Jaina Theory of Knowledge

Author(s): Mohanlal Mehta
Publisher: Gujarat Vidyapith Ahmedabad

Page 52

JAINA THEORY OF COMPREHENSION
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the mere occurrence of a cognition which is indeterminate and indistinct. It does not reach the stage of the cognition of specific contents, since the stage of the cognition of a specific content is determinate and definite.
SPECULATION :
It is the cognition that follows in the wake of sensation. After sensation which is the primary stage of sensory perception, there arises a cognition that enquires more facts about the specific characters of its object. In other words, speculation is the cognition knowing the object more distinctly. In sensation there is only a general awareness of the object. In speculation our enquiry advances towards a distinctive awareness, although we are not quite sure of the distinctive characters. We approximately grasp the distinctive features. For instance, in sensation we simply hear a sound and do not know the nature thereof. There we have a mere acquaintance of the sound. In speculation we are able to cognise the nature of the sound to a great extent. The Tattvartha-bhasya differentiates sensation and speculation as follows : 'Sensation cognises only a part of the object, while speculation cognises the rest and strives for the determination of a specific feature’.18 Sensation, according to it, is an indistinct awareness of the object, that is why it cognises only a part of its object, while speculation is a distinct cognition, and hence, it knows the rest and strives for the determination of the particular character of its object. Pujyapada defines speculation as 'the striving for a