Critique of Indian Realism
author: Dharmendra Nath Shastri
edition: 2020, The Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan, Varanasi
pages: 594
language: English
ISBN-10: 9388415167
ISBN-13: 9788124608975
Topic: Hindu-philosophy
Summary: The book, Critique of Indian Realism represents a full and persuasive account of the inside story of the Nyaya-Vaisesika Realism. Instead of giving an exposition exclusively from its own sources, Dr. Shastri presents, this important system of Indian thought from a new perspective, from its long encounter with the Buddhist School of Dignaga and Dharmakirti.
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Introduction:
In this book the author makes a refreshingly new approach to the age-old problems of Indian Philosophy. The book is best described as a full and persuasive account of the inside story of the Nyaya Vaisesika Realism. Instead of giving an exposition exclusively from its own sources, the Author presents this important system of Indian thought from a new perspective, from its encounter with the Buddhist School of Dignaga and Dharmakirti. Although the beginnings of the Vaisesika or the Nyaya are pre-Buddhistic and they belong to a different metaphysical background, it was in the course of the philosophical duel sustained for over six centuries with the Dignaga School of Buddhism that the Nyaya Vaisesika attained its characteristic stamps as a consistent Realism closest to common sense. In this Process, it also gained in clarity and depth. Many of its basic conceptions, such as Substance, Attribute, Universal, Inherence, Causation and Perception underwent considerable modification and reformulation as a result of its conflict with Buddhism, and no less from the internal criticism of the schools of Mimamsa. One of the chief merits of the present work is that the author shows, with a wealth of detail and sound reasoning, the nature of the changes made and why the changes were made. This scholarly work is a significant contribution towards our understanding of an important phase of Indian thought.
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Contents of this online book (index):
The full text of the Critique of Indian Realism in English can be quickly summarized in the following table of contents. Becaue these pages are not available to read online, I would recommend you buy the book.
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
1. The Advent of Dignaga 1
2. Conflict Between Dignaga School and Nyaya-Vaisesika Realism 6
3. The Syncretic Nyaya-Vaisesika School 8
4. Three-fold Contents of the Nyaya-Vaisesika System 10
5. Three Periods in the History of the Nyaya-Vaisesika 11
6. Dignaga School 12
7. The Comer-stone of the Nyaya-Vaisesika Realism 15
8. Corollaries from the Basic. Nyaya-Vaisesika Piinciples 17
9. Untenability of the Nyaya-Vaisesika Realism
10. The Nyaya-Vaisesika School after Gangesa
11. Dignaga School and the Orthodox Schools
12. Stcherbatsky as an Expositor of the Dignaga School 27
13. Present Condition of the Nyaya-Vaisesika Studies 29
14. Significance of the Nyaya-Vaisesika Theories Missed 33
15. The Aim and Scope of the Present Work 37
CHAPTER II. REALISM VERSUS IDEALISM
1. Theories regarding the Nature of Reality 39
(i) Realism 39
(ii) Materialism 40
(iii) Representationism 41
(iv) Subjective Idealism 42
(v) Objective Idealism 43
(vi) Transcendental Idealism 43
(vii) Dialecticism of the Madhyamika 44
2. Realism and Idealism in Indian Philosophy 46
3. Two Different Senses of the Term Realism 47
CHAPTER III. SOME REALIST SCHOOLS IN INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
1. Schools of Indian Philosophy: Two Broad Divisions 49
2. Demarcation Between the Buddhist and the Orthodox Schools 50
3. Four Buddhist Schools 51
4. The Vaibhasika School 52
5. The Sautrantika School 53
6. Orthodox Account of the Vaibhasika School 54
7. Gunaratna’s Account of the Vaibhasika Theory 57
8. Jayanta’s Account of the Vaibhasika Theory 58
9. Misrepresentation of the School 59
10. Orthodox Account of the Sautrantika School 60
11. A Probable Explanation 61
12. The Purva-mimamsa School and Realism 65
13. The Vaisesika grew in the Purva-mimamsa Fold 66
14. Purva-mimamsa and Nyaya 69
15. Orthodox Systems Divided in two Groups 71
16. Madhva, the Realist School of the Vedanta 73
17. Realism of Samkhya 73
18. Contribution of the Purva-mimamsa to Realism 76
19. Realism based on Dharma-dharmi-bheda 77
CHAPTER IV. HISTORICAL SURVEY OF THE NYAYA-VAISESIKA LITERATURE
1. Paucity of Chronological Data 81
2. The Relative Age of the Orthodox Schools and the Sutras 82
3. Early Age of the Vaisesika as a School 84
4. The Origin of the Nyaya School 86
5. Liaison Between the Nyaya and the Vaisesika 91
6. Three periods in the History of the Nyaya-Vaisesika 93
7. The Pre-Dignaga Period 95
(i) Kanada 96
(ii) Gotama or Gautama 97
(iii) Vatsyayana 99
(iv) Prasastapada 100
(v) Predecessors of Vatsyayana 103
(vi) Ravana-bhasya on the Vaisesika-Sutras 103
(vii) Bharadvaja-vrtti 107
8. Period of Conflict with the Dignaga School 108
(i) Dignaga 108
(ii) Uddyotakara 109
(iii) Dharmakirti 111
(iv) Kumarila and Prabhakara 111
(v) Vacaspatimisra 112
(vi) Jayapta 114
(vii) Bhasarvajna 116
(viii) Sivaditya 116
(tx) Vyomasiva 117
(x) Sridhara 118
(xi) Udayanacarya 118
9. The post-Buddhist Period 120
(i) Anticipatory Significance of Udayanacarya Bhasarvajna and Sivaditya 120
(ii) Varadaraja, Vallabhacarya and Sasadhara 121
(iii) Gangesa and his Successors 121
(iv) Syncretic Manuals 122
(v) Commentaries on the Sutras 123
(vi) Decadent Tendencies of the Third Period 124
(vii) Climax of Decadence in the Eighteenth Century 124
(viii) Recovery in the Nineteenth Century 124
CHAPTER V THE NATURE OF REALITY
1. Existence from Non-existence 126
2. Cause and Effect Different in their Essence 127
3. The Existence Becomes Non-existent 131
4. The Essence of Non-eternal Substances 133
5. Four Kinds of Eternal Atoms 135
6. Five Exclusively Eternal Substances 136
7. Conception of Substance 137
8. Reality of the Categories other than Substance 140
9. Extreme Realism of the Nyaya-Vaisesika School 141
10. Conception of Existence (Satta) in the Nyaya-Vaisesika 146
11. Recapitulation 152
CHAPTER VI. DEFENCE OF SUBSTANCE
1. Substance as a Synthetic Principle 154
2. The Theory of Substance as the Hall-mark of the Orthodox Camp 156
3. Four Planks in Defence of Substance 157
4. The Atomic Theory of the Vaisesika School 158
5. Problem of Change in Measure 160
6. Measure of Atom and Dvyanuka [dvi-anuka] 162
7. Atom compared with Ksana of the Buddhist 164
8. Defence of Atom in the Nyaya-sutras 165
9. Uddyotakara’s Polemic 167
10. Vasubandhu answered 171
11. How Atom is related to Space-quarters 176
12. Some minor Objections answered 179
13. Substance as Distinct from Qualities 180
14. The Buddhist Viewpoint 181
15. Sridhara on Substance as different from Qualities 183
16. Argument of Uddyotakara 184
17. Buddhist Doctrine of Point-instants (Ksanas) 187
18. Refutation of the Theory of Evanescence 189
19. Evanescence proved by the Law of Contradiction 190
20. Evanescence implied in the Notion of Existence 191
21. Evanescence proved from Destructibility 198
22. Recognition reconciled with Evanescence 201
23. Evanescence and direct Perception 203
24. The Law of Contradiction reconciled with Permanence 205
25. The Buddhist Conception of Existence refuted 209
26. Existence does not prove Evanescence 210
27. Polemic of Vacaspatimisra 215
28. Explanation by Ratnakirti and Santaraksita 217
29. Destructibility and Evanescence 221
30. The Nyaya-Vaisesika on Constant Decay 226
31. Recognition and Evanescence 227
32. Perception and Evanescence 230
33. Nyaya-Vaisesika Theory of Avayavin 233
CHAPTER VII. NYAYA-VAISESIKA THEORY OF CAUSATION
1. Significance of the Theory 234
2. Samkhya and Nyaya-Vaisesika Theories of Causation 235
3. Main Features of Nyaya-Vaisesika Theory 238
4. Causation-theories of other Schools 243
5. Some Significant Features of the Four Causal Theories 245
6. Avayavin as a Synthetic Principle 248
7. Arguments to prove Avayavin 249
8. Epistemological Argument of Nyaya 251
9. Objections to the Theory of Avayavin 256
10. Theory of Causation in Early Nyaya-Vaisesika 261
11. Earlier Nyaya-Vaisesika Theory compared with the Later 265
12. Buddhist Theory of Pratitya-samutpada 271
13. Change Inconceivable according to the Nyaya-Vaisesika Theory 274
14. Nyaya-Vaisesika Theory leads to Theory of Evanescence 277
15. Three Kinds of Causes conceived in the Nyaya-Vaisesika 281
CHAPTER VIII. QUALITIES AND MOVEMENTS AS OBJECTIVE REALITIES
1. Qualities Different from Substance 283
2. Physical and Metaphysical Aspects of Qualities 285
3. Qualities: Subjective and Objective 287
4. Qualities: Co-existent with their Substance 288
5. Causation of Qualities 289
6. Qualities existing without Substance 292
7. Subjective Qualities Objectivized 293
8. The Nature of Measure 295
9. Samyoga, a Crucial Factor in the Theory of Causation 297
10. Intricate Nature of Disconnection 301
11. Objective Reality of Movement (Karman) 303
CHAPTER IX. SAMANYA AND APOHA
1. Significance of the Theory of the Universal 306
2. Nature of Conflict 307
3. Historical Retrospect 310
4. Visesa as conceived by Later Nyaya-Vaisesika School 314
5. Visesa as residing in all Eternal Substances 318
6. The Universal as Objective and Eternal Reality 319
7. Cross-division nullifies Universal 323
8. Notion of Commonness and the Universal 327
9. Perception of the Universal 331
10. Is the Universal Omnipresent? 334
11. Subsistence of the Universal in its Particulars 338
12. Epistemology of Dignaga School 342
13. The Buddhist Theory of Apoha 351
14. Negative Character of Apoha 355
15. Refutation of Apoha by the Realist 363
16. Theories of the Realist and the Buddhist compared 368
17. Bearing of the two Theories on Epistemology 369
CHAPTER X. SAMAVAYA—A UNIQUE NYAYA-VAISESIKA CONCEPT
1. Relation Between Inseparables 374
2. Basic Conflict with the Buddhist 375
3. Samavaya and the Theory of Causation 376
4. Exposition of Samavaya by Sridhara 378
5. Samavaya distinguished from Samyoga 379
6. Exposition of Samavaya by Jayanta 381
7. Proof of Samavaya given by Vacaspatimisra 382
8. Samavaya does not subsist by any other Relation 383
9. Perception of Samavaya 386
10. Samavaya as One and Eternal 388
11. Definition of Inseparableness (Ayuta-siddhi) 390
CHAPTER XI. NON-EXISTENCE AS REALITY
1. Negative Reality Conceived 395
2. Development of the Theory of Non-existence 397
3. The Theory of Non-existence in Different Schools 400
4. Different Kinds of Non-existence 401
5. Perception of Non-existence (Abhava) 404
6. Mental Factor in Perception of Non-existence 409
7. Jayanta on Reality of Non-existence 411
8. Sridhara assails Prabhakara 416
CHAPTER XII. EPISTEMOLOGY ADAPTED TO REALISM
1. Epistemological Approach in Indian Philosophy 419
2. The Basic Difference in the Theory of Pramanas 421
3. Gotama’s Definition of Perception 426
4. Meaning of the word ‘Avyapadesya’ 430
5. No Distinction of Savikalpaka and Nirvikalpaka before Dignaga 433
6. Dignaga introduced the Distinction between Nirvikalpaka and Savikalpaka Perception 437
7. Distinction Between Nirvikalpaka and Savikalpaka in post-Dignaga Period 438
8. Significance of Savikalpaka Perception 441
9. Refutation of the Nyaya-Vaisesika Theory of Savikalpaka Perception 442
10. Vacaspatimisra’s Answer 448
11. Mental Factor in Determinate Perception- 456
12. Mental Factor explained through Transcendental Contact 462
13. Theory of Inference of Knowledge 471
14. Repudiation of Error by Prabhakara 477
CHAPTER XIII. A RESUME : NYAYA-VAISESIKA THEORIES IN A NEW PERSPECTIVE 488
Glossary 502
Text Appendix 513
Index 545