Studies in Indian Philosophy

SR No.: 001580
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Dalsukh Malvania, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad
Publication Year: 1981
Total Pages: 352
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Philosophy, Epistemology, & Religion
File Size: 21 MB

Page 94

Negation Some Indian theories
be significant if the following conditions are satisfied:
(a) If t is a meaningful expression, then the expression 'negation of t' or 'not-t' would not be significant if 't' stands for a universal property. According to the Nyaya the terms 'existence', 'knowability' and 'nameability' refer to a universal property. But their negations would not be significant expressions. From this criterion it follows that the Nyaya does not accept the thesis that if an expression is meaningful, then its negation is also meaningful. If this thesis is called 'the significance criterion of negation', then the Nyaya does not accept this criterion as universally valid. According to the Nyaya the terms 'existent' and 'nameable' are considered as significant, but the terms 'non-existent' and 'unnameable' are not considered as significant. Hence sentences like 'no existent thing is unnameable' or 'all unnameable things are non-existent' are considered as non-significant, although sentences like 'all existent things are nameable' are considered as true. This shows that the Nyaya does not accept the rules of obversion, contraposition and double negation as universally valid rules.
(b) If the negation of t' is a significant expression, then 't' must not be an empty term Terms like 'a hare's horn', 'Pegasus', and 'unicorn' are considered as empty, because they do not refer to any real object. If 't' is an empty term, then the expression negation of t cannot be considered as a significant term. From this condition of negation one sholud not conclude that according to the Nyaya any expression which contains an empty term is non-significant.1
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(c) The expression 'negation of t' will be meaningful if we know what it is for t to be present somewhere. In this context it is to be noted that the 't' is non-empty. If we know what it is for t to be present somewhere, then we know the manner of presentation of t The manner of presentation of t in the cognition negation of t is the limitor of the property of being the counterpositive of the negation. The t which is the counterpositive of negation of t is cognized as present