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The Jaina Philosophy of Non-Absolutism
disastrous logical consequences. There can be no escape from the postulation of a unitive principle relating to a number of individuals in the same manner and degree. If such a principle be believed to be negative in utter disregard of the claim of a positive objective principle, it can only prove dogmatism and uncritical attitude which is deliberately blind to a competing explanation. Philosophy becomes a dangerous game when it degenerates into special pleading and partisanship. Udayana, on the other hand, shows that the balance of reasons is rather on the side of positive universal. The logical difficulties, that have been shown by Dharmakirti to vitiate the reality of objective universals, will be examined later on. Without forestalling the discourse which will come in its proper place, it may be stated in advance that the difficulties alleged are more subjective than objective, more imaginary than real. On the contrary, one cannot succeed in offering a satisfactory and honest explanation, if one accepts the Buddhist theory of negation of the opposite as the equivalent substitute for an objective universal.
The negative universal, which only refers to the negative of the opposite, cannot account for the pragmatic success of conceptual thought. It is maintained by the Buddhist that language and inference yield only conceptual knowledge. The Naiyāyika has no objection to this interpretation of non-perceptual cognition. But he joins issue only when the Buddhist repudiates the objective affiliation of all conceptual thoughts. Besides, if concepts were not conversant with objective reals, how is it that they lead to the attainment of objective facts ? In other words, why should they be susceptible of verification ? It is sheer nonsense to say that the knowledge of one thing leads to the attainment of another thing. A man infers the presence of fire in the hill and goes forward to light his cigarette with it. He is not disappointed as he finds the actual fire there. If the conceptual knowledge, yielded by inference, were entirely unrelated to the concrete fire, how can there be fulfilment of the expectation and actual verification as a matter of universal and necessary occurrence ? The Buddhist seeks to explain the pragmatic success of conceptual thought by the theory of determination (adhyavasāya). But what is the nature of this determination ? Does it mean that it makes a fiction masquerade as
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