Dharmottara

Dharmottara was an Indian Buddhist philosopher of around the eighth century, an influential commentator on Dharmakīrti's epistemology. He is now often cited for a case in which a traveller, misled by a mirage, believes there is water ahead, and water happens to be there: a true belief resting on a misleading appearance. The example anticipates the structure of Gettier cases by well over a millennium. Little is securely known about his life.

Key ideas

• A belief can be true while its grounds fail to connect it to the fact that makes it true.
• Genuine knowledge (pramāṇa) must be non-deceptive, not merely accurate.
• Perception and inference must be analysed in terms of what they enable one to attain.
• Commentary is a vehicle for refining and defending a philosophical system.

Major works

• Nyāyabinduṭīkā (Commentary on Dharmakīrti's Nyāyabindu)
• Pramāṇaviniścayaṭīkā (Commentary on Dharmakīrti's Pramāṇaviniścaya)

In the conversation

• Debate Dharmottara’s mirage is not really a Gettier case, and calling it one flattens both traditions Meera Kulkarni · 5 replies
• Reading group Reading group: Gettier’s three pages, with Russell’s clock and Dharmottara’s mirage alongside Derek Hollis · 5 replies