

5. Conclusion (Nigamana) (Therefore, conclude: The hill has fire.) (Tasmattatheti nigamanam)

The Indian Syllogism (Nyaya-Vakya) may be summarized as follows:

A is B.

Because of C.

Whatever is C is also B., e.g. X.

(A is such, i.e., C,

Therefore A is so, C: i.e. B.)

In symbolic logic, this may also be stated as, A Þ B, (A implies B or If A is true, then B is true), ensuring deductive certainty.
The hetu is called a rule (with syntax IF <percept>, THEN <action>) in a modern rule-based Expert System (used for, say, a
task such as medical diagnosis or treatment). Such systems have been in use since 1980s in diverse applications. But this
proof is not the main issue or objective of Indian logic. Acquiring of valid knowledge of the real world is its main objective.
According to a Nyaya Sutra

Pratyakshanumanopamana sabdah pramanani

There are four means of acquiring valid knowledge: pratyaksha, anumana, upamana and sabdah . Sources of valid
knowledge are sensory perception, inference, analogy and verbal testimony (of an expert or quotation from a source
recognized as standard). Even about the means of sensory perception ( pratyaksha) there are concerns as the Nyaya Sutra
says:

Indriyartha sannikarshotpannam-jnanam-avyapadesyam-avyabhichari-vyaavasayatmakam.

Even though the perceptual knowledge is obtained by contact of the sensory organ with the object, there are problems.
Because of environment (bad light) a rope may be confused as a snake. This is a mistaken perception. Water may be
perceived when it is not there, as in a mirage, which is only a visual illusion.
With respect to anumana, the following rule is stated:

Atha tatpurvakam trividhanumanam purvavat seshavat samanyato drstancha

i. Purvavat: The effect is inferred from the cause. A causes B. A is TRUE. Infer B. From the cloud cover, infer (predict)
it will rain shortly. This provides a reasonable prediction as in weather forecasting. The relation between cloud and
rain is previously held knowledge of the observer. The effect follows the cause in a causal system. The knowledge is
that of a causal relation.

ii. Seshavat: The cause is inferred from the effect. A causes b. Observe b and infer A. In modern logic this reasoning is
called abduction. It is similar to the process used by doctors to see signs and symptoms of a patient and identify
causes such as what the patient consumed yesterday. (This does not preserve truth, but provides plausible
explanation).

iii. Samanya drsta: This means "commonly seen". From "birds fly" and "X is a bird", conclude that "X flies". This is
called "default reasoning", a case of "common sense reasoning". This can fail in an exceptional case, e.g. if X is a
penguin.

Two rules from Nyaya Sutra regarding the pramana (validity) of sabda (verbal testimony) are the following:

Aptopadesa sabdah

"Sa dvividhoh" drsta adrstarthatvat

The word of Apta (A rshi, guru, or arya ) may be taken as TRUE ( pramana). The words of sruti (scripture) may also be
taken as pramana. An expert?s opinion may be taken as pramana. Questions also arise about the measure or standardization
of the level of an expert?s expertise. Lack of a common scripture, plurality of religions, existence of non-believers such as
atheists, differences in the words of scriptures and diversity in expert opinions weaken the validity of this type of knowledge.
If a doctor (of Ayurveda) suggests "Eating butter gives strength", his statement is verifiable. (This is class drsta). If a saint
says "Doing yajna leads one to swarga (heaven)", his statement cannot be verified ( adrsta). In modern knowledge-based
systems, this method of using Apta-vakya corresponds to "knowledge acquisition" from domain experts. This is an example
of "Learning by being told" an important part of the educational process. There is, of course, no guarantee, that any teacher
or expert?s knowledge is correct, complete and valid.

Another Sutra characterizes a real entity.

Vyaktyakrtijatayastu padarthah

The primary components of a term denoting a real entity (or a padartha) are of three kinds: the generic character (Jati), the
form or shape of the object ( Akrti) and the individual object (Vyakti). The term ghata (pot) signifies the generic character
(ghatatva). This ghatatva (potness) differentiates a ghata from a pata (a piece of cloth).

3.4 The Problem of Universals

Knowledge is about two kinds of things: real objects and concepts. Even if we see a particular cow, we can recognize a
genus, a class label which characterizes a class of animals called cows. While the individual objects we see with our eyes are
particulars, our concepts of them are general. Concepts such as ?man?, ?cow? and ?pot? are real universals ( jati). These are
reflected in our language as common nouns and proper nouns. Concepts such as ?cook?, teacher? and ?blind-man? are not
real universals, even if they are common nouns. They are not natural classes. The universal is existentially and ontologically
different from the particular. While ?potness? and ?cowness? capture the essence of a natural class ( jati), ?cookness? and
?blindness? only have a weaker label, upadhi. The issue of this aspect received greater attention in the medieval period of the
Nyaya and Buddhist schools. The Buddhist Logician, Dharmakirti asks the Naiyayikas the question - is the universal identical
with the particular? In the Buddhist view all relations are reducible to two: identity and causality. The Buddhist argues that an
eternal entity can never be a cause, nor it can be an effect. Hence it is a non-entity. The Buddhist treats the universal as a
thought construction (apoha). (E.g. Today, every politician wants to represent the "common-man". Who is he? What are his
attributes? Is he a real entity or an apoha?)

4. Indian Logic - The Medieval School

 1. Buddhist Logic

Dignaga (460-520 A. D.) is probably the greatest Logician in the medieval period of Indian Logic. He was from
Kancheepuram, later lived in Vengi desa and was a pupil of another great logician of the time, Vasubandhu.
His Pramana Samucchaya is considered as a masterpiece. The Sanskrit original is lost but is available in its
Tibetan translation. It has six chapters entitled Perception (Pratyaksha), Inference for oneself (Svarthanumana),
Inference for others ( Pararthanumana ), Reason and example ( Hetu, Drstanta ), Negation of the opposite
(Apoha) and Analogue ( jati). He accepts only Pratyaksha and Anumana as means of valid knowledge and does
not consider Upamana and Sabda as Pramana, although they have their role in learning and acquisition of new
knowledge. This tallies with the modern views in the scientific inquiry. He observes that perception has to be
freed from preconception and has to be disconnected with its name, genus etc. He observes that perception and
inference together with their fallacies are useful for self-understanding (Svarthanumana) and demonstration and
refutation together with their fallacies for arguing and contesting with others ( Pararthanumana ). Suppose a
person in twilight mistakes a rope for a snake, his information and belief about the snake is a preconception.
Dignaga also notes that a person can perceive a thing without knowing its name or genus. When a person sees a
cow, he only sees a particular cow with all its peculiarities while he can indicate to others only an idea of a
certain class of cows. The knowledge gathered through inference is different, which is general knowledge
regarding cows. According to him inference for one?s self has one of three features. From cause, an effect is
inferred. For example, from smoke, presence of fire is inferred. From identity ( svabhava ), a class label is
inferred. (Looking at a Simsapa, a tree is inferred). From non-perception (anupalabdhi) of the mark (linga or
hetu ), the non-existence of a thing is inferred. (From the absence of a symptom or sign, the hypothesis
regarding a particular disease can be rejected as in the technique of differential diagnosis in modern medicine.)

2. Inference for others (Pararthanumana)

This occurs when a person demonstrates to others the conclusion drawn by him through self-understanding. The predicate or
major term ( Anumeya or Sadhya ) is the object, which is to be established by means of a minor term, which does not
contradict the information obtained by perception, inference or verbal testimony.

E. g. The hill has fire.

The law of extension (Paksha dharma) of the middle term (smoke) refers to the "intersection" of minor (hill) and major terms
(fire) and is stated as follows:

a. The middle term must cover the minor term (paksha).

b. The middle term must be present in the homologue of the major term (sapaksha).

c. The middle term must be absent from the heterologue of the major term (vipaksha).

Some equivalent terms have also been used, such as sadhya for paksha, tattulya and tajjatiya for sapaksha and asapaksha for
vipaksha . It is possible to conceive of nine reasons or middle terms, which are present in or absent from homologues or
heterologues wholly or partly. This is the basis of the HETUCHAKRA (The wheel of reasons) of Dignaga and comes very
close to symbolic logic. For a detailed exposition of Buddhist formal logic including a study of Dignanga?s Hetuchakra and
Kuei-chi?s commentary on the Nyayapravesa in Chinese, see Chi (1990). An English translation of a segment of Hetuchakra
follows:

Homage to the Omniscient One, who is

The destroyer of the snare of ignorance

I am expounding the determination of

The probans with three-fold characteristics.

Among the three possible case of ?presence?, ?absence? and ?both?

Of the probans in the probandum

Only the case of presence is valid,

While its ?absence? is not.

The case of both ?presence and absence? is inconclusive

It is therefore not valid either. ? ?

Knowable, produced, impermanent,

Produced, audible, effort-made,

Impermanent, effort-made and incorporeal

Are used to prove the properties of being

Permanent, impermanent and effort-made

Permanent, permanent, permanent,

Non-effort-made, impermanent, and permanent ?

The steps in Dignaga?s method, along with two examples, are as follows:

1. the probandum (Sound is impermanent.) (Sound is permanent.)

2. the probans (It is produced) (It is produced.)

3. similar instances (pot) (space)

4. dissimilar instances (space) (pot)

5. whether presence or absence in sapaksha (presence in sapaksha) (absence in sapaksha)

6. whether presence or absence in vipaksha (absence in vipaksha ) (presence in vipaksha)

7. validity (valid) (contradictory)

1. Vyapti (Invariable Concomitance or Pervasion)

Vyapti is alternatively defined as inseparable connection. This is a very important concept of Indian logic. Vyapti denotes the
certainty of coexistence as in the sentence ?Wherever there is smoke, there is fire". Tarka Samgraha by Annam Bhatta (17th
century) defines thus:

Yatra yatra dhumah tatra tatraagniriti sahacharyaniyamo vyaptih.

Historians of Indian logic generally credit Dignaga with discovering and refining this concept of pervasion. The stock
example of inference in Indian logic since ancient times is:

That mountain possesses fire, because it possesses smoke; like kitchen and unlike lake.

It is Dignaga, who refined it to a level, where it can be interpreted in terms of class properties. There are five classes.

a. The unit class ?that mountain?, which is the paksha, p

b. The class of fire-possessing things, the sadhya, s

 c. The class of smoke-possessing things, the hetu, h

d. The class of kitchens, sapaksha, a

e. The class of lakes, vipaksha, v

Assuming that p, s, and h are not empty classes, the conclusion, which a person offering an inference wants to prove is (p Ù Ø
s = 0). (The symbol Ù stands for conjunction and Ø stands for negation.) The trairupya or the three-fold mark as interpreted
by Dignaga is:

1. The paksha must fall within the hetu.

2. The sapaksha must occur partially or completely within the hetu.

3. The vipaksha must occur completely outside hetu.

It is Dignaga, who fully understood the implications of rules 1,2 and 3.

1. Work of Dharmakirti

Dharmakirti (about 635-650 A. D.) is another great Buddhist logician. He has several Sanskrit works to his credit such as
Pramana-vartika, Nyaya-bindu, Hetu-bindu and Sambandha-pariksha. Here we briefly describe his theory of hetu-centricity
of anumana . Inference ( Anumana ) is the means by which we gain indirect ( Paroksha ) knowledge. Dharmakirti tries to
investigate the question "What sort of structure should Anumana have in order that inferential cognition may arise (Utpatti)
or be certified (Jnapti)?" According to him, Paksha, Sadhya and Hetu are context-freely necessary and sufficient constitutive
conditions of Anumana. Vyapti and Pakshadharmata are the only two regulatory conditions of Anumana.

4.5 Jaina Logic

Siddhasena Divakara alias Kshapanaka (480-550 A. D.) was the first Jaina writer on systematic logic. In his Sanskrit work
Nyayavatara, gives an exposition of the doctrine of Pramana (Sources of valid knowledge) and Naya, which is a method of
comprehending things from particular standpoints. The Naya is of seven kinds. For example, we may consider a rose, as a
flower or as a thing possessing the attributes common to all flowers or as a thing possessing attributes peculiar to the rose as
distinguishing it from other flowers. The concept is analogous to that of conceptual clustering in Pattern Recognition and
using measures of similarity (sadrsya) and dissimilarity.

The Jainas bring the whole universe under one or other of two everlasting categories: the conscious ( Jiva ) and the
non-conscious (Ajiva). The latter category includes matter, time and space. This shows the realistic and relativistic standpoint
of the Jaina philosophy. Syadvada , the Jaina doctrine of relativism of judgments states that all assertions in regard to an
object are relative and therefore conditionally true or false. Bhadrabahu describes this in his work Sutra-krtanga Niryukti.
Pramana or a complete judgment describes an object in terms of seven possibilities ( Saptabhangi Naya ) as follows:

i. May be, it is (Syad-asti)

ii. May be, it is not (Syad-nasti)

iii. May be, it is and it is not different times (Syad-asti-nasti)

iv. May be, it is and it is not at the same time which means it is indescribable (Syad-avaktavya)

v. May be, it is and yet indescribable (Syad-asti-avaktavya)

vi. May be, it is not and also indescribable (Syad-nasti-avaktavya)

vii. May be, it is and it is not and also indescribable (Syad-asti-nasti-avaktavya)

Bharucha?s recent work explores the connections between Jaina philosophy and quantum theory of modern physics.
Samantabhadra?s Aptamimamsa uses the concepts of Syad-asti and Syad-nasti and discusses the relation between asti, that is,
bhava or existence and nasti, that is, abhava or nonexistence. Abhava is divided into four kinds:

1. antecedent non-existence (pragabhava), e.g. a lump of clay becomes non-existent as soon as a pot is made out of it,

2. subsequent non-existence (pradhvamsabhava), e.g. when the pot is broken it ceases to exist

3. mutual non-existence (anyonyabhava) e.g. relation between the pot and the clay with reference to each other and

4. absolute non-existence (atyantabhava) e.g. the absence of life in a dead body.

It has also been observed that on the supposition of existence and the entire exclusion of non-existence a thing becomes all
pervading, beginning-less, endless, indistinguishable and inconceivable. The reader can easily discover the formal logical
basis for the concepts of Brahman and Atman in Indian Philosophy expounded from ancient literature such as Vedas
including Vedanta (Upanishads)

5. New Logic (Navya Nyaya)

Navya Nyaya is considered one of the most important branches of Sanskrit studies after 1000 A. D. Its precise vocabulary
enriched Sanskrit language and influenced learning in diverse fields. It flourished after the works of Udayanacharya (1000 A.
D.) and Gangesopadhyaya (1200 A. D.). Gangesa is from Mithila (Bihar). Jayadeva Misra, Raghunatha Siromani,
Mathuranatha Tarkavagisa, Jagadisa Tarkalankara and Gadadhara Bhattacharya are other great names in the context of Navya
Nyaya.

5.1 Special features of Navya Nyaya

1. The elaborate structure of Navya Nyaya rests on the concept Sambandha (or relation). In a way Navya Nyaya may be
called "relational logic". In a qualified knowledge (Visistadhi), three things become primarily the content of
knowledge: the qualificand (Viseshya), the qualifier (Viseshana) and the relation (Sambandha) between the two. For
e.g. Dandi purusha (a man with a stick) the qualifier is stick (danda), the qualificand is man (purusha) and the relation
is the contact (Samayoga) between them. Jagadisa defines the relation as contentness (Vishayata) other than the
qualifierness (Viseshanatva) and the qualificandness (Viseshyatva) of a qualified knowledge. This latter statement also
shows the nature of language used in Navya Nyaya. Relations are divided into two categories: occurrence exacting
(Vrittiniyamaka) and non-occurrence exacting (Vrittianiyamaka). In the first category are the qualification relation
(Viseshanata), contact relation (Samyoga), inherence relation (Samavaya) and identity relation (Tadatmya, or
Abheda).

2. A second concept of utmost importance in Navya Nyaya is avacchedaka. Ghatatva or potness is an avacchedaka or is
a limitor of the import (or Sakti) of the term pot. An avacchedaka has similarly an attribute called avacchedakatva or
avacchedakata.

3. An entity called pratiyogitva or pratiyogita is another concept of Navya Nyaya. From the derivation of the word
Pratiyogi, (pratirupam yujyate iti = pratikulasambandhavati), it is to be understood as a contradictory relation. This
deals with the knowledge characterized by the absence (abhava) of an entity. This is very necessary for dealing
knowledge of the form "ghato nasti" (There is no pot). The counter-positiveness of the ?absence of a pot? resides in
the Pratiyogi pot, which is an already accepted category.

4. The word Prakarata in the Navya Nyaya terminology means an adjective, a qualifier (Viseshana). So the property
which resides in the qualifier, by virtue of which it becomes a qualifier is its qualifierness (Prakarata). Prakarata is a
particular kind of Vishayata, whose other name is Viseshanata.

5. In the techniques of Navya-Nyaya negation or absence (Abhava) plays a very important part. Both negation and
double negation are used to put forward and clarify a number of ideas. In the Vyaptipanchaka Gangesa defines Vyapti
(pervasion) as Sadhyabhavavadavrittitvam, which means the non-existence of the hetu in the locus of absence of
sadhya or the object of inference. If, on the other hand, sadhya is dhuma (smoke) and hetu is vahni (fire) and if Vyapti
is defined without negation as Sadhyavadavrittitvam this is not correct. It may be seen that the middle term (hetu)
exists in the locus of absence of sadhya (smoke) leading to a wrong conclusion of Dhumavan Vahneh (Fire always
exist with smoke) as can be seen from the confirming example (sapaksha drstanta) of a red hot iron ball
 (taptayo-golakah).

5.2 Truth

Logic has been used in ancient times in India mainly to interpret the meanings of various statements of Upanishads. These are
concerned with Atma Vidya (Knowledge of Self) and Brahma Vidya (Mystical knowledge of Brahman.) In later days, it has
been used to establish foundations for Advaita, Visistadvaitha and Dvaitha philosophies. The debates are analogous to the
debates between idealists and realists in Western philosophy. In Indian logic, Satyam and Rtam are to be distinguished. Can
Satyam be translated as TRUTH? Sat is a related term. It is a term related to existence and hence to reality. For example, see
the use of Sat in " Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti " and " Brahmekam Paramartha Sat ". "Satyam Jnanam Anantham
Brahma" is given as a description of Brahman. In this case Satyam, Jnanam and Anantham become qualities ( guna ) of
Brahman. Then as per Navya Nyaya , we should be able to speak of satyatva, jnanatva and anantatva of an entity. Some
well-known aphorisms are "Satyameva Jayate, Nanritam" and "Brahma Satyam Jagan Mithya". Mithya, of course, is not an
optical illusion (like water in a mirage) or a misperception (like in the snake-rope analogy). There is need to divide the
concept of Sat itself into Prathibhasika Sat, Vyavaharika Sat and Paramarthika Sat depending on the plane in which the
concept operates. The illusion is the first category. Appearance is different from Reality. The second is the reality of the
world (Brahman covered by Maya) as perceived and the third is the absolute reality which is nothing but the absolute truth.
Navya Nyaya is concerned with cognition rather than premises. Can we say that a combination of Correspondence and
Semantic Theories are relevant in the context of Indian Logic?

The emphasis in Indian Logic is in acquiring knowledge and establishing its validity. Prama denotes valid knowledge and
pramana is the means of establishing it. The first question that arises is: Is pramanya svatah or paratah ? If validated
knowledge is taken a truth as represented by a set of facts, the concept of truth in Navya Nyaya can be understood in terms of
Gangesa?s Pramanya Vada. The word pramanya may mean either the property of being instrumental in bringing about true
knowledge ( pramakaranatva) or simply the truth of a knowledge item (pramatva). It is the second sense that is important in
answering the above question.

Vedantins prefer to distinguish between two kinds of truth: metaphysical truth ( tattvika pramanya ) and empirical truth
(vyavaharika pramanya). A statement such as "Sun rises in the East" is true only to the extent of being perceived to be true
only by observers on earth. There is also the concern whether the pramanya is svatah (from within) or paratah (from
without). We may use the words, intrinsic or extrinsic for svatah and paratah. The former means whether the knowledge and
its truth originate from the same source or whether they are apprehended together. One has also to consider the origination
(utpatti) of truth and its apprehension ( jnapti). It is obvious that science is concerned with paratah-pramanya of the vast
amount of scientific knowledge being generated today. Conflicting theories regarding apprehension of truth and falsity may
be summarized as follows:

1. Apprehension of truth - intrinsic (svatah); Apprehension of falsity - extrinsic (paratah)

2. Apprehension of truth - intrinsic (svatah); Apprehension of falsity - intrinsic (svatah)

3. Apprehension of truth - extrinsic (paratah); Apprehension of falsity - extrinsic (paratah)

4. Apprehension of truth - extrinsic (paratah); Apprehension of falsity - intrinsic (svatah)

View 1 belongs to Kumarila Bhatta and Mimamsakas . View 2 is held by the votaries of the Samkhya philosophy. The
Naiyayikas accept view 3, which is considered to be the scientific view today. View 4 is said to be that of Buddhists.

3. The Scope of Tattva Chintamani

The contents of Tattva Chintamani show the scope of the work and its contributions. The first book, Perception (Pratyaksha
Khanda ) deals with Mangala Vada, (Invocation of Blessings), Pramanya Vada, (Validity of knowledge), Anyathakhyati,
(Invalid knowledge), Sannikarsha (Intercourse between senses and objects), Samavaya Vada (Inherence), Abhava Vada
(Non-existence (or Negation)) and Pratyaksha karana Vada (Causes of Perception). The second book on Inference
(Anumana Khanda) deals with Anumiti Nirupana and Vyapti Panchakam (Invariable Concomitance (set description, Venn
diagram)) among other things. Isvaranumanam (Inference of God) is also considered here. Book 3, Upamana Khanda, deals
with analogy and comparison. Book 4 Sabda Khanda deals with verbal testimony. Sabdabodha and Sakti Vada are important
issues considered here.
 6. Recent Western Work

Navya Nyaya has received considerable attention in the West in recent years. An excellent introduction of Navya Nyaya is
provided by Daniel Ingalls. He studied Navya Nyaya logic in Calcutta in 1941 under Sri Kalipada Tarkacharya and was
Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard for a number of years. According to Ingalls, the following are among some of the important
theories and techniques of Navya-Nyaya Logic.

(a) The Vyapti Panchaka

Vyapti (Pervasion) is from the verb vyapnoti, meaning, pervades or fills-completely, like water in a jug or salt in the sea. We
can talk of the concepts of Pervader ( vyapaka ) and Pervaded ( vyapya ). E.g. Smoke is pervaded by fire. But fire is not
pervaded by smoke. The Nyaya-kosa lists 21 defective and 13 acceptable definitions of Vyapti . This shows the depth to
which Naiyayikas have gone in formally defining this concept. Gangesa lists five of these to arrive at an acceptable
description of the notion.

(b) The Inferential Process

All non-eternal entities are the result of a complex of causes (karana) and of operations (vyapara). The knowledge of a man
is non-eternal, Vyapti jnana is an instrumental cause of inference ( nimitta karana ). An operation called paramarsa
(consideration) involves the knowledge of the occurrence in a paksha (field, minor term) of that which is qualified by vyapti.
From the vyapti-jnana , " vahni-vyapyo dhumah " through paramarsa generate " vahni-vyapyo-dhumavan-parvatah ". The
inference is "parvato vahniman" but often stated as "parvato-vahniman-dhumat." There is some ambiguity of use of the term
anumana. Knowledge, which is the product of the inferential process may be designated Anumiti while the tool or instrument
is the process of Anumana as per Tattva Chintamani, which states

Vyapti-visishta-paksha-dharmata-jnana-janyam-jnanam anumitih

Tatkaranam anumanam.

6.1 Indian Metaphysics and the emergence of New Logic

The book, Classical Indian Metaphysics, of Philips (1995), deals with refutations of Realism and the emergence of New
Logic (Navya Nyaya). The Realist-Idealist debate is at the heart of the traditions of philosophical inquiry in India just as it is
in the Western Philosophy. An IDEALIST tends to presume that all we know and understand depends on mind or
consciousness. A REALIST on the other hand would assume facts or realities independent of mind and consciousness.
Philips lists the following statements about Brahman, the Absolute and the Real from Upanishads:

1. Brahman is self (atman) and consciousness.

2. Brahman is transcendent of names and forms (nama-rupa).
3. Brahman is unitary, coincidence of opposites and omnipresent.
4. Brahman is the essence of everything.
5. Brahman is beyond the locus of value and awareness of the Brahman is the "supreme personal good" (parama
purushardha) and "liberation" (mukti) from fear and evil.
6. Brahman is mystically discoverable.
7. Brahman is beyond the power of thought uninformed by mystical awareness.

8. Brahman is a PRIMORDIAL WILL and CONTROLLER - GOD or Iswara. (Extra one used by theists)

Philips studies how Navya Nyaya attempts to establish the truth of these statements, while tracing the criticisms of classical
logic in Sri Harsha?s Khandanakhanda Khadya. Sri Harsha tried to establish the Advaitha view by challenging the views of
classical logicians. For understanding Navya Nyaya, Philips extensively uses the commentary of Ramanuja Tatacharya, the
then Vice-chancellor of Rashtreeya Samskrita Vidya Peetha at Tirupati.

6.1 Metaphysics and Misinformation

While the philosophy portions of the work of Philips are interesting, he exhibits the typically Western prejudiced look on
Indian history giving over-importance to writings of Western Indologists and historians. An Indian student must necessarily
recognize his preconceived notions and his religious background such as church affiliation, which could affect his
world-view. His statements in the first chapter are unnecessary noise in a book dealing with philosophy of TRUTH,
REALITY and CERTAINTY and the means of using LOGIC for acquiring RIGHT KNOWLEDGE. For example, Philips
mentions Indus valley civilization in a footnote. He seems to be unaware of the new information about the Saraswathi river,
the dating of the Mahabharatha war based on astronomical data and the discovery of the submerged city of Dwaraka through
marine archeology studies and the possibility of a greatly revised time scale for the early Vedic times. He seems to be
unaware of the concerns about the myth of Aryan invasion voiced by well-known historians and traditional scholars. The
following invalidated assertions in his book are illustrative of some of his preconceived notions:

1. Sanskrit ceased to be anyone?s mother tongue probably before 200 CE (Common Era, i.e. A. D.).

2. Sanskrit-speaking tribes began invading the Indian subcontinent from the northwest as early as 1500 BCE.

3. Vedas are "Revealed Knowledge" composed over centuries in an archaic pre-classical Sanskrit.

4. Upanishads represent a break with previous literature in the freeing of an abstract intellect from myth and ritual.

5. Despite what later Exegetes claim, no unity of theory obtains in the twelve or thirteen most commonly recognized
early Upanishads.

6. The reason for the above is that some passages are idealistic, but some or not; some or theistic, some or not; some are
ritualist, some anti-ritualist, et cetera.

7. Cults of yogic practice may have flourished in India among indigenous non-Sanskrit-speaking populations before the
coming of Indo-Europeans and the composition of the Veda and the Upanishads as some archeological discoveries
suggest. (See 8)

8. One important discovery is a so-called proto-Shiva clay figure found at Mohenjodaro, a city predating the invasion of
Sanskrit speaking tribes by more than a thousand years. The figure apparently illustrates a yogic meditation pose.

9. The Buddha was a historical person (c. 500 BCE) and the Bhagavad-Gita of the Mahabharatha belongs to the period
(c. 200CE) (Philips repeats the unsubstantiated and arbitrary dates given by Indologists such as Hopkins.)

10. Culturally, Advaita and all Vedanta has its closest affinity with Mimamsa ("Exegesis") a very old and conservative
school bent upon defending Brahminism, the religion and social order of ritual and caste.

11. Brahmins set themselves up as priests, with their offices hereditary.

12. Within the umbrella religion of Hinduism, Brahminism may be considered the traditionalist camp. Texts older than the
Upanishads, namely the Vedas have central importance.

13. However the Upanishads, though probably not all composed by Brahmins came to be preserved in Brahminical
lineages.

14. He (Gangesa Upadhyaya) belonged to the Brahmin caste (as would be expected).

To appreciate the veridicality of these 14 statements and the eight listed below we should add

15. Philips is an American Professor of Philosophy, claiming descent from the European country X and has the religious
label Y and accepts all the Western accounts of Ancient Indian History as truthful.

Philips shows his inadequate knowledge of Sanskrit literature and Advaitha, through this example from chapter 3. He states:

A. Sri Harsha is the author of the philosophic masterpiece, Khandanakhanda Khadya.

B. Sri Harsha is the author of Naishadha Charitha, the story of Nala and Damayanthi retold.
 C. Phyllis Granoff speculates that Sri Harsha was a Kashmiri, countering D. C. Bhattacharya?s contention that he lived in
Bengal.

D. Sri Harsha is philosophically an Advaitin, and makes typically Advaita moves.

E. Advaita is a monistic philosophy of awareness.

To these propositions we may add

F. There are three persons by name Sri Harsha. One is the author of Khandanakhanda Khadya., This Sri harsha
(1150-1200 A. D.) was in the court of king Jayachandra of Kanauj (Kanyakubja). King Jayachandra was killed by
Shahabuddin Ghori in 1194 A. D.). The second, King Harsha , who ruled Kanyakubja (Kanauj) during 606 - 646 A.
D., is the author of Naishadha Charitha. The third Sri Harsha was a king from Kashmir whose rule was in
(1089-1101) (Kalhana?s Rajatarangini.).

The proposition F is more likely to be TRUE.

We may excuse Philips on the count that he is a professor of Philosophy and not a historian or an Indologist. But the material
cited above perpetuates several myths propagated by some Indologists. We noted in section 1 that the Internet and the World
Wide Web are giant information sources. But there are deliberate misinformation campaigns launched through various web
sites. For example, see the web site dalitstan.org with links to United Christian Forum for human rights in Delhi for the
venomous propaganda being carried out by some anti-national forces operating freely and involved in malicious
misinformation campaigns against India, its history and its heritage.

7. Consciousness

A human being?s expertise in a particular subject can be seen to have two components: education, through which the person
acquires the specialized knowledge of his field and the experience of applying this knowledge to solve problems in his field.
The branch of Expert Systems or Knowledge-based systems is concerned with acquiring this expertise to be stored in a
Computer System. The word experience itself is something difficult to define. The first meaning is to "participate in" or "live
through". One might say "I have combat experience" or "I have experience with personal computers and Internet". These
experiences are in public domain and can be objectively assessed. The second meaning of experience is to "directly
perceive", "observe", "be aware of" or "be conscious of". Here the experience is a mental event or inner process that eludes
public scrutiny. The well-known events of the enlightenment experience of Gautama Buddha 2500 years ago or Ramana
Maharshi?s mystic experience of death a century ago are examples of this phenomenon. They generated fundamental
knowledge for mankind to be explored for millennia. Krishna?s message in Gita, and the perceptions of Vedic Rishis,
preserved to this day as Vedas and Upanishads belong to this category of eternal knowledge. A 4500-year old figure on a
well-known Harappan seal, shows Siva-Pasupathi in a cross-legged yogic posture and later texts such as the Yoga Sutra of
Patanjali document the available knowledge regarding this mode of perception of absolute reality.

In recent days, the technique of meditation (dhyana), which arose in a religious context in Asia, is being increasingly used as
a method for improving both physical and mental health. The Western medicine of today calls this "The Relaxation
Response" referring to "a set of integrated physiological changes that are elicited when a subject assumes a relaxed position
in a quiet environment, closes his or her eyes, engages in repetitive mental action and passively ignores distracting thoughts."
Consciousness plays a central role in the creation of human experience and there is a renewed interest in the West for an
interdisciplinary study of human consciousness involving cognitive scientists, psychologists, neuroscientists and AI
researchers. There seems to be a general consensus that neither mind nor brain can be reduced without a reminder to the
other, while there is no exact agreement as to their relationship. Wilber considers the mind side of the equation and notes that
at least five main components of mind are to be included in any comprehensive theory: development levels of consciousness,
development lines of consciousness, normal states of consciousness, altered states of consciousness and the self or self
system.

Indian logic is aware of the spiritual dimension of human beings since its early days. Tarka-Samgraha states 10 :

Jnanadhikaranam-atma

Sa-dvividhah paramatma-jivatma-cha
Tatreswarah Sarvajnah Paramatmaika eva

Jivatma prati-sariram bhinno vibhurnityascha

(The soul is the substratum of knowledge. It is twofold: paramatma and jivatma. The former is omnipotent, omniscient and
one only. The latter is different in each body, is all pervading and eternal.)

Sukhadyupalabdhi-sadhanamindriyam manah

(The soul is the substratum of knowledge. It is twofold: paramatma and jivatma. The former is omnipotent, omniscient and
one only. The latter is different in each body, is all pervading and eternal.)

(Mind is the internal organ, which is the instrument in obtaining the knowledge of pleasure etc.)

Indian philosophy since long has distinguished mind into four levels of manas (mind), buddhi (intellect, wisdom), chitta
(consciousness) and ahankara (ego) or two sheaths or layers of manomaya kosha (ordinary mind) and vijnanamaya kosha
(higher illumined mind). It is easy to see the influence of Indian philosophy on Wilber?s work cited above. The altered states
he talks about are known as samadhi and turiya avastha. An aspect of spiritual practice is to inquire into the question "Who
am I?" ( koham ?). A modern psychology inquiry is entitled "Consciousness evolves when the self dissolves" involving
transformation of "I-ME-MINE" to a more gentle soul, with "i-me-mine". Indian Logic is eminently more suitable for studies
involving consciousness.

1. Concluding Remarks

In this brief account, we have summarized the science of Logic as it evolved for over three thousand years in India from the
point of view of Computer Science and Information technology. In the author?s view, imparting right knowledge to the future
citizens of India rather than providing mere functional literacy should be the goal of a national educational policy. The
enormous role, which Computers, Communications, Media and Information Technology can assume in this context is
obvious. The content of these giant information sources includes information, ignorance-based misinformation and malicious
misinformation. This aspect is also briefly touched upon.

As regards the study of Indian Logic itself, it is not sufficient to demonstrate to the world that India had great ancient
traditions similar to those of Greece. The underlying context and the purpose behind the development of these traditional
disciplines should also be recognized. The entire machinery of Navya-Nyaya is directed towards the establishment of God as
the Supreme Reality. We live in a country, where a few claim that they are "secular" or "agnostic" intellectuals, scientists or
philosophers calling many of their day-to-day religious activities "private superstitions", while tens of millions
enthusiastically take a bath in triveni-sangam on an auspicious day at the Kumbhmela. Our education system miserably failed
in imparting adequate knowledge regarding our scientific heritage to this ocean of humanity, while providing loads of
irrelevant, invalid and unsound knowledge of doubtful quality. Proper study of languages and an exposure to Nyaya has the
potential to equip a scientist to prepare a quality thesis on the subject of his choice and defend the same in a meeting of
experts. The immediate objective is to bring this material in simple terms (in all Indian languages) to be used by all in their
pursuits, with appropriate modern day examples. This is a step towards answering Tagore?s prayer.

APPENDIX

Terms commonly used in Philosophy and Logic

Agnosticism (from Greek, a not, gnosticos suitable for knowing ): The view that our powers of knowing are bounded in
certain regards, more particularly as regards the ultimate reasons to things, and especially concerning the claims of religious
scriptures.

Concomitant: Accompanying, Conjoined, and occurring along with, because of, in proportion to (something else)

Concomitance: One who accompanies or that which accompanies (in Logic also Pervasion (or Vyapti)), Example: Smoke
and Fire, Thunder and Lightning

Dialectics: The art of discussion. The procedure was to accept an opponent?s view provisionally and to elicit from it
contradictory consequences.
Exegesis: (From Greek, Ex out and hegesthai to explain) Interpretation, explanation (esp. in Biblical context), used by Philips
for Mimamsa in the context of Veda)

Epistemology: (From Greek episteme knowledge) the branch of philosophy concerned with the justification of knowledge -
claims in the face of two kinds of scepticism, and hence with the nature of knowledge and the things that can be known. The
first kind of scepticism is about there being "any principle of correctness in names other than convention and agreement". Is
the meaning of "beauty", "largeness", "holiness" and so on, something we can be said to know, or is it something we decide,
by agreeing to use a word in a certain way. There are distinctions between "What is intelligible?" and " What is sensible?"

Example (Plato): More beautiful than an ape and less beautiful than a goddess.

There are degrees of beauty and ugliness. Beauty vs. ugliness is in a beholder?s eye. Largeness vs. smallness is in a thinker?s
conception. Negation of a concept also poses problems. What is it about "blue" and "not blue"? There is no opposite of "blue"
and the reality of "blueness" is to confirm to what is seen. Does language confirm to an objective reality? Even if the terms
we use have objective reality, can we be sure that whatever we say using these terms, is objectively correct?

God, Gods: In many philosophical positions God and gods have to appear in one form or another. The Indian and Western
notions differ widely with respect to God and gods. God may loosely be defined as the ultimate power on which the World
and all that are in the Universe depend on. We have to conceive of and accept about powers that vastly exceed ours.

Is ALMIGHTY similar to INFINITY in Mathematics translated as ANANTHA? Infinity is necessary to theoretically complete
a mathematical structure, though it is not useful for practical computations. Similarly can we say that atheism is not a
complete system but it is more like elementary arithmetic at school level? Atheism might, therefore, be dismissed as a
philosophy of no consequence, dealing with finite subsets. Computers also cannot use infinity. Too small and too large are
beyond its scope. One has to think of One who is Anoraneeyan, Mahatomaheeyan.

Greek Gods: According to ancient Greeks, God was a remote and unconcerned figure that had organized the world system
and then let it run on its own. For Plato, God fashioned the world out of chaos, which was the existing original matter. For
Aristotle, God was the prime mover who set the whole world in motion. Greeks conceived God in the image of Man.

God (Judaism, Christianity and Islam): Here God is the creator of Heaven and Earth and all that dwells there in. Man is
conceived as an image of God, who retains close interest in how we proceed. He is conceived as an all-powerful king. He
could be "jealous" and "cruel", if the need arises for some and "the Merciful and the Compassionate" for some others. His
name is Yahweh, Jehovah or Allah. The God of Bible is transcendent, he lies beyond our grasp, and can be known and
recognized only through some act on his part, namely the granting of divine grace. In Protestant theology, God in all his
aspects is unknowable and must be revealed. "The people of the book" (Jews, Christians, Muslims) recognize one single God.
Christians and Muslims do believe that their God is the only true God and till today are concerned about "converting" others,
who in their opinion are worshipping false gods, by inducements, propaganda or sword (depending on the situation) to their
respective religions. Christianity and Islam are essentially faiths or beliefs based on the teachings of a single prophet and a
single book assumed to be relevant for all time to come and in this aspect have little or no philosophy associated with them.

God, Gods and Goddesses of Sanathana Dharma :

HINDU is a geographical name derived from "SINDHU" (the river INDUS). Hinduism is a recently introduced blanket term
to encompass various traditional schools of thought such as Saiva, Vaishnava, Sakteya , Saura Kaumara and Ganapathya
traditions. Iswara - Parameswara, Atma - Paramatma, Prakriti - Purusha and Brahman have distinct connotations and the
notion of God as understood in the West is a small subset of these conceptualizations.

Sanathana Dharma as described in Puranas recognizes several levels of divinities: Gandharvas, Pitrus, Vasus, Rudras,
Adithyas, Apasaras, Devas, Dikpalas such as Indra, Yama, Varuna, Kubera, Vayu and Agni, Rishis, Tri Murthis (Brahma,
Vishnu and Maheswara) and their concerts (Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati). These divinities are in their loka s such as
Vaikuntha and Kailasa in a complex cosmology (Brahmanda).

Western writers often use descriptors such as pantheism, polytheism, caste system and practice of idolatry as the fundamental
features of Hinduism. Most of them have no overall appreciation of the complex structure and historical evolution of the
underlying religion. Notions and terms such as Brahminism and Hinduism have no scriptural validity, while describing Indian
philosophy. Describing "Adavaitha" as "Monism" is an imperfect and an even misleading translation. Similar confusion
exists between maya and illusion. More errors creep in, while interpreting terms such as Linga, Sati, Naga etc. The Christian
Heaven and Hell are totally different from Swarga and other higher worlds and nether worlds such as Patala. Brahminism is a
term coined for a non-existent concept. " Criminal Gods and Demon Devotees: Essays on the Guardians of Popular
Hinduism" is a book edited by Alf Heitelbetel, a Professor in the department of Religion at George Washington University.
The title itself should be suggestive of the author?s attitude and bias.

"Iswara Allah There Nam" is only a Hindu conception. In fact, while drafting the Indian constitution, several Muslim leaders
objected to translating Allah by terms such as God or Iswara. In some Islamic countries, it is illegal for non-Muslims to use
the word Allah. Countries such as Saudi Arabia prohibit practice of other religions. For example, it is illegal to carry icons
and pictures of "Hindu" Gods even for personal use in such countries. Similarly "Sarva Dharma Samabhava" is a wrongly
stated notion described by some as characterizing contemporary Hinduism and claimed by the so-called "secular" Hindu
intellectuals as a guiding principle for Hindus. It should, no doubt, be a guiding principle for the government, as it should not
distinguish between individual citizens based on the religious labels acquired by them by virtue of their birth. If an individual
accepts the principle of "Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava", it amounts to his lacking discriminating ability (viveka). A statement
such as "All roads lead to Rome" should be understood as with roads of differing distances. Similarly, existence of different
laws for different individuals in India on the basis of their religious labels is a violation of the constitutional principle of
"equality of all citizens before the law" (e.g. personal law). Logic provides a basis for a study of such contemporary political
issues and concepts.

Idealism: (from Greek idea a thing seen) strictly "idea-ism" in philosophy is a doctrine that holds the world to be essentially
a mental vision, as against the common sense realist view that it something "out there" and independent of us. The notion that
IDEAS are something inside the human mind is that of Descartes (1596-1650). Knowledge is constructed in terms of ideas in
the mind (either acquired by experience or held innately). Kant (1724 - 1804) puts forward what may be called a theory of
critical idealism. In this theory, the mind has equipment of its own (the concepts of SPACE and TIME as concepts of
sensibility and the CATEGORIES as concepts of understanding) with which to digest experience and while nothing can be
said about things in themselves.

This appears somewhat similar to ADVAITHA view. See Sankara?s saying - Viswam darpana drsyamana nagari tulyam
nijantargatham and the aphorism Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya

Metaphysics: (From Greek meta after and physica natural things) so called because early editors of Aristotle put his book on
"first philosophy " after that on "nature" (physics). It is a branch of enquiry that deals with fundamental questions about
BEING (which is involved in saying that something is) and about what kinds of things there are in the world.

Mysticism: (From Greek mysticos secret) is a speculative (or based on individual experience) streak in religion and
philosophy, seeking to attain a state of direct communion with God or the divine, by means that are essentially held secret.
(Related to mystery, mist or fogginess and unreality of thought.)

Ontology: (From Greek on, ontos to be and logos discourse) The science that treats the principle of pure being, that part of
metaphysics which treats of the nature and the essence of things.

Philosophy: (From Greek philos friend, and sophos wisdom, hence "love of wisdom") In philosophy, we are dealing with
general questions. General questions of a philosophic kind occur in all fields of systematic study?

Examples: What is the philosophy of Computer Science? What are the goals and limits of Artificial Intelligence? What are
the limits of language in explaining a concept?

Rationalism: (From Latin ratio, reason) is the philosophic position that sees that all knowledge of the world as based on
reason alone. Opposed to this is the view, that our knowledge must rest on EXPERIENCE, an outlook called EMPIRICISM.
Herbert Simon, father of Artificial Intelligence, a field of Computer Science asserts that humans have only bounded
rationality and that the term RATIONALITY only refers to economic rationality.

Realism: (a term of medieval philosophy) is that universals have real (thing like) existence, as against Nominalism, where
universals are mere names. For example, "man" is a universal, while Socrates is an individual. Aristotle spoke in terms of
things. Some things are universal while others are individual. The DVAITHA and the VISISHTADWAITHA views are said
to be examples of realism. Vaiseshika and later NYAYA are also initially deemed to be schools of realism. Example:
Bhuvanam Satyam, Satyam Jagat

Reality: (From Latin res thing) whatever is regarding as having existence as an objective thing, and not merely in
appearance, thought or language. Is a Real number in mathematics more real than an Imaginary number ?

Veridical: Truth telling coinciding with fact, seemingly true to a fact

Table 1. Gautama?s Nyaya Sutras

Pramana Proof, means of Jati Futility, refutations

knowledge

Prameya Provable, Knowable, Tarka Debate, judgment

Objects of
knowledge

Samsaya Doubt Nirnaya Conclusion, decision

Prayojana Aim, Purpose, Vada Discussion, debate

Relevance

Dristanta Example, Instance Jalpa Dispute using

sophistry

Siddhanta Conclusion, Thesis Chala Quibbling,

equivocation

Avayava Members of Vitanda Cavil, wrangling

syllogism

Hetvabhasa Fallacy (false middle Tattvajnanat From knowledge of

terms) true nature

Nigrahasthana Occasion for rebuke, Nihsreyassadhigama Attainment of

Defeat situation supreme good

References