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THE DEFINITION OF PERCEPTION
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truth when he said that “the truths known by intuition are the original premises from which all others are inferred.” 1 For the Nyāya, however, perception is the basis on which we have a knowledge of other truths by inference as well as by comparison and testimony. Inference as a method of knowledge depends on perception The first step in ipference is the observation of a mark or the middle term (lingadarśana), and the observation of the relation between the middle and the major term. Hence, inference is defined as that knowledge which must be preceded by perception (talpūrvakam) ? Similarly, upamāna or comparison as a method of naming depends on perception of the points of similarity between two objects So also śabda or testimony is dependent on perception inasmuch as the first step in it is the visual or auditory perception of written or spoken words, and such words must come from a person who has a direct or intuitive knowledge of the truths communicated by him. So we see that perceptual knowledge is the ultimate ground of all other knowledge by inference, comparison and testimony.3
Secondly, the Naiyāyikas observe that perception is the final test of all knowledge We may question the truth of the knowledge derived from inference, testimony, etc., but the truth of perception is in a way beyond question. We may know the same thing by means of testimony, inference and perception But while the knowledge from testimony and inference requires confirmation by perception, the perceptual knowledge of the thing is in need of no further confirmation A man may acquire the knowledge of a thing from some authoritative statement, ie. the testimony of a person. But this generally serves as the starting point for further reflection on the matter and produces a desire to
1 System of Logic, p 3 2 NS & NB, 1 1 5 3 NB & NV, 1.1 6-7
