RBSE VU Nyaya Darshan flashcards
RBSE VU Nyaya Darshan · Build recall with a focused review session.
33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Nyaya
- One of the six astika (orthodox) darshanas, founded by Gautama, emphasizing logic, epistemology, and the attainment of liberation through knowledge of the sixteen padarthas.
- Gautama
- Also called Akshapada, the traditional founder of Nyaya and author of the Nyaya Sutra, the foundational text of the school.
- Astika darshanas
- The six orthodox Indian philosophical schools: Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, and Vedanta, which accept the authority of the Vedas.
- Pramana
- The means or instrument of valid cognition (prama). Nyaya accepts four: pratyaksha, anumana, upamana, and shabda.
- Pratyaksha
- Perception, defined as cognition produced by sense-object contact. It is either nirvikalpaka (indeterminate) or savikalpaka (determinate) and must be non-erroneous.
- Anumana
- Inference, the knowledge of a sadhya (probandum) through a hetu (reason) based on vyapti (invariable concomitance), e.g., inferring fire from smoke.
- Upamana
- Comparison or analogy, a pramana that gives knowledge of something through its similarity to a known thing, e.g., knowing a gavaya by its resemblance to a cow.
- Shabda
- Verbal testimony, knowledge derived from the utterance of a reliable person (apta). It is a valid pramana for Nyaya, especially regarding imperceptible matters.
- Prameya
- The object of valid knowledge; in Nyaya, the twelve prameyas include atma, sharira, indriya, artha, buddhi, manas, pravrtti, dosha, pretyabhava, phala, dukha, and apavarga.
- Sixteen padarthas
- The sixteen categories of Nyaya: pramana, prameya, samshaya, prayojana, drishtanta, siddhanta, avayava, tarka, nirnaya, vada, jalpa, vitanda, hetvabhasa, chala, jati, and nigrahasthana.
- Bhrama
- Error or false cognition, e.g., mistaking a rope for a snake. Nyaya explains it as misapprehension (anyatha-khyati) caused by defective conditions.
- Samsaya
- Doubt, a state of uncertainty between alternatives, e.g., 'Is this a post or a man?' It arises from common properties, conflicting testimony, or irregular perception.
- Paksha
- The subject or minor term of an inference, the locus where the sadhya is to be proved, e.g., the hill in 'the hill has fire'.
- Hetu
- The reason or middle term of an inference, the evidence used to prove the sadhya, e.g., smoke in the inference of fire.
- Sadhya
- The probandum or major term of an inference, what is to be proved, e.g., fire in the inference from smoke.
- Vyapti
- Invariable concomitance between hetu and sadhya, e.g., 'wherever smoke, there fire'; it is the basis of valid inference and must be unconditional.
- Hetvabhasa
- A fallacy of inference, a reason that appears valid but is not. Nyaya lists five: savyabhichara, viruddha, prakaranasama, sadhyasama, and kalatita.
- Tarka
- Hypothetical reasoning that explores alternatives and shows their absurdity to establish vyapti or remove doubt; it is not a pramana but an aid to inference.
- Vada
- A legitimate debate aimed at discovering truth (tattva-nirnaya), conducted with a sincere opponent using valid pramanas and proper reasoning.
- Jalpa
- A debate aimed at victory rather than truth, permitting tactics like chala (quibbling), jati (sophisticated refutation), and nigrahasthana (defeat grounds).
- Vitanda
- A destructive debate in which one party only attacks the opponent's thesis without establishing a counter-thesis, aiming merely to refute.
- Chala
- Quibbling, a debate tactic of misinterpreting a statement by taking a word in a different sense; types include vak-chala, samanya-chala, and upacara-chala.
- Jati
- A sophistical refutation in debate, an argument based on similarity or dissimilarity that attempts to refute the opponent but is not a valid pramana.
- Nigrahasthana
- A ground of defeat in debate; Nyaya Sutra lists twenty-two, including dropping one's thesis, contradicting it, using a fallacious reason, or failing to answer a valid objection.
- Ishvara
- God in Nyaya, proved by inference as the intelligent creator of the world, omniscient and omnipotent, and the efficient (not material) cause of the universe.
- Apavarga
- Liberation in Nyaya, the absolute cessation of suffering and rebirth, attained through right knowledge of the sixteen padarthas and removal of false knowledge.
- Nyaya Sutra
- The foundational text of Nyaya, attributed to Gautama (Akshapada), consisting of five chapters and 528 sutras covering pramana, prameya, and debate theory.
- Vatsyayana
- Author of the Nyaya Bhasya, the earliest extant commentary on Gautama's Nyaya Sutra, defending and elaborating Nyaya doctrines.
- Udayana
- A 10th-century Nyaya philosopher who wrote the Nyaya Kusumanjali, offering eight proofs for the existence of God, and other works like Atma-tattva-viveka.
- Gangesha
- Author of the Tattva-cintamani (12th–13th century), the foundational text of Navya-Nyaya, which introduced a precise technical language for logic and epistemology.
- Navya-Nyaya
- The 'new Nyaya' school that began with Gangesha's Tattva-cintamani, known for its formal technical vocabulary and sophisticated analysis of inference and epistemology.
- Nyaya and Vaisheshika
- Two allied astika schools that merged into the Nyaya-Vaisheshika syncretism; Nyaya emphasizes pramana (logic), Vaisheshika emphasizes padartha (ontology).
- Carvaka
- The materialistic Indian school that accepts only pratyaksha (perception) as a pramana and denies inference, the self, and liberation; Nyaya refutes its positions.