Nyaya accepts four pramanas — perception, inference, comparison and testimony — and developed a detailed logic of inference and debate.
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How do we know something is true?
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Editorial overview
Indian philosophy developed a sophisticated theory of knowledge around pramanas, the valid means of knowing. Schools accept different lists: Charvaka only perception; Buddhists perception and inference; Sankhya and Yoga add testimony; Nyaya adds comparison; Mimamsa and Vedanta add postulation and non-perception. Debates concern whether scripture counts as independent knowledge, whether knowledge is self-validating, and how error arises.
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Philosophical perspectives
Different answers, each in its own terms. None is ranked.
The Charvaka materialists accepted only perception, arguing that inference cannot be guaranteed and so claims about unseen realities are unwarranted.
Buddhist epistemologists such as Dignaga and Dharmakirti accepted only perception and inference, treating testimony as a form of inference.
Sankhya accepts perception, inference and reliable testimony, and uses inference to establish realities not directly perceived, such as unmanifest nature.
Mimamsa holds that knowledge is intrinsically valid unless defeated, and that the Veda, being authorless, is a self-standing source of knowledge about dharma.
Jainism frames knowledge through many-sidedness: claims are qualified by standpoint (naya) and conditional assertion (syadvada).
Start here
InteractiveHow do we know something is true?An interactive introduction to the Nyaya means of knowledge.
Go deeper
- 1 · Gita verseBhagavad Gita 4.34Learn by approaching the wise with humility, questions and service.
- 2 · Gita verseBhagavad Gita 18.20The Gita classifies knowledge by the gunas.
- 3 · Textन्यायसूत्रNyaya SutrasThe foundational text of Indian logic.
- 4 · InteractiveMany-Sided RealityTry the Jain approach of multiple standpoints.
- 5 · ConceptविवेकVivekaDiscernment between the real and the unreal.
Primary sources
References to the texts behind each perspective.
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