Dharmakirti’s Theory of Inference: Revaluation and Reconstruction

In this rigorous study, Rajendra Prasad examines the system of inference developed by Dharmakirti, the celebrated seventh-century Buddhist logician. In a departure from the existing body of research on Dharmakirti, which is largely historical in nature, Prasad concentrates on an analysis of Dharmakirti's philosophy, specifically his theory of inference. Prasad uses the tools of contemporary philosophical analysis to highlight the relevance of a classical theory in the world of modern formal logic. As a result, Dharmakirti's theory emerges as more than merely a self-contained phase in the evolution of Buddhist logic. Rather, it finds its place as part of a unified and continuing tradition of logical inquiry. Armed with a contemporary understanding of the distinction between epistemology and logic, Prasad isolates Dharmakirti's system of logic and demonstrates, with sharp conceptual clarity, its elegance and economy of construction, and also its shortcomings. This focus is enhanced by the author's reliance on the two texts that contribute most significantly to his analysis. These are Dharmakirti's Nyayabindu in which the logician's theory of inference is distilled and crystallized and Dharmottara's commentary on the Nyayabindu, the Nyayabindutika. A major contribution to scholarship in the field of Buddhist philosophy, the book also brings into prominence the relatively under-studied figure of Dharmakirti. It will be read with great interest by scholars and students of philosophy and Buddhist studies.