Chapter 3 - Anumana (Inference) in Nyayashastra

The term ‘Nyaya’ means right or justice. Nyayashastra therefore signifies a science of right judgment or true reasoning. In the initial years of Indian philosophical thought, logic was referred as hetu-shastra or tarka vidya and its later stage came to be known as Nyashastra.^[1] Nyaya technically means syllogism or a speech of five parts. Vatsyayana defines it “as an examination of object by evidences; he takes evidences to signify a syllogism which consist of a ‘proposition’ based on verbal testimony, a reason based on inference, an example based on perception, an application based on comparison and a conclusion based on all the previous four.^[2]

Puligandla considers Nyaya as methodological tools for acquiring knowledge of reality through right thinking and valid reasoning. In this regard, Nyaya is also referred as tarkashastra-the science of reasoning.^[3] It is also used as synonym to syllogism and therefore refers to the science of inference. Nyayashastra mentions uddeshya (enunciation) lakshana (definition) and pariksha (examination) as the three steps followed for valid reasoning. Uddeshya here gives the main topics of the darshana. At the lakshana stage, each topic is defined, adding where necessary, the classification of the sub-topic of each. Pariksha involves critical examination from the philosophical point of view.

Even though most of the systems take a parsonic attitude in the agreement of at least two or three means of knowledge, all systems show a wide divergence in their opinion regarding epistemology. Nyaya system accepts portrayed perception, inference, comparison and verbal testimony as independent means of knowledge.

In the above means or sources, Inference or Anumana though a secondary source of knowledge is considered by Naiyayikas as the most significant one. As a source of cognition it produces inferential knowledge.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

S.C.Vidhya Bhushna, A history of Indian logic, Shiv book international, Delhi, p. 41.

[2]:

Nyayabhashya 1-1-1

[3]:

Foundations of Indian Philosophy, Puliganda, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1965.