Vedas are the earliest available Indian literature on record. There were nine schools of thought in Indian philosophy. It is difficult to establish the chronological sequence of development of schools of Indian philosophy.

1. INDIAN
PHILOSOPHY
……………………………………………..

2.  Vedas are the earliest available indian
literature on record.
 There were nine schools of thought in
indian philosophy.
 It is difficult to establish the chronological
sequence of development of schools of
indian philosophy.

3.  Dr. Radhakrishnan has distinguished between the
periods of indian philosophy.
 1) The vedic period
(1500bc to 600bc)
This period denotes the settlement
and expansion of the aryans.
2) The epic period
(600bc to ad 200)
This period covers the age between
early upanishads and the various systems or
schools of philosophy.

4.  3) The sutra period
(from ad 200)
Schools of philosphy that it gave
rise to sutras as a means of encapsulating
the literary works.
4) The scholastic period
(from ad 200)
A lot of literary exercises
being reduced to polemics that generated
controversies.

5.  Indian philosophical schools are classified
into heterodox (nastika) schools and
orthodox (astika) schools.
 Nastika schools reject the authority of the
vedas.
 Astika schools that do not reject the
authority of the buddhist vedas.

6.  EPISTEMOLOGY
(theory of knowledge)
Knowledge of facts or
propositional knowledge. Propositional
knowledge has been held to be a species of
belief.

7.  JNANA AND PRAMA
 The word jnana stands for all sorts of
cognition, whether true or false. The true
cognitions are termed as prama.
 Knowledge has been classified into valid
knowledge or prama and non valid knowledge
or aprama.

8.  It is not possible to have a single definition
of any concept in indian philosophy
because each school defines the concepts
in accordance with its own philosoophy.

9.  The act theory of knowledge says that
knowledge is an activity.
 The relation theory of knowledge claims that
knowledge is a relation between terms like a
mind, an object and a content.
 The quality theory of knowledge regards
knowledge as a quality.

10.  Cognition has been divided as immediate
experience (anubhava) and memory (smrti).
 Anubhava is divided into valid (prama) and
non valid knowledge (aprama).
 Valid knowledge can be of 6 types –
perception, inference, comparison, testimony,
presumption and non cognition.
The types of non valid knowledge – doubt,
error and hypothetical argument.

11.  RELATIONAL KNOWLEDGE
 The 4 factors involved in cases of relational
knowledge – knower, object known,
acquiring knowledge and resultant
knowledge.
 Pramanas – means through which knower
acquires knowledge.
 Pramanas are 6 in number – perception,
inference, comparison, testimony,
presumption and non cognition.

12.  There are 2 theories about validity of
knowledge.
 Svatah-pramanya-vada -- theory supports
the idea that the validity of knowledge is
intrinsic.
 Paratah-pramanya-vada – theory of intrinsic
validity of knowledge.

13.  ILLUSION (kyati)
 A special case of error of perception.
 Also known as ‘adhyasa’.
 Illusion is different from memory, dream,
hallucination……….

14.  Explanations given by different schools
regarding ‘illusion’ –
 1)The asat-khyati-vada of the madhyamaka
school of buddhism
 2)The atma-khyati-vada of the yogacara
school of buddhism
 3)The anyatha-khyati-vada of the nyaya
school
 4)The sadasat-khyati-vada of the sankhya
school

15.  5) The akhyati theory of the prabhakara
mimamsa school
 6) The viparita-khyati theory of the bhatta
mimamsa school
 7) The anirvacaniya-khyati theory of the
advaita vedanta school

16.  TARKASHASTRA – the science of
reasoning the nyaya school.
 SYADAVADA
 It is a methodology that is in direct
opposition to the dialectic of nagarjuna.

17.  The jainas formulate 7 forms of judgement
–
 1) syadasti
 2) syannasti
 3) syadasti nasti
 4) syadavaktavyam
 5) syadasti cha avaktavyam
 6) synnasti cha avaktavyam
 7) syadasti cha nasti cha avaktavyam

18.  INDIAN THEORIES OF
KNOWLEDGE
 The means or instruments or methods of valid
knowledge were called pramanas.
 The pramanas are perception, inference,
comparison, testimony, presumption and non
cognition.

19.  1) THE CARVAKA SCHOOL
 This school believed in only one source of
valid knowledge or pramana.
 Inference is a source of knowledge that is
considered valid by every school other than
the carvakas, who refute its validity on the
ground that it is not certain.

20.  The carvakas say that inference is not a
reliable source of knowledge.
 Perception is the only pramana accepted
by the carvakas.

21.  2) THE JAINA SCHOOL
 Jainas classify knowledge into
immediate(aparoksa) and mediate(paroksa).
 Aparoksa is of 3 kinds – manah-paryaya,
avadhi and kevala.
 Manah-paryaya and kevala are free from error.

22.  Paroksa is ordinary and does not arise
immediately in the soul. It is of 2 types – mati
and sruta.
 Primary state of consciousness is called
avagraha.
 The state inn which mind questions is iha.
 Avaya is the state of removal of doubt.
 Judgement is retained in the mind in the
state of dharana.

23.  Sruta is the knowledge obtained from
authority, i.e., testimony.
 The jaina school has a theory of judgement
– syadavada or the theory of relativty of
judgement.

24.  3) THE BUDDHA SCHOOL
 The buddhist theory of knowledge is a
direct results of its theory of reality.
 Perception ; the understanding of the
perception is that it should be essentially
devoid of dterminations.

25.  Inference ; buddhist consider inference to be
the means to cognize that which is not
presented to our senses directly.
 They classify inference into 2 types –
svarthanumana (inference for oneself) and
pararthanumana (inference for others).

26.  4) THE NYAYA SCHOOL
 Nyaya system supports its theory of reality.
 Perception ; the laukika perception occurs
when there is a contact of the senses with
the object in the usual way.
 In alaukika perception, objects are conveyed
through an extraordinary medium.

27.  Inference ; the means through which we
get such knowledge (mana) which arises
after (anu) some other knowledge is called
inference or anumana ( a knowledge which
is inferred on the basis other knowledge).
 Comparison ; the means by which we
derive the knowledge of the relation
between a word and its denotation is
comparison or upamana.

28.  Testimony ; when we gain knowledge by
means of relying on the words of a
trustworthy person and understand their
meanings, we are said to have got
knowledge by sabda, or verbal testimony.

29.  5) THE VAISESIKA SCHOOL
 Vaisesika school is the partner of the
nyaya school.
 Vaisesika accepts only perception and
inference as valid independent pramanas.
 They also accept the validity of comparison
and verbal testimony.

30.  6) THE SANKHYA SCHOOL
 The epistemology of the sankhya school is
the direct result of its metaphysical belief in
dualism.
 Perception ; sankhyas believe perceptual
knowledge arises when an object is
indirectly cognized because of its contact
with some sense.

31.  Inference ; the sankhyas initially divide
inference into two kinds – vita or
affirmative and avita or negative.
 Testimony ; it is the 3rd pramana accepted
by sankhyas.

32.  7) THE YOGA SCHOOL
 It is an ally of sankhya school.
 It believes in perception, inference and
testimony as independent sources of valid
knowledge.

33.  8) THE MIMAMSA SCHOOL
 Perception ; it is immediate knowledge that
occurs when an existing object comes into
contact with any of the 5 external sense
organs or with the internal organs, i.e., the
mind.

34.  Inference ; same as that of nyayas.
 Comparison ; they agree with the naiyayikas in
admitting comparison or upamana as an
independent means of knowledge.
 Testimony ; their principle of testimony is all
meaningful sentences gives us knowledge
except when they come from an unreliable
source like an untrustworthy person.

35.  Postulation ; it is also known as the
presumption, implication or arthapatti.
 Postulation becomes a way to resolve
contradictions.
 Non perception ; the bhatta mimasakas
believe in non perception or non non
apprehension as an independent pramana.

36.  9) THE VEDANTA SCHOOL
 Perceptions ; the advaita vedanta holds that
in perception, the mind comes into contact
with the object through the medium of
senses and becomes transformed into the
form of the object.

37.  Inference ; the vedantins believe that we
infer something on the basis of our
knowledge of concomitance (vyapti)
between two things.
 Comparison ; the advainta vedanta view of
comparison is identical with that of bhatta
mimamsa view.

38.  Testimony ; the advainta vedanta school
has a very elaborate theory of verbal
testimony, or sabda pramana.
 Sabda pramana gains a special place in
vedanta school of philosophy because of
their belief that it is the hearing of the
mahavakya aided by reasoning and
meditation that leads us to the realization
of brahman and to liberation.

39.  Postulation ; the avdaita vedanta view of
postulation is also quite similar to that of the
bhatta mimamsa view.
 Non cognition ; they share their theory of
admitting non cognition as an independent
pramana.