Dignāga
Founder of Buddhist logic and epistemology — the 'father of medieval Indian logic'.
Overview
A Buddhist philosopher who founded the Indian tradition of formal logic and epistemology (pramāṇa), reorienting philosophy across the subcontinent. In the Pramāṇasamuccaya he held that there are only two valid means of knowledge — perception (non-conceptual, grasping bare particulars) and inference (conceptual and general) — and developed the 'apoha' (exclusion) theory of meaning: words and concepts refer not to positive universals but by excluding what they are not. His work forced every school to sharpen its epistemology.
What they supported — and why
Two means of knowledge (pramāṇa)
SupportedOnly perception and inference yield valid knowledge; perception is non-conceptual and grasps the unique particular, inference is conceptual and general.
WhyKnowledge must be analyzed by its sources, and these two exhaust the valid ways of grasping the particular and the general.
Apoha (meaning by exclusion)
SupportedWords and concepts name no real positive universal but function by excluding what is other (a 'cow' = 'not non-cow').
WhyNo real universal need be posited; conceptual thought carves the world by negation, reconciling naming with Buddhist nominalism about universals.
The test of valid inference
SupportedA sound reason must be present in similar cases and absent in all dissimilar ones.
WhyA systematic criterion distinguishes genuine inference from fallacy.
Causes championed
- Rigorous logic and epistemology
- A Buddhist theory of meaning
- Disciplined debate
Issues wrestled with
- What are the valid sources of knowledge?
- How do words mean?
- What makes an inference sound?
Hurdles faced
- Building a formal logic amid fierce inter-school debate
- His terse works needing extensive later commentary (by Dharmakīrti)
Works & books
1 catalogued. Status shows how much survives to today.
Pramāṇasamuccaya (Compendium on the Means of Knowledge)
SurvivesThe founding work of Buddhist logic and epistemology (preserved in Tibetan and Chinese).
The influence network
See Dignāga in the map →Influenced by
Influenced
In their words
“The means of valid cognition are two: perception and inference.”
— Pramāṇasamuccaya
Legacy
He founded the Indian science of logic and epistemology that dominated philosophical debate across traditions for a thousand years.
Follow their questions
This thinker is a stop on these paths through philosophy.
Further reading
Cross-checked against these authoritative references.