Jain Conception Of Logic Some Comments - Book Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Jain Conception of Logic: Some Comments" by Prof. M.P. Marathe, based on the provided pages:

The author, Prof. M.P. Marathe, proposes a two-fold investigation into the Jaina conception of logic and methodology. Firstly, to identify suggestions from Jaina logical analysis for formal studies of conceptual and methodological frameworks. Secondly, to highlight hints from Jaina investigations concerning the conceptual foundations of social sciences, particularly the Jaina Action Theory and its analysis of action. While a detailed account is beyond the scope of this paper, Marathe aims to present crucial insights for such studies.

Background Remarks and Key Issues for Investigation:

Marathe emphasizes the need to clearly formulate and understand several key issues within Jainism for a more effective methodological study. These include:

Bipolarity of Jaina Thought: Investigating the extent and depth of the bipolarity between Darsana (philosophy) and Dharma (way of life), and its implications for Jaina Action Theory.
Permanence and Change: Examining Jainism's view that the world is neither solely permanent nor solely changing, but embraces both continuity and change. The author seeks to understand if these are structural or functional features and their implications.
Jiva and Ajiva (Living and Non-living): Determining whether these categories are merely commonsensical or truly discontinuous and independent realities. The grounds for their distinction and independence need to be explored.
Nature of Jiva and Ajiva: Investigating if both Jiva and Ajiva are real in the same sense, if they can be characterized by Utpada (emergence), Vyaya (decay), and Dravya (continuity) in the same way, and if they share spatiality and temporality similarly.
Anekantavada and Nayavada: Explaining why adopting a plurality of perspectives is methodologically and conceptually rewarding, and crucially, establishing the consistency of these different perspectives, not just assuming it.
Ahimsa: Understanding whether Ahimsa (non-violence) was accepted as a policy, ideology, or for some other action-theoretic or practical need, and its role as a structural principle of social organization promoting coexistence.
Syadvada: Demonstrating that Syadvada (the doctrine of conditional predication) establishes the logical compatibility, cotenability, and consistency of various statements, and cautioning against mistaking academic accommodation for logical consistency.
Interrelationship of Core Doctrines: Clearly outlining and articulating the conceptual and methodological significance of the interrelationship between Syadvada, Anekantavada, and Nayavada.

Three Principal Pillars of Jaina Logic and Methodology:

Marathe identifies Syadvada (or Saptabhangi), Nayavada, and Anekantavada as the core pillars of Jaina logical and methodological investigation. He then raises further issues stemming from the Jaina ontological understanding:

Nature of Reals and Dispositions: Jainism posits that numerous things are real, each with multiple dispositions (Paryayas) and properties (Gunas). Some of these decay while others emerge over time, and not all are present simultaneously. This leads to questions about:
- Sense of Existence: Whether all reals exist in the same sense, and if not, whether Jainism assumes strata of reals and the basis for it.
- Potentiality and Actuality: How Jaina thought accounts for the distinction between potential and actual, given that dispositions emerge over time, and the adequacy of its explanation for actual versus possible emergences.
- Structural Features: Whether dispositions and properties are structural features, whether they are destroyed, and what happens to the identity of a thing if its structural features are destroyed. These questions, though ontological, impact methodological inquiry.

Detailed Comments on Syadvada (Saptabhangi):

Marathe delves deeper into Syadvada and its associated issues:

Language vs. Knowledge/Ontology: Examining the claim that Syadvada is more about language than knowledge or ontology, and critically assessing its justification given that Syadvada implies Anekanta, which is explicitly ontological and epistemological.
Analysis of 'Bhanga': Properly analyzing the notion of bhanga to determine if it signifies modality, a type of proposition, or something else. It's also crucial to establish which bhangas are basic and which are derivative, and to ensure this analysis aligns with Syadvada itself.
Possibilistic Claims and Jaina Ontology: Exploring the bearing of possibilistic claims on the Jaina distinction between Jiva and Ajiva. This involves investigating whether Jainism aims to expand the realm of reality through hypothetically possible events, and if such possibilities are mind-dependent. The author questions whether Jain thinkers address the existential status of asserted propositions and the ontological grounding of unactualized possibilities. He suggests that unactualized possibilities might exist in a relativized manner, as objects of intellectual processes, and that their existence might be tied to conceiving minds, making them mind-dependent. The distinction between actual and hypothetical possibility is examined in relation to the Jiva-Ajiva distinction and the role of the mind. The paper touches upon the idea that possibility might be rooted in conceivability, and that actuality of an intellectual process precedes its possibility.
Transmundane Identity and Rebirth: Considering the implications of Jaina acceptance of rebirth for issues of transmundane identity and sameness. The author points out differences between intramundane and transmundane identifications, particularly regarding commensurable vs. incommensurable objects. He questions if Jainism, in upholding its doctrine of Moksa (liberation), intentionally or unintentionally ignores differences by assuming transmundane identity between incommensurable objects of different possible worlds. The potential connection to relative essentialism and moderate progmatism is also raised. The paper probes whether Jainism confused transmundane interrepresentability with identity, highlighting that interrepresentability is a teleological, non-logical relation, while identity is non-teleological and logical.
Essential vs. Contingent Properties: The idea that objects possess some properties essentially and others contingently is linked to the thesis that some objects exist in multiple possible worlds. Marathe questions whether Jainism accepts the theory of world-bound individuals and if such a theory is methodologically tenable.

In conclusion, Marathe asserts that numerous issues arise when undertaking a methodological examination of Jaina theories. Until these are resolved, it's difficult to definitively state the role of Jaina logical analysis for formal studies or its implications for social sciences like action theory. The sooner these problems are addressed, the better, to escape confusion.

The Hindi abstract (Lekhsar Tarkashastra Sambandhi Jain Dharanayein: Kuch Vichar) corroborates these points, emphasizing the bipolarity of Jain thought (philosophy and religion), the world's nature (change and continuity), the distinction between Jiva and Ajiva, the rationality of Anekantavada, the role of Ahimsa, and the logical possibility of propositions under Syadvada. It highlights the author's critical analysis of some inconsistencies in Jaina logic that require in-depth study for resolution.