Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume XVII: Jain Philosophy (Part Three)

The introduction, “On Attempts to Formalise the Syādvāda,” examines one of the most distinctive features of Jain philosophy: the doctrine of conditional predication and the sevenfold modal scheme (saptabhaṅgī). Balcerowicz situates syādvāda within the broader Jain ontology of anekāntavāda, according to which reality is complex, many-sided, and describable only from limited standpoints. The discussion analyses the seven predicative forms, the role of the particle syāt, modal description, parameters such as substance, place, time, and condition, and modern attempts to formalize Jain logic. It also discusses relations among syādvāda, nayavāda, contextuality, ambiguity, contradiction, and tolerance.

Part Two presents summaries of a vast chronological corpus beginning with Dharmaghoṣa and continuing through Jinaprabha Sūri, Rājaśekhara Sūri, Guṇākara, Dharma-bhūṣaṇa, Harṣavardhana Gaṇi, Yaśovijaya, and many later authors. Themes include epistemology, logic, perception, inference, omniscience, karma, liberation, asceticism, ethics, ontology, debate, mathematics, cosmology, devotional literature, and sectarian polemics. Particularly important are extensive discussions of Jain theories of knowledge, the seven nayas, syādvāda, the nature of the soul, karmic bondage, and the path to liberation. The volume thus documents the late-medieval and early modern maturation of Jain philosophy in sustained dialogue with Buddhist, Vedānta, Nyāya, Mīmāṃsā, and other Indian traditions.

Table of Contents – Main Sections

• Contributors

• Part One: Introduction — On Attempts to Formalise the Syādvāda

• Part Two: Summaries of Works — Arranged Chronologically

• Bibliography and Abbreviations

• Glossary-Index