This volume is concerned with prameya theory, the complement to pramana theory. Whereas the pramanas are the means of knowledge, the prameyas are the knowables, cognizable entities that constitute the world. With respect to the number and kinds of such entities, there was a very wide variety of opinion among classical Indian philosophers - including variants of monism, dualism, and pluralism about both entities and kinds. Many metaphysical topics were debated, but two of the most important were causation and the nature of the self. The competing theories offered about these two issues also...

This volume is concerned with the nature and scope of Indian pramana theory, that part of Indian philosophy concerned with the nature and sources of knowledge. Indian philosophers developed a causal theory of knowledge and acknowledge the existence of a number of valid ways of knowing, including perception, inference, and testimony. The Indian praman theorists thus discussed many issues that have also occupied Western epistemologists, often offering importantly different perspectives on these matters. They also sometimes addressed various interesting questions about knowledge that are...

This volume is concerned with those parts of Indian pramana theory that Western philosophers would count as logic and philosophy of language. Indian philosophers and linguists were much concerned with philosophical issues having to do with language, especially with theories of meaning, while the Indian logicians developed both a formalized canonical inference schema and a theory of fallacies. The logic of the standard Indian inferential model is deductive, but the premises are arrived at inductively. The later Navya-Nyaya logicians also went on to develop a powerful technical language. This...

This volume is concerned with something that can best be described as Indian philosophy of religion, that is, philosophy of Indian religions. Contrary to popular Western belief, classical Indian philosophy was not indistinguishable from Indian religion - as even a cursory glance at the first three volumes of this series will demonstrate. Religious concerns, though, did motivate the work of many Indian philosophers. However, important differences between the major Western religions and the major Indian religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism) mean that the shape of Indian philosophy is often...

This volume is concerned with Indian discussions in the areas of ethics, politics and aesthetics. The Indian philosophers had a good deal to say about the theory of value as they vigorously discussed topics like the ends of life and the relation of virtuous action to those ends. A traditional Hindu classification recognizes four classes of values: dharma (mortality, virtue), artha (wealth, power), kama (pleasure) and moska (liberation). Moska is usually held to be the highest value and is extensively discussed in the paradigm Indian philosophical texts. Indian political and legal theory is...