Mahavira and his Teaching

Author(s): C C Shah, Rishabhdas Ranka, Dalsukh Malvania
Publisher: Bhagwan Mahavir 2500th Nirvan Mahotsava Samiti

Page 238

THE JAINA LOGIC OF SEVEN-FOLD PREDICATION
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regarding this statement in the last section, we might roughly take it as correct. Then taking the seven predicates of syadvada together with fuil knowledge in omniscience, disjunctively, we can assign to them the following values corresponding to a probabilistic interpretation of many-valued logic.1 In this scheme we assign the same value to double negation as to affirmation, though they do not mean the same thing in Jain philosophy. We also take a negative value for avaktavya for reasons already explained in the last section, sahārpana is symbolised as o, and kramārpana as ..
а,
1/6
1/6 ~(~A) b (=2a) A.~(~A)
2/6 or 1/3 ~[AO~(~A)]
3/6 or 1/2 di A ·~[A@~(~A)] 4/6 or 2/3
a l~(~A). ~[AO~(~A)] 4/6 or 2/3 e (=c+b) A•~(~A) • ~[AO~(~A)] 5/6 f (=2c) AO~(~A)
6/6 or 1
a
)
These can be operated as a six-valued probability logic, rather like the throw of six-faced dice in games of chance, with certain additional rules, some of which are shown in the table. Then the first value 1/6 represents the chance of getting a specific number in a single throw a^ b^c^ d^e^f=1/6. The second value, the chance of getting any one out of two a 1 bicada a 1 c etc. Similarly other cases, the last being just, a ^ b^C^ d^ e^f.
This discussion, incidentally, reveals three-fold ambiguity in the use of 'or'. Even in its disjunctive use, it might mean either any one indifferently or any one specifically. The former has 1. Nicholas Rescher, Many-valued Logic, p. 184f. for probabilistic interpreta
tion of Many-valued Logic.