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