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CRITICAL ESTIMATE OF ANEKĀNTAVĀDA
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of the Jaina theory which with its comprehensiveness helps in solving the intricate world problems. Each predication of the Syādvāda refers to new aspect of reality. The introduction of category of 'inexpressible' is the greatest contribution of Jainism to Indian logic. Even Sankar implicitly recognises it when he says that a thing is neither real nor unreal and yet he criticizes Jaina theory. Syādvāda goes beyond the formal logic and asserts that between A and non-A there is always a third possibility. It appeals to experience for the knowledge of reality as it is and finds that 'antinomies of logic are merely figments of formalism'. With the help of the doctrine of Anekāntavāda with its two methods of Syādvāda and Nayavāda Jainism succeeds in disposing of all those hard problems of philosophy which have proved a fruitful source of errors and disputes to the followers of all non-Jaina religions in the world.
If we interpret Jaina doctrine in terms of Western thought we find that the modern western realist thinker Bertrand Russell comes close to Jaina view as far as problem of knowledge of the physical world is concerned. Russell like Jainism believes that the world is objectively real and that reality is many and manifold. As P. K. Mathur rightly says, "Anekāntavāda in general and the doctrines of nayavāda and syādvād in particular have great resemblance to Russell's doctrine of perspectives."?4 The system which consists of all the views of universe perceived and unperceived is called by Russell the system of perspectives. According to this doctrine an object is totality of its aspects which include not only the perceived aspects, i. e. 'sense-data' but also the unperceived aspects, i. e. 'sensibilia' or unsensed sense-data or to use Russell's terminology “unperceived perspectives'. All these
