________________
4. I cannot say.
well, but as far as the fever is concerned he is not well. His condition is such that nothing can be said for sure. He is somewhat improved but nothing can be said for sure. He is somewhat unwell but nothing can be said for
5. He is well but cannot say.
6. He is unwell but cannot say -
sure.
7. He is well as well as unwell -
He is somewhat improved, somewhat not improved and nothing can be said, for sure, about his condition.
We notice that all these alternative statements are relative and none of them is absolute. Also, they truly represent the goodness or badness of the thing under scrutiny in the first example and the condition of the patient in the second. Also, when we preface each statement with the phrase 'In a certain context (syāt)', we make our statements absolutely inoffensive. The modern scientific method of criticism also advocates bringing out the good points first and then the bad points, and that, too, only contextually and to present a happy mix of the two, in an as much inoffensive way as possible, so that it does not hurt.
In the philosophical example of the nature of reality, the Jaina view states that in the context of matter, everything is
ANEKĀNTAVĀDA AND SYĀDVADA: 177
