Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume XIII: Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika Philosophy from 1515 to 1660

Part One, written by Sibajiban Bhattacharyya, provides a structured exposition of the central philosophical problems addressed by Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika. The section on metaphysics discusses substance, self, body, space and time, relation, causation, universals, abstraction, definition, and the specialized terminology of Navya-Nyāya. Epistemology examines cognition, its nature and duration, classification of cognitive states, perception, qualified cognition, and various forms of relational awareness. The treatment of inference analyzes the structure of inference, pervasion (vyāpti), generalization, psychological theories of inferential cognition, and the classical five-membered argument. A substantial section on language investigates the nature and origin of language, Sanskrit as an object-language, sentence meaning, word-meaning, communication, and the sophisticated relational semantics developed by Navya-Nyāya philosophers.

Part Two presents chronologically arranged summaries of works by numerous philosophers active between approximately 1515 and 1660, including Mādhava Sarasvatī, Keśava Miśra Tarkācārya, Haridāsa Nyāyālaṃkāra Bhaṭṭācārya, Raghunātha Śiromaṇi’s intellectual successors, Padmanābha Miśra, Rāmabhadra Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, and many others. The volume thus documents the transition from classical Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika categories to the highly formalized conceptual analysis characteristic of early modern Indian philosophy.

Table of Contents – Main Sections

• List of Contributors

• In Memoriam — Sibajiban Bhattacharyya

• Abbreviations

• Part One: Introduction

  • Metaphysics

  • Epistemology

  • Theory of Inference

  • Some Aspects of Language

• Part Two: Summaries of Works — Arranged Chronologically

• Glossary-Index