Smita Sirker - Proof in Indian Logic & Maths: Analysing Epistemological Presuppositions (10/2/2021)
Channel: Dominic Berry
Date: 2021-02-12

This seminar was given as part of the What is Epistemic Decolonization? 2021 seminar series. For more about the series, and to register for future seminars, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-is-epistemic-decolonization-online-seminar-series-tickets-127446105733

To learn more about Dr Sirker's research please visit: 
https://www.jnu.ac.in/content/smitasirker

The chair was Dr Liam Kofi Bright:
https://www.liamkofibright.com/

Abstract: Proof in Indian Logic and Mathematics: Analysing Epistemological Presuppositions

To respond to the question, whether Indian logic (or Indian mathematics) has any system of rigorous proof similar to the Western notion of proof, we need to understand how logic in India developed from the methodology of philosophical debates. Consequently, its mode(s) of proof, stemming from its own organic context of emergence and growth, naturally differed from that in the West. This talk will address why the Western notion of proof is not reflected in Indian logic(s) (as they developed within different philosophical systems in India), for reasons rooted in the epistemological concerns underlying Indian philosophy.

Dr Sirker shares the following short bibliography:
Bimal Krishna Matilal, “Introducing Indian Logic”, in Indian Logic: A Reader, ed. Jonardon Ganeri, Curzon Press, 2001

----, The Character of Logic in India, Eds. Jonardon Ganeri and Heeraman Tiwari, SUNY Press, 1998

----, Epistemology, Logic and Grammar in Indian Philosophical Analysis, Mouton, 1971

Jonardon Ganeri, “Introduction: Indian Logic and the Colonization of Reason”, in Indian Logic: A Reader, ed. Jonardon Ganeri, Curzon Press, 2001

----, “The Hindu Syllogism: Nineteenth Century Perceptions of Indian Logical Thought”, in Philosophy East and West, Vol. 46, No. 1 (1996), pp. 1-16

----, “Indian Logic”, in Handbook of the History of Logic, Vol 1, eds. Dov M. Gabbay and John Woods, Elsevier BV, 2004

Gautama’s NyāyaSūtras, with Vātsyāyana-Bhāṣya, translated by Ganganath Jha, Oriental Book Agency, Poona, 1939

Jitendra Nath Mohanty and Amita Chatterjee, “Indian Logic: Introduction”. The Development of Modern Logic, Eds. Leila Haaparanta. OUP, 2009

Satish Chandra Vidyabhusana, A History of Indian Logic: Ancient, Mediæval and Modern Schools, Calcutta University Press, 1909

Satish Chandra Vidyabhusana, History of the Mediæval School of Indian Logic, Calcutta University Press, 1909

Leila Haaparanta (ed.), The Development of Modern Logic, OUP, 2009