Lessons of Ahimsa and Anekanta for Contemporary Life

Author(s): Tara Sethia
Publisher: California State Polytechnic University Pomona

Page 79

Lessons of Ahimsa and Anekānta for Contemporary Life
Thus, relying on the principles of nayavāda and syādvāda, anekantavāda has the great potential to eliminate violent argument between ideological opponents by methodically both disarming and persuading them. Here we see the importance of anekantavāda in fostering a sense of nonviolence or attempting to reduce violence. It is neither a thesis about skepticism or uncertainty nor a formulation of probability, but a thesis about non-exclusive predication based on the recognition that a given thing includes a potentially unlimited number of characteristics. It is, thus, a method of reconciling opposites, and making it attractive for persons holding opposing views to enter into dialogue and negotiate their differences, thus avoiding violent confrontation.