UGC NET 2022 Paper 1: Study Notes On Anumana

Structure of Anumana

The word Anumana means Knowledge that trails other knowledge. The knowledge that cannot be acquired through sense organs becomes the object of inference. We infer knowledge of what we don’t see from what we can see. This is considered to be the source of valid mediated knowledge.

Consider an example- the presence of fire by the perception of smoke. When one sees smoke on somewhere, one remembers the universal concomitance (Vyapti) between smoke and fire and concludes that there is fire on that place. The character which is inferred i.e. fire is called sadhya; the mark on the strength of which the character is inferred. I.e. smoke is the hetu; the subject where the character is inferred. i.e. Hill is paksa. The following is a typical Nyaya syllogism.

1. This hill has fire (pratijna),
2. Because it has smoke (hetu),
3. Whatever has smoke has fire e.g. an oven (udaharana),
4. This hill has smoke which is invariably associated with fire (upanaya),
5. Therefore this hill has fire (nigamana).

The first, the pratijna, is the logical statement which is to be proved. The second is hetu(reason which states the reason for the establishment of the proposition). The third is udaharana which is the universal concomitance together with an example. The fourth is upanaya which is the application of the universal concomitance to the present case. The fifth is nigamana or conclusion drawn from the preceding propositions. These five members of Indian syllogism are called Avayavas.

The Nyaya syllogism has five terms. Among them, the middle term works as a bridge between the major and the minor terms. Therefore, the middle term has main responsibility to prove a syllogism valid or invalid. How a middle term is related to the major term is linga paramarsha.

There are five characteristics of a middle term-

1. It must be present in the minor term (paksadharmata); e.g., smoke must be present in the hill.
2. It must be present in all positive instances in which the major terms is present; e.g., smoke must be present in the kitchen where fire exists. (sapaksasattva).
3. It must be absent in all negative instances in which the major terms is absent; e.g., smoke must be absent in the lake in which fire does not exist.(vipaksasattva).
4. It must be non-incompatible with the minor term; e.g., it must not prove the coolness of fire (abadhita).

1. It must be qualified by the absence of counteracting reasons which lead to a contradictory conclusion; e.g., ‘the fact of being caused’ should not be used to prove the ‘eternality’ of sound (Aviruddha).

Classification of Anumana

Anumana can be classified into Svarthanumana and Pararthanumana.

Svarthanumana inference is for one’s own conviction.it is not expressed in the form of a syllogistic argument. A person who perceives a patch of smoke remembers that there is a universal relation between smoke and fire and concludes that there is a fire on the hill.

Pararthanumana inference is for the conviction of others. It is a syllogism which helps to direct the mind of the listener to think in the required manner.  Pararthanumana inference is drawn in five sentences- These sentences are called the propositions (avayava) of inference, e.g.

(a) Pratijna-The hill is fiery,

(b) Hetu-because of smoke,

(c) Drstanta- Wherever there is smoke there is fire.

(e) Upanaya- The smoke, which does not exist without fire is in the hill,

(f) Nigamana-Therefore the hill is fiery.

 Hope you guys now have a better understanding of the topic of Anumana and this article will help you in the preparation for UGC NET 2022 Paper 1 Exam. If you have any other queries, please comment.

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