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THE JAINA CONCEPT OF LOGIC
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understand what the Jaina thinker is doing in his syādvādā it is methodologically instructive to connect contextually syadvada to
other two theories and to consider the function these different theories are designed to perform in their respective fields. Matilal does not do this; however, he connects syā dvăda to the Jaina metaphysical thesis of anekāntată by saying that the Jaina thinker used syadvada as a method 33 to support the anekantavāda. He might have liked to call it the method of non-violence; and I would certainly have agreed with him. But then, he would not have gone about discovering the logical virtues of syāt-sentences, and defending srādvā da on purely logical grounds. And, this is precisely what in fact he does.
Matilal identifies three different usages of the particle 'syāt'. (1) In the ordinary Sanskrit ‘syāt' means 'perhaps' or 'may be'. But, the Jainas used it in a special sense to indicate the anekānta nature of a proposition.34 (2) Etymologically, 'syāt' is derived from the root as + potential optative third person singular. In this usage, the word expresses sambhāvanā or probability. Matilal remarks: 'the Jaina syāt is even different from this use of syāt in the sense of probability 35 and adds emphatically: “The Anekānta doctrine, to be sure, is neither a doctrine of doubt, or even uncertainty, nor a doctrine of probability. Thus, "syat” means in the Jain use, conditional YES. It is like saying, “in a certain sense yes” 36 (3) ‘Syat' has a concessive use also as in the sentence "syāt etat” which means "let it be so (but).' 37. By using the particle 'svat', the Jaina thinker concedes the opponent's thesis in order to blunt the sharpness of his attack and disagreement, and at the same time, it is calculated to persuade the opponent to use another point of view, carefully consider the other side of the case.38 (4) Finally in the Jaina literature on syadvā da, the particle 'syat' is treated as synonymous with 'kathamcit' ('in some respect', or “from a certain standpoint') and “kadā cit' ('somehow, or sometimes'). Grammatically, the function of the particle (nipata) in a sentence is to modify the acceptance or rejection of the proposition or predication expressed by the sentence.39 On these considerations of the semantical behaviour of the particle 'syat' Matilal supports his two-fold thesis: (a) that a syāt sentence experesses a proposition which could be true or false, and (b) that the proposition expressed by the use of syāt sentence is a conditional assertion of the f If p' then A is B'.. 40 The (b) part of this thesis is not very clear.
