Book Title: Nyaya Theory of Knowledge
Author(s): S C Chateerjee
Publisher: University of Calcutta

Previous | Next

Page 235
________________ 216 NYAYA THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE of reality. Here then the object of perception is not koown as a particular related to a certain universal. It is not judged as an individual belonging to a certain class and bearing that class-name Hence nirvikalpaha is the knowledge of an object as not characterised in any way (nışpı akāraka).' It is an apprehension of the object as 'something,' but not as related to a class and called by a name (nāmajātyādiyojanāhīnam ... kiñcididamıtı). Hence it is not a judgment of the object in terms of the subjectpredicate relation (varsiștyūnavagāhı). On the other hand, it is a simple apprehension of the existence and attubutes of an object without any corresponding judyinent of it in words, or by way of predication Accuiding to some linguistic thinkers there cannot be any nirvikalpaha perception in the sense of an unverbalised experience as explained above They hold that we cannot think things except through words. All objecis are inse parably connected with the words by which they are denoted. To cognise a thing is to know it as such-and-such and so to relate it to a denotative word (vācakaśabda). Likewise, we can act in relation to a thing only when we know it precisely as of this or that kind, 2. e. determine it by means of a class-name. In fact, all our coynitions are embodied in vei bal propositions, such as ' I know a colour,' I have a taste,' 'It is a smell,' and so on. All cognitions being thus inseparable from verbal expressions, there can be no niruzkalpaka or unverlalısed cognition The NyāyaVašeşikas repudiate the linguistic contention on the following grounds. In the case of children and dumb persons there is undoubtedly a knowledge of many objects, but no verbal expression of that knowledge. Even in the case 1 Nimajátyádıyo.apărabitam vaiśıştjäna va gāhi nisprakärukam dirvikalpakaw, TC , 1, p 809. Nirvikalpakam videşyaprakárådırabitem vastusvarūpamátrajñādam, TM., Oh II. 3 NB., 1, 1, 4, MB., 189,

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440