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The Nyaya Conception of Universals
be no similarity between consciousness and its object. Moreover, if the 'blue' character were only a property of a cognition it could not be referred to the object. If, on the other hand, it were an attribute of the object, it could not appertain to cognition. The assumption of similarity between consciousness and matter is therefore preposterous, and consequently the attempt to explain volitional activity on the basis of structural similarity of cognition and object falls to the ground. It must then be admitted that a cognition generates volitional activity towards the object which is cognised by it.
Let it be supposed that what is felt as an object in cognition is not anything else but a subjective content. It is the content that is felt as object, and consequently inspires volitional impulse. The attainment of the external object is due to the similarity of the two. But this theory is not also free from the difficulty of the previous attempts. The volitional activity is due to the conviction that the object in question is capable of satisfying a practical requirement. For instance, a man moves towards fire, if he is in need of heat. So volitional activity is inspired by a belief in the practical efficiency of the object. If the content were felt to be possessed of the causal efficiency that actually belongs to a real fire, it could be supposed to inspire a volitional urge. But the case is just otherwise. The situation could be explained if the content were felt as identical with external object. This is also not possible. Even the illusory perception of identity would be possible if the content were superimposed upon the external object. But the external object is beyond the ken of conceptual thought according to the Buddhist and so there can be no superimposition of one upon the other. Nor is there any possibility of a subjective content being felt as external object as a subjective entity is felt by itself, being essentially identical with the cognition.
The belief in the existence of a subjective content, as standing between consciousness and external object, is not only a superfluous hypothesis, but is fraught with serious difficulties. If cognitions were conversant with subjective contents alone and external objects were shut out from their ken, their external objective reference would become an unintelligible mystery. There would be no logical necessity for believing in an external
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