Jain Philosophers in the Debating Hall of Classical India

Abstract

In classical India, the practice of rational debate between thinkers from different philosophico-religious traditions, especially between Naiyāyika, Mīmāṃsaka, Buddhist and Jain thinkers, is central and shaped the whole edifice of knowledge. The core of such debates is an inferential reasoning whose premises and structure are such that it ensures that its conclusions are recognised as knowledge statements, irrespective of the obedience of the interlocutor. Around the 7th c., a pan-Indian consensus was achieved on what counts as a correct inferential reasoning. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the contribution of the tradition that is Jainism to the framework of philosophical disputations in India. First, by offering a historical overview of the role and nature of debates in India, focusing on the role and nature of inference in these debates, and introducing the specificities of Jain philosophers in this paradigm. Second, this paper will explore the evolution of the conceptions of inferential reasoning within the Jain tradition, from the early canonical Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation literature to modernity, focusing on their position in the pan-Indian debating hall, as well as on their inclusion in a bigger whole that includes social and soteriological concerns.