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The Jaina Philosophy of Non-Absolutism
proved by intuition, and not by logic. The contradiction that is involved in the denial of consciousness is to be known also by means of experience. When one denies that consciousness exists, the denial is found to be self contradictory because the denial itself is a case of consciousness. The denial of consciousness is thus an affirmation of consciousness and as such is a case of self-contradiction. The Jaina philosophers only affirm this truth when they assert that the nature of reality is to be determined by the evidence of experience and thus endorse the fundamental position of the Vedāntist. But his loyatly to experience is not half-hearted. He maintains that when experience is the source of knowledge of existence including the existence of our own selves, why should it be discarded when it testifies to the existence of so many selves and things ? We have seen how the Laws of Thought have been given a new orientation by the Jaina philosopher, and how these laws, as reoriented by him, enable him to arrive at the conclusion of the multiple nature of reality.
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