Early Nyāya Logic: Rhetorical Aspects

Abstract

Nyāya philosophy emerged when Akṣapāda Gautama (first century CE), credited with authoring the Nyāyasūtra, redacted ideas originating from Medhatithi Gautama (fifth century BCE). However, many of Medhatithi’s ideas were “reproduced” in the Caraka Saṃhitā about 78 CE (Vidyābhūṣaṇa History 25), indicating that concepts from both Medhatithi and Nyāya were in circulation well before Akṣapāda’s redaction – including elements of the five-part approach to reasoning called “the Nyāya method.” The Caraka Saṃhitā, though mostly about Ayurvedic medicine, includes a very focused debate manual bearing profound implications for the history and study of “comparative” rhetoric, which attempts to look beyond ancient Greece for other origins and interpretations of rhetoric. Early studies of Robert Oliver (Communication and culture in Ancient China and India. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. 1971) and George Kennedy (Comparative rhetoric : An historical and cross-cultural introduction. New York: Oxford University Press. 1998) identified Indian forms of rhetorical practice found in ancient literature. However, the presence of rhetorical manuals and terminologies shows that India, though it did not develop a concept exactly like Greek rhetoric, not only practiced debate but created theories about it, leading to an entire school of philosophy. To expand the knowledge of rhetorical terminologies, approaches, and contexts in ancient India, this chapter traces the case-based rhetorical origins and concepts that became Nyāya philosophy, focusing upon the Caraka Saṃhitā, the Nyāyasūtra, and other ancient sources.