Navya-Nyāya (New Nyāya)
Origin. Gaṅgeśa Upādhyāya, Tattvacintāmaṇi (14th c.). Rigorous technical language. Property theory. Formal semantics. Developed by Raghunātha, Jagadīśa, Gadādhara. Foundation of late Indian logic.
Models. Highly regimented property-talk. Limitors (avacchedaka) and limitands. Relational abstracts. Absence types. Technical language approaching formal notation.
Formalism.
Avacchedaka (limitor): Property that delimits another. "Fire-ness as limitor of the locus" = the fire. Specifies under what description.
Nirūpaka (describer): Relatum that specifies a relation. Contact described by pot-ness. Correlate specification.
Occurrence (vṛtti): Mode of presence. Contact (saṃyoga), inherence (samavāya), etc. How property resides in locus.
Absence (abhāva): pratiyogin: absentee (what's absent) anuyogin: locus (where absent) Four types: prior, destruction, absolute, mutual
Relational abstract (technically): ghaṭa-niṣṭha-saṃyoga-sambandha-avacchinna-bhūtala-vṛtti-ghaṭatva "Pot-ness occurring in ground as delimited by contact-relation residing in pot"
Pervasion refined: vyāpti = pratiyogi-sādhyāvacchedaka-sambandha-avacchinna-sādhya-vān-na-bhavati yatra hetu-vān na bhavati "Wherever the hetu is, the sādhya is, under the relevant limiters"
Definitions: Genus (jāti): sva-anyonyābhāva-pratiyogi-vṛtti-dharma "Property occurring in the counterpositive of mutual absence from itself"
Sentence meaning: śābdabodha: verbal cognition structure. Qualifier-qualificand-relation analysis. Compositional semantics.
Symbols.
| Term | Sanskrit | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| avacchedaka | अवच्छेदक | Limitor |
| nirūpaka | निरूपक | Describer |
| vṛtti | वृत्ति | Occurrence |
| abhāva | अभाव | Absence |
| pratiyogin | प्रतियोगिन् | Counterpositive |
Metatheory. Definitional precision. Type-theoretic aspects. Absence as positive category. Relation-place specification. Approaches formal language.
Applies to. Indian philosophy. Formal semantics. Property theory. Type theory comparisons. Definition methodology.
Limitations. Extreme technicality. Narrow scholarly tradition. Translation difficulties. Limited contemporary engagement.
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