Nyāya
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Udbhaṭa’s Revisionism and Nyāya-Style Exegesis
This essay analyzes Bhaṭṭodbhaṭa’s controversial commentary on the Cārvākasūtra. Utilizing Nyāya terminology and linguistic reinterpretations, Udbhaṭa departed from traditional monistic materialism toward a dualist stance on body and consciousness. His revisionist exegesis was heavily cited by opponents like Jayanta Bhaṭṭa to critique materialist philosophy in Indian debate.
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Lokāyata Materialism:
Classification of Source MaterialsThis paper analyzes five commentators of the lost Cārvākasūtra—Aviddhakarṇa, Udbhaṭabhaṭṭa, Kambalāśvatara, Purandara, and Bhāvivikta. It contrasts traditional, literal explications with Udbhaṭa’s revisionist interpretations, which introduced Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika categories and near-idealist stances. Despite these divergent developments, all commentators consistently upheld the foundational Cārvāka principle of the primacy of empirical perception.
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Elements of Materialism in the Nyaya and Vaisesika Philosophy
Founded by Gotama and Kaṇāda, the Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika systems contain significant materialist foundations. Nyāya emphasizes empirical logic and sensory perception as primary tools for acquiring reliable knowledge. Meanwhile, Vaiśeṣika introduces early atomism, proposing that indivisible, eternal physical atoms interact in space under natural laws to construct all observable reality and consciousness.