Dear Eli

Let's take as an example of modus tollens:

Major premise: wherever there is smoke there is fire
Minor premise: there is no fire on the mountain
Conclusion: there is no smoke on the mountain

I don't think Indian logicians would see this as a prasaṅga,

nor western philosophers as a case of reductio ad absurdum,
as it doesn't conclude something absurd or undesirable,

therefore we are not compelled to reject one of the premises.

Yours Alex

Alex Watson

Professor of Indian Philosophy

Ashoka University

https://ashokauniversity.academia.edu/AlexWatson

> Dear friends,

I have been wondering about something that is perhaps only tangent to
the discussion. Can one distinguish between reductio ad absurdum
(prasanga) and modus tollens (also prasanga?) in the Indian tradition?
I am not sure that the distinction between the two is clear in the
Western tradition either.
With best wishes,
Eli