The monograph highlights the philosophical arguments offered by Buddhist thinkers on different aspects of knowledge. Various aspects of Buddhist epistemology right from the basic question of what the Buddhists mean by knowledge, the varieties of knowledge according to their belief ad their explanations of the validity of knowledge are examined.

A painstaking work of Prof. Madhumita Chattopadhyay, this study deals with different epistemological topics like the nature of knowledge validity of knowledge, knowledge of knowledge, perception, erroneous perception, inference and its related issues like ascertainment of vyapti, antarvyapati, prasanganuman and fallacies of inference. The author has referred to many primary sources which include different Sanskrit texts as well as the latest secondary literature available on these topics and discusses the important role of concept of absence and the theory of apoha or “negative nominalism” as a substitute for universals I Buddhist metaphysics. An attempt is made to explore whether solutions to modern epistemological problems as found in the Western tradition can be provided from the Buddhist perspective in order to show that Buddhist epistemology has a relevant role to play I the area of epistemology itself.

Madhumita Chattopadhyay is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Jadavpur University from where she completed her PhD on Liar Paradox. Dr. Chattopadhyay was a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla in 1999. She visited Japan with Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai Fellowship in 2002. She taught at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan USA under the Fulbright Visiting Lecturer Scheme in 2004. She has also visited Budapest, Hungary in 2007 under the Indo-Hungarian Educational Exchange Program.

Her areas of interest are Philosophical logic, Buddhist philosophy, Indian ethics and Comparative Religion. She has authored two books – What to do with the Liar and Ratnakirti on Apoha. She has co-edited two other books – Ethics: an Anthology and Siksaksetre Paraparik Samparka (in Bengali). She has also published numerous scholarly articles in reputed journals.

   
    Preface     v
    Introduction     1
1. Knowledge – What it is?     9
2. Knowledge – How it is Apprehended?     37
3. Validity – How it is Apprehended?     57
    Devendrabuddhi     67
    Kamalasila     69
    Manorathanandi     69
4. Knowledge – Its Different Varieties     75
5. Perception – Its Nature     79
6. Varieties of Perception     95
    Sense – Perception     96
    Mental Perception     98
    Self-cognition     103
    Yogic Apprehension     108
7.  Erroneous Perception     113
8.  Inference – Its Nature     127
    Controversy Between the Nyaya and the Buddhist on Inference     131
    Classification of Inferences     137
9.  The Threefold Characterization of the Probans     147
10. Classification of the Probans     159
      The Probans as Effect     159
       Probans as Essence     164
       Probans as Non-Apprehension     167
11.  Nature of Vyapti     179
12.  Ascertainment of Vyapti     189
13.  Antarvyapti – A Buddhist Perspective     201
14.  Sadhanabhasa – Fallacies of Inference     213
      Paksabhasa     220
      Hetvabhasa     225
      Asiddha     225
      Anaikantika     230
      Viruddha     234
      Drstantabhasa     237
      Anvaya     237
      Vyatireka     238
      Viparitanvaya     238
      Vipartiavyatireka     238
      Ananvaya     238
      Avyatireka     239
15.  Prasanganumana in the light of the Buddhist     259
16.  Absence – How it is know?     277
17.  Testimony – A Separate Pramana     291
      Conclusion     311
      Bibliography     335
      Index     345