Logic, Language and Reality

by Bimal Krishna Matilal

The word 'philosophy' as well as the conjuring expression 'Indian philosophy' has meant different things to different people-endeavours and activities, old and new, grave and frivolous, edifying and banal, esoteric and exoteric. In this book, the author has chosen deliberately a very dominant trend of the classical (Sanskrit) philosophical literature as his subject of study. The age of the material used here demands both philological scholarship and philosophical amplification. Classical pramanasastras usually deal with the theory of knowledge, the nature of inference and language, and the related questions of ontology and semantics. Several important concepts and theories have been singled out for critical analysis and clarification in modern terms so that the results may be intelligible to modern students of both Sanskrit and philosophy. It is hoped that such attempt will kindle the enthusiasm of young scholars in the field and inspire them to proceed in this comparatively new area of research and explore into further and more interesting possibilities.

Genres: Philosophy, Logic

447 pages, Hardcover

First published February 8, 1986

Reviews

[Viji (Bookish endeavors) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I've read till date on Indian epistemology. You won't have to read another book to find the connections. It is comprehensive and clear. And it is written in a scholarly style. The arguments are given and described in detail. If somebody wants to start reading on the subject, you might want to start with the chapter 'nyaya' in 'a critical survey of Indian philosophy' by Chandradhar Sharma before starting this book.