Refutation of Western Materialism On the basis of Jain Philosophy

Author(s): Mahendrakumar Muni Dwitiya
Publisher: Z_Kailashchandra_Shastri_Abhinandan_Granth_012048.pdf

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This reasoning is, however, erroneous in itself. It follows from the above statement that the materialist is at least ready to recon the existence of psychical processes. Now it is as simple as anything to deduce the existence of a psychical reality from the psychical processes. For, the modern physics has shown that experience never reveals any physical substances distinct from the physical processes, and still it is only these processes which give the materialists (and other realists) a clue to the objectively real existence of matter. In the same way, if psychical reality is deduced from the phychical processes, which are otherwise unexplainable, how it becomes unscientific and contrary to experience ?
There is another flaw in the above reasoning. It is argued that everything which persists must, by the very necessity of our ways of thinking, occupy space and hence be material. This statement can be divided into two parts : (a). that, which persists must occupy space, and (b). that which occupies space is material. Deduction of (a) is based on the very necessity of our ways of thinking. This is acceptable. But how (b) is deduced ? Extension in space does not necessarily mean materiality. Hence it would be wrong to conclude that psychical reality is material. The fact is that psychical reality does occupy space, but it is not material.
Further, materialism is, in the words of W. Jerusalem, proved to be unscientific thus : "Strict scientific method, which aims to confine itself to the description of facts, teaches us that there is something given in our ordinary experiences as well as in our most profound emotions, which is essentially distinct from everything perceivable by sense, from everything material. 9
Again it may be added here that materialism is insufficient to explain the phenomena of extra-sensory perception, clairvoyance, telepathy, memory of previous births, etc. Numerous instances of such pehnomena have certainly been known to have taken place and the parapsychologists all over the world are busy now-a-days with their investigations on these events. Especially the cases of memory of previous lives which is termed as extra-cerebral-memory avowedly confirm the existence of the psychical reality distinct from body having independent existence and even continuing to exist after death. 10
Thus the methodological argument completetly falls to the grounds.
2. The Mechanical Argument :--The main argument put forward by the materalists to sustain their view is based on the law of the conservation of matter and energy (or mattergy).11 According to this law, the total amount of matter and energy (or mattergy) always remains constant; it can neither be increased nor diminished. All becoming consists only of the transmutation of energy into different forms. Now, the materialists contend that if we assume a psychical substance (mind or consciousness) as something distinct from body and non-physical, the above law gets violated. For, if the life-energy, which is found to get increased as a result of the reactions of the physical substance (such as food, water, heat) is different from the physical energy, it
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