| Course Name | Logic and Critical Thinking in Indian Philosophy |
| Course Code | 21PHL511 |
| Program | M.A. in Philosophy |
| Semester | Two |
| Credits | 4 |
Indian logic – three stages of development and the ancient, mediaeval and modern Schools.
The Anviksiki tradition – Origin and development into the method of logical thinking and critical inquiry. Its importance with reference to Medhatithi Gautama and Kautilya.
The threefold method of debate – Purvapaksa, Khandana and Siddhanta
Anumana pramana – Etymology, The concept of Anumana in Nyaya, Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta.
Terms and components of the syllogistic expression of Pararthanumana – Paksa, Hetu, Sadhya and Avayava.
Anumana pramana as paroksa jnana.
The systematic development of the theory of Anumana by the Naiyayikas – Vatsyayana’s Nyaya-Bhasya on Sutra, 1.1.5. – Analytic study
Classification of Anumana – a) Pararthanumana and Svarthanumana b) Purvavat, Sesavat and Samanyatodrsta.
The grounds of inference – Vyāptigraha and Pakşadharmata
The concept of Vyapti –
Vyapti, Vyapaka and Vyapya – Definitions.
Anvayavyapti and Vyatirekavyapti
Vyapti defined as prasiddhi, sahacarya and avinabhava.
The debate over the grounds of Vyapti – Nyaya – Bhuyodarsana and Sahacarya niyama, Buddhism – Tadutpatti and Tadatmya.
Classification of Anumana based on Vyapti –
Nyaya – Anvaya-vyatireki, Kevalanvayi and Kevalavyatireki.
Samkhya – Vita and Avita.
Buddhism – Dignaga’s Hetucakra Damaru: Analytic study of the table.
Ganges’s concept of Trtiyalinga paramarsa.
The structure of syllogism – The Nyaya model of Pancavayavi Vakya, Modifications suggested by Buddhist logicians, Mimamsakas and Advaitins.
Comparison with Aristotelian syllogism – The propositions, corresponding terms and deductive – inductive bases.
Hetvabhasa – Definition and characteristics. Nyaya Sutra classification – Savyabhicara, Viruddha, Satpartipaksa, Asiddha and Badhita.
Logic and Critical Thinking in Indian Philosophy is a course offered in the second semester of the M. A. Philosophy Programme. The core concern of this course is to enable the learners to study the rules and procedure of valid reasoning and healthy debate in classical Indian philosophy. The course highlights the close relationship between Logic, Epistemology and Metaphysics in the Indian tradition. In addition to the views of different classical schools, there is also an elaborate study of the Anviksiki tradition developing into a systematic Anumana Sastra. This course is designed so as to enable the students to familiarize with the evolution of Indian logic from its ancient sources up to the Navya Nyaya School.
1. To analyze the links between logic, epistemology and metaphysics in classical Indian philosophy.
2. To understand and practise the science and art of healthy debate.
3. To familiarize with the Anumana Sastra in Indian logic.
4. To get acquainted with the inter school debate over Anumana Pramana.
5. To analyze the core components and terms of syllogism proposed by Indian logicians.
CO 1: Developing argumentative skill and the ability to present one’s viewpoint in debates and research papers.
CO 2: Historical overview of the development of logic and critical thinking in Indian philosophy.
CO 3: Analytic understanding of the correlation between logic, epistemology and metaphysics in classical Indian philosophy.
CO 4: Demonstrative study of the method of Purvapaksa – Khandana – Siddhanta.
CO 5: Comprehension of the types, components and procedure of inferential reasoning as conceived by Indian logicians.
CO 6: Familiarity with the different conceptions of Anumana held by the different schools of classical Indian philosophy.
CO 7: Comparative understanding of the structural differences between the Indian and Aristotelian formats of syllogism.
CO 8: Analytic study of the fallacies of inference identified by Indian logicians.
None
1. Vidyahhusana, Satis Chandra. A History of Indian Logic: Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Schools. Calcutta University, 1921.
2. S. S. Barlingay. A Modern Introduction to Indian Logic. Delhi: National Publishing House, 1965.
3. D. C. Guha. Navya Nyaya System of Logic. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1979.
4. Nandita Bandyopadhyay. The Concept of Logical Fallacies. Delhi: Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, 1977.
5. B. K. Matilal. The Navya Nyaya Doctrine of Negation. Michigan: Harvard University Press, 1968.
6. S. R. Bhatt. Buddhist Epistemology. USA: Greenwood Press, 2000.
7. B. K. Matilal. Logic, Language and Reality. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2008.
8. Sastri, Kuppuswami.S. A Primer of Indian Logic: According To
Annambhatta’s Tarkasamgraha. Madras: Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, 1951.
| PO | PO 1 | PO 2 | PO 3 | PO 4 | PO 5 |
| CO | |||||
| CO 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| CO 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| CO 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| CO 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| CO 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| CO 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| CO 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| CO 8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
3 – strong, 2 – moderate, 1 – weak
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