Indian Philosophy of Class: The Nyaya Sutras

Gautama, also known as Akshapada Gautama, is credited with founding the Nyaya school of Indian philosophy.

The Nyaya school primarily focuses on epistemology, which is the study of knowledge and how we acquire it.

Inference, or anumana, is the central concept in the Nyaya theory of knowledge. It is the process of deriving new knowledge from existing knowledge through logical reasoning.

The Nyaya school recognizes three types of inference: deductive, inductive, and analogical.

Pramana is the term used in Nyaya philosophy to refer to the means of acquiring knowledge.

The Nyaya school recognizes four pramanas: perception, inference, comparison, and testimony.

Prameya is the term used in Nyaya philosophy to refer to the objects of knowledge.

The Nyaya school recognizes six categories of prameyas: substance, quality, action, generality, inherence, and negation.

Anvaya is the term used in Nyaya philosophy to refer to the relationship between a pramana and a prameya.

Vyatireka is the term used in Nyaya philosophy to refer to the absence of a relationship between a pramana and a prameya.

Vyabhichara is the term used in Nyaya philosophy to refer to the fallacy of affirming the consequent.

Viruddha is the term used in Nyaya philosophy to refer to the fallacy of denying the antecedent.

Asiddha is the term used in Nyaya philosophy to refer to the fallacy of the undistributed middle term.

Anaikantika is the term used in Nyaya philosophy to refer to the fallacy of the illicit major.

Hetvabhasa is the term used in Nyaya philosophy to refer to the fallacy of the illicit minor.