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The General Conception of Knowl.dge
elements would collapse. On the other hand, if some hidden cause is postulated in the above instances which belongs to the same class of element as the effect does; the same principle should be applied to the case of consciousness also. As, none of the physical elements possesses the nature of consciousness.
If the Carvaka accepts some subtle element as material cause of the consciousness, he would have to explain whether it belongs to the same class as that of consciousness or different one. In the former case the existence of the self is established automatically. It does not matter if it is given a different name. If the subtle element belongs to same different class it cannot be held as the material cause of consciousness, just as fire in the case of water.
dhe Cārvāka argues: It is not essential that the cause and the effect must belong to the same class. We see a scorpion being produced from cowdung. There is no similarity between the two. The dung is lifeless while the scorpian is with life.
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The Jaina replies that cowdung is the material cause of body only; and both of them belong to the same class of the corporeal substance (pudgala). The self of the scorpian has another conscious entity as its cause. In the case of body also, it is not produced from the cowdung but from the elements which are capable of being transformed into a body. It is another thing that such elements are found abundantly in cowdung.
It can be argued that the subtle elements also belong to the same class as that of consciousness as far as both are substances or existents.
The Jaina replies that this similarity has no value in the system of causation. Otherwise the four elements also would become similar and have mutual causation, as all of them belong to the same class in respect of being substances or existents. If this type of similarity is accounted, one can ask further whether the elements are mutually included or not. If not, the
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