[INDOLOGY] ODP: Direct Realism of Nyāya

[Alex Watson]

Dear Lee Ling

Did you have a definition of direct realism in mind?

If you're interested in Nyāya sources in particular, and not Mīmāṃsā
sources, you could start by looking at the earliest commentaries on
Nyāyasūtra 1.1.4.  The sūtra itself admits of too many interpretations to
be decisive.

Thanks to Professor Łucyszyna for mentioning Watson & Kataoka (2010): it is
available on my academia.edu page:
https://ashokauniversity.academia.edu/AlexWatson

By the way, Jonardon Ganeri's recent John Locke lectures distinguish, as
some but not all contemporary philosophers of perception do, between direct
realism and naive realism.  He argues that early Nyāya should properly be
seen as naive realist, not direct realist; and that Matilal was wrong to
depict it as mere direct realism.

Best
Alex

On Fri, Jun 14, 2024 at 12:07 PM Ołena Łucyszyna via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Dear Lee Ling,
>
> the *nirākāra-(jñāna-)vāda* (advocated by the Naiyāyikas, the Mīmāṃsakas,
> the Jainas, and the Vaibhāṣika Buddhists) can be called direct realism. The
> earliest text that formulates the* nirākāra *standpoint and sparks the
> *nirākāra*—*sākāra* debate is probably Śabara’s *Śābarabhāṣya* (to be
> more precise, the Vṛttikāra’s commentary cited by Śabara in* Śābarabhāṣya* I,
> 1, 5). Śabara’s commentator Kumārila Bhaṭṭa presents well-developed
> argumentation for the *nirākāra-vāda *in his *Ślokavārttika *(V, 4, the *Śūnyavāda
> *section). These two sources belong to Mīmāṃsā. The Nyāya source
> advocating the *nirākāra-vāda* I am familiar with is Bhaṭṭa Jayanta’s *Nyāyamañjarī.
> * For Bhaṭṭa Jayanta’s defence of the *nirākāra-vāda*, see
>
> Kataoka, K. (2003). Critical edition of the *Vijñānādvaitavāda* section
> of Bhaṭṭa Jayanta’s *Nyāyamañjarī*.
> https://www2.lit.kyushu-u.ac.jp/~kkataoka/Kataoka/NMvijR.pdf.
> Watson, A., & Kataoka, K. (2010). Bhaṭṭa Jayanta’s refutation of the
> Yogācāra Buddhist doctrine of Vijñānavāda: Annotated translation and
> analysis. *South Asian Classical Studies*, *5*, 285–352.
>
> This is one of many valuable publications I can recommend: Sinha, J.
> (1938). *Indian realism*. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.
>
> The *nirākāra-vāda* can be called direct realism, but the *sākāra-vāda*
> has no correspondence in Western philosophy. The *sākāra-vāda *encompasses
> two very different theories: indirect realism (representationalism) and
> phenomenalism.
>
> With best regards,
> Olena
> --
> Ołena Łucyszyna, Dr. habil., Professor of the Institute
> <http://www.iksiopan.pl/index.php/en/structure/research-staff/867-olena-lucyszyna-phd-dr-habil>
> of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures
> Polish Academy of Sciences
> Nowy Świat 72
> 00-330 Warsaw
> ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6972-649X
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *Od:* INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> w imieniu
> użytkownika Lee Ling Ting via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Wysłane:* piątek, 14 czerwca 2024 10:06
> *Do:* Indology List <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Temat:* [INDOLOGY] Direct Realism of Nyāya
>
> Dear members of the list,
>
> Greetings!
> I have a question to ask.
> What are some of the earliest Nyāya sources that * explicitly *spell out that
> Naiyāyikas uphold direct realism (not just realism)? I'd appreciate it if
> you could point me in the right direction.
> Thank you!
>
> Best regards,
> Lee Ling
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> INDOLOGY mailing list
> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology
>


-- 
Alex Watson
Professor of Indian Philosophy, Ashoka University

*https://ashokauniversity.academia.edu/AlexWatson
<https://ashokauniversity.academia.edu/AlexWatson>*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://list.indology.info/pipermail/indology/attachments/20240614/64bc9dff/attachment.htm>