Religion and Culture of the Jains

Author(s): Jyoti Prasad Jain
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith

Page 72

CHAPTER V
THE THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
The science of mind, or modern psychology as understood in the West, has, it seems, reached an impasse. It may, therefore, be of use to know what and how did the ancient Jaina sages think, and see if we can benefit by their speculations by assessing the latter's utility and application to our own times. It may be said that comparative freedom from theistic assumptions enabled the Jaina thinkers to speculate boldly on human nature, particularly on the problems concerning the process of experience, nature of emotions, and the methods of their control. With man as the frame of reference, they certainly raised an imposing edifice, and their profound speculations, philosophical and psychological, are no less relevant in the context of modern life. They also saved themselves from falling into the trap of abstract logic, because they did not deprecate commonsense interpretation of experience. To the Jaina school of thought the psychological attitude and motive behind one's action have been of the utmost importance in an approach for a correct determination of the relation between man and man, and between man and the animal kingdom.
We propose here to deal in brief with Jaina epistemology or the theory of knowledge, alongwith connected topics, such as psychology, feelings, emotions and passions, the theory of causation, Jaina logic, the philosophy of non-absolutism and the conditional mode of predication.