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UGC NET PAPER 1 · UNIT 06 · MODULE 5: INDIAN LOGIC: INFERENCE · TOPIC 11

Anumana (Inference)

The process of inference, its kinds, svartha versus parartha, and the five members: pratijna, hetu, udaharana, upanaya and nigamana.

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  • Topic 11 of 19

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  1. 11.1Meaning and processAnumana means "knowledge that follows other knowledge" ( anu = after, mana = knowing).
    • Anumana
    • tatpurvaka
    • vyapti
    • Technical terms
    • Paksha
  2. 11.2Kinds of inference(a) Gautama's threefold classification:
    • Purvavat
    • Sheshavat
    • Samanyatodrishta
    • (b) Purpose-based
    • Svartha
  3. 11.3The five-membered syllogism (Nyaya, parartha anumana)Member (Avayava) Function Example 1. Pratijna Thesis or proposition The hill has fire 2. Hetu Reason Because it has smoke 3. Udaharana General rule with example (states…
    • 1. Pratijna
    • 2. Hetu
    • 3. Udaharana
    • 4. Upanaya
    • 5. Nigamana

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11.1Meaning and process#

In brief

Anumana means "knowledge that follows other knowledge" ( anu = after, mana = knowing).

  • Anumana
  • tatpurvaka
  • vyapti
  • Technical terms
  • Paksha
  • Sadhya
  • Hetu
  • Sapaksha

Anumana means "knowledge that follows other knowledge" (anu = after, mana = knowing). Nyaya Sutra calls it tatpurvaka (preceded by perception). It rests on vyapti (invariable concomitance).

Technical terms:

Term Meaning Western equivalent
Paksha (Dharmi) Minor term; locus where the sadhya is to be proved (hill) Minor term
Sadhya (Dharma) Major term; what is to be proved (fire) Major term
Hetu (Linga, Sadhana) Reason or middle term (smoke) Middle term
Sapaksha Locus where sadhya is certainly present (kitchen)
Vipaksha Locus where sadhya is certainly absent (lake)
Vyapya That which is pervaded (smoke)
Vyapaka That which pervades (fire)
Pakshadharmata Presence of the hetu in the paksha
Anumiti Inferential conclusion (the result) Conclusion
Anumana The instrument (karana)

Steps (Navya-Nyaya): (1) perception of hetu in paksha; (2) recall of vyaptijnana (knowledge of vyapti); (3) paramarsha or lingaparamarsha ("this hill has smoke pervaded by fire": the intermediate operation, or vyapara); (4) anumiti. In Tarkasamgraha, lingaparamarsha is the karana (instrumental cause) of anumana.

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11.2Kinds of inference#

In brief

(a) Gautama's threefold classification:

  • Purvavat
  • Sheshavat
  • Samanyatodrishta
  • (b) Purpose-based
  • Svartha
  • for oneself
  • Parartha
  • for others

(a) Gautama's threefold classification:

Kind Basis Example
Purvavat Cause to effect Inferring rain from dark clouds
Sheshavat Effect to cause Inferring rain from a swollen river; fire from smoke
Samanyatodrishta Neither cause nor effect, from general observation Inferring the existence of the self (atman), or the sun's motion from changes of position

(b) Purpose-based:

  • Svartha: inference for oneself (needs no formal statement; a psychological process).

  • Parartha: inference for others (formally stated in five members to convince another).

(c) Based on vyapti (Annambhatta, Navya-Nyaya):

Kind Features Example
Kevalanvayi Only positive concomitance; sadhya is universal; no vipaksha The pot is nameable because it is knowable
Kevalavyatireki Only negative concomitance; no sapaksha Earth differs from other elements because it has smell
Anvayavyatireki Both positive and negative The hill has fire because it has smoke

Other schools: Vaisheshika (Prashastapada) divides anumana into drishta and samanyatodrishta; Buddhists into svartha and parartha (Dignaga).

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11.3The five-membered syllogism (Nyaya, parartha anumana)#

In brief

Member (Avayava) Function Example 1. Pratijna Thesis or proposition The hill has fire 2. Hetu Reason Because it has smoke 3. Udaharana General rule with example (states…

  • 1. Pratijna
  • 2. Hetu
  • 3. Udaharana
  • 4. Upanaya
  • 5. Nigamana
  • Features
  • thesis
  • deduction and induction
Member (Avayava) Function Example
1. Pratijna Thesis or proposition The hill has fire
2. Hetu Reason Because it has smoke
3. Udaharana General rule with example (states vyapti) Wherever there is smoke there is fire, as in a kitchen
4. Upanaya Application to the paksha (paramarsha) This hill has smoke pervaded by fire
5. Nigamana Conclusion Therefore the hill has fire

Features: it begins with the thesis, unlike the Aristotelian syllogism which begins with the major premise. It combines deduction and induction, because the example (udaharana) shows induction while the application and conclusion are deductive. The member that corresponds to the major premise is udaharana; to the minor premise, upanaya; to the conclusion, nigamana.

Other schools: Mimamsa and Vedanta accept three members; Buddhists accept three (Dignaga: pratijna, hetu, drishtanta); Bhadrabahu (Jaina) listed ten, though Jains regard pratijna and hetu as the essential minimum.

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