Mimamsa School of Indian Philosophy

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Mimamsa School of Indian Philosophy

Ø  Mimamsa literally means ‘revered thought’ and was originally applied to the interpretation of the Vedic rituals which commanded highest reverence.

Ø  Mimamsa and Vedanta are also called allied systems. Both are based on try to interpret Vedas.

Ø  Earlier portion of Vedas i.e., the Mantra and the Bhrahman portion is called Karmakānda- it deals with the action, rituals and the sacrifices. The later portion of Vedas i.e., Upanishads is called Jñānakānda deals with the knowledge of reality.

Verbal Testimony (Sabda epistemology of Mimamsa)

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Verbal Testimony (Sabda epistemology of Mimamsa)

Ø  Sabda-Pramana has got the greatest importance in Mimamsa. Testimony is Verbal authority. It is the knowledge of the meanings of words.

Ø  Kumarila divides testimony into two parts:

Verbal Testimony- Sabda Pramana (Nyaya Philosophy)

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Verbal Testimony- Sabda Pramana (Nyaya Philosophy)

A sentence which is a means of valid knowledge is called verbal testimony. It is the fourth kind of valid knowledge in Nyaya philosophy, it is called Sabda or agama or authoritative verbal testimony. Its means is called Sabda. It is defined as the statement of a trustworthy person (aptavakya) and consists in understanding its meaning. A sentence is defined as a collection of words and a word is defined as that which is potent to convey its meaning. The power in a word to convey its meaning comes, according to ancient Nyaya, from God, and according to later Nyaya, from long established convention.

Vaisesika Philosophy

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Vaisesika

Ø  Vaisesika school is next to sankhya in origin, priopr to Buddhism and Jainism.

Ø  The Vaisesika philosophy is Pluralistic Realism- diversity is the soul of universe.

Ø  Founder: Kanada also known as Kanbhuk, Uluka, Kashapa.

Ø  This shool is also known as Auluka darshana.

Ø  Prashastapada has written Padarthadharmasangraha- called bhasya or commentary on the vaisesikasutra, Vaisesikasutra written by Kanada.

Nyaya Philosophy of Indian Philosophy

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Nyāya

Ø  Nyāya school of Indian Philosophy was founded by Gotama who is also known as Aks̩apāda.

Ø  Nyāya is also known as:

1.      Pramāns̩astra: science of logic and epistemology.

2.      Hetuvidya: Science of causation

3.      Vādavidya: Science of debate

4.      anvīks̩kī: Science of critical study

5.      tarksastra: Science of reasoning

Ø  Nyāya-sutra is the main text written by Gotama, on which Vatsayan wrote a commentary which is called Nyāya-bhāsya.

Indian Philosophy (Vedas, Upanishads and Carvaka)

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   Indian Schools of Philosophy

        i.            Schools rejecting Vedic authority (Heterodox or Nastika)

Carvaka, Buddhism, Jainism

      ii.            Schools not rejecting Vedic authority (Othodox or Astika)

a)      Schools directly based on Vedic texts:

Mimamsa (It emphasizes ritualistic aspect of the Vedas)

Vedanta (It emphasizes speculative aspect of the Vedas)

b)      Schools based on independent grounds:

Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisesika

The word 'philosophy' consists of two Greek words, namely, 'philos' and 'sophia'. hence the etymological meaning of the term is 'the friendship or love of wisdom'. As such, a philosopher may be called a 'wise man'. However, this title is too pretentious. Therefore, Socrates defined a philosopher as 'a seeker after wisdom'. Even when so defined the term 'philosophy' does not become any more precise. the important thing is to note that philosophy seeks wisdom, and not knowledge, and not the empirical knowledge. Indian philosophers aimed at immorality and not a world of sentient happiness. (Masih, Y., A Critical History of Western Philosophy, 1994)

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