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generalizations of Nyāya but went a step further in analysing the nature of material existence. They acknowledged the existence of an extra cosmic deity but like Gassendi nearly dropped the idea and busied themselves with the atoms and their nature. With them the universe began with atoms, infinite and eternal, moved by the will of the divine power. Thus as Gautama the author of Nyāya built up the metaphysics, Kanāda the author of Vaiseșika supplied the physics of a philosophy which generally goes under the name of Dialectic philosophy. A philosophy built upon mere abstractions and generalizations from phenomena, which can in reality never be individually generalized from, must result in pure atheism or anthropomorphic deism. Principal Caird says in his Philosophy of Religion, "Generalization so far from apprehending reality is a process which takes us away from it, and the further it advances, the more abstract our thought becomes, the further do we recede from the real objective truth of things.” If the Nyāya and the Vaišesika thus represent the positive side of the method of abstract generalization, the Cārvākas, the materialists, represent the negative aspect. They were not far from the modern materialists when they maintained life, thought or energy to be the result of material organization, but their philosophy made few disciples and converted none. All experience is in favour of declaring that dead matter is never capable of producing life and even the best representatives of modern physical science stand confessed of their ignorance of the real
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