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INDIAN LOGIC
to cancellation; so he is presently contending that there is nothing like a cognition liable to cancellation. The opponent asks: “Why so ? After all, there are so many cognitions which stand cancelled at the hands of a subsequent cognition; e.g. the cognition of nacre as silver (symbolically Cs) is cancelled by the subsequent cognition of nacre as nacre (symbolically Cn)."67 The Prabhakarite answers by considering several alternative senses in which cancellation can be understood and arguing that in none of these senses can Cs receive cancellation at the hands of Cn; (for the sake of convenience let us presume that Cn arises immediately after Cs).68 This as follows : (1) Cs is destroyed by Cn : Being momentary every cognition is
destroyed by the immediately forthcoming cognition.69 (2) Cs does not co-exist with Cn: Being momentary no cognition
can co-exist with another cognition.70 (3) The impression left by Cs is destroyed : That might possibly
happen in the case of any cognition; again, that might possibly
not happen in the case of Cs itself." (4) The object of Cs is taken away : That is impossible; for the
object of a cognition is what is reflected in it and the rise of Cn cannot bring it about that what was reflected in Cs was not
reflected in it.72 (5) The absence of the object of Cş is cognized : It is not always
the case that the cognition of absence of x cancels the cognition of x; for x might exist at the time t and absence of x at the time t,. And even if one cognition is to the effect that x exists at the time t, and another to the effect that absence of x exists at the time t, then too it might be that both x and absence of
x exist at the time t,.73 (6) The result associated with Cs is taken away : (i) If by the result
is understood Cs itself inasmuch as it is a result produced by the pramāna concerned then there is no question of this result being taken away, for Cs has already come into existence. (ii) If by the result is understood the activity undertaken on the basis of Cs then even if this activity is taken away in the sense that
it proves fruitless the character of Cs is not affected thereby.74
While considering the above alternatives the Prabhākarite has generally argued that no cognition can be said to be cancelled by
