Nyaya And Jaina Epistemology

Author(s): Kokila H Shah
Publisher: Sharadaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre

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NYAYA AND JAINA EPISTEMOLOGY
IN GENERAL NYĀYA EPISTEMOLOGY IN GENERAL
The first question which every one of the Indian systems of philosophy tries to settle is that of knowledge. Although different systems have divergent attitude towards this problem, it occupies central place in their philosophical discussion.
Philosophers of Nyāya school were seriously interested in the problem of knowledge. They defend empirical knowledge which was challenged by the idealist as useless and false. Nyāya is essentially an empirical epistemology as against idealism which treats empirical knowledge as inherently false.
As a system of realistic pluralism, Nyāya deserves special attention. Nyāya epistemology effectively deals with all the main problems of knowledge and logic avoiding scepticism and emphatically asserts that problem of knowledge is capable of being solved. As the literal meaning of the term Nyāya suggests, it is primarily the philosophy of