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NYAYA THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
a natural association between them we do not mean that it is congenital, so that the association is formed in the mind of every individual from his or her birth. If it were so. every baby should have as good perceptions as any grown-up person. All that we mean by a natural association is that it bas a basis in the constitution of things and that it is most frequently met with in the experiences of an individual. If, therefore, both natural and habitual associations are produced by repeated experiences, tio important consequences would follow : (1) It follows that the knowledge of the same object may, under the same objective conditions, be a matter of perception or inference for different individuals, according as there is or is not a natural or a habitual association as the basis of their knowledge (2) It follows that, under the same objective conditions, the knowledge of the same object may at first be a matter of inference and subsequently of perception, and vice versa, for one and the same individual. The knowledge of a rose from its sight is a perception for the person in whom the repeated experiences of roses have established a natural or a habitual association between its colour and touch and smell. The knowledge of the same rose, under the same external conditions, will be an inference for another person when, for want of repeated experiences, its colour does not immediately call up its touch and smell, but suggests them as distinct ideas or images on the ground of its similarity to the colour of roses. For illustration we may refer to the difference between our knowledge of a new variety of the rose and that of the gardener who presents it to us. An armour may look hard, smooth and cold to an adult who is familiar with it. A child may just imagine it to have these or very different tactual qualities. The fragrance of sandalwood may be directly known from its sight by those who are closely acquainted with it, but for others its visual appearance may only be a sign from which to infer its fragrance. When I go to a foreign country I can barely infer
