Raghunātha Śiromaṇi

Raghunātha Śiromaṇi was a logician and metaphysician of Navadvīpa in Bengal and one of the most original thinkers of the Navya-Nyāya (New Nyāya) school. His commentary on Gaṅgeśa's Tattvacintāmaṇi became a foundation for later Navya-Nyāya. In a short independent treatise he reexamined the list of categories inherited from Vaiśeṣika, rejecting some received items and proposing others, an unusually bold revision of a long-settled scheme.

Key ideas

• The inherited Vaiśeṣika list of categories can and should be revised by argument.
• Some traditional items should be dropped or reduced to others, and new categories admitted where needed.
• Precise technical language for relations and absences is the basis of rigorous inference.
• Received authority in philosophy is answerable to critical examination.

Major works

• Dīdhiti (commentary on Gaṅgeśa's Tattvacintāmaṇi)
• Padārthatattvanirūpaṇa (treatise on the categories)

In the conversation

No topics yet. Start one about this thinker.