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How did Indian philosophers use logic to investigate knowledge?
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Indian philosophy
In the Bhagavad Gita Arjuna and the Hindu deity Krishna, who also serves as Arjuna's charioteer (as depicted in this 17th-century illustration), engaging in a philosophical dialogue.
In Indian philosophy, logic is not treated as a study of abstract propositions but as a "logic of cognitions" (jnanani), deeply integrated with epistemology and psychology to investigate how humans attain valid knowledge (prama).1
Philosophers utilized the concept of pramana—the means of obtaining accurate knowledge—to structure their investigations. While the number of accepted pramanas varies by school, the most prominent include:2
- Perception (pratyaksha): Knowledge arising from the contact of the senses with their objects, categorized as either indeterminate (nonjudgmental) or determinate (judgmental).345
- Inference (anumana): A sophisticated system of reasoning that concludes knowledge not directly open to perception, often based on the invariable connection (vyapti) between a "mark" and the object of inference.214
- Verbal Testimony (shabda): Knowledge derived from authoritative sources, such as the Vedas or reliable persons.245
- Comparison (upamana): Grasping the meaning of a word through its similarity to a known object.24
The Nyaya school, in particular, became the primary system for logical analysis, developing detailed theories of causation and syllogistic reasoning to defend against skepticism and establish the validity of knowledge.35