There are only two means of valid knowledge, perception and inference, because there are only two kinds of object, the particular and the general.
Dharmakīrti · Buddhist epistemology (pramāṇa)
knowledgemind
Summary
Philosopher
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Dharmakīrti
6th–7th century CE (dates uncertain) · Buddhist epistemology (pramāṇa) · Medieval
Dharmakīrti was a Buddhist philosopher who refined Dignāga's theory of knowledge into its most influential form. He accepted only two means of knowledge: perception, which grasps unique, momentary particulars without concepts, and inference, which works with general concepts. A good inference needs a reason tied to its conclusion by a real relation, either identity of nature or causation.
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He argued against a creator god and for momentariness, and defended the Buddha as a reliable authority on reasoned grounds. His work dominated Indian and Tibetan logic for a millennium.
Summary card only.
Start here
SEP 'Dharmakīrti', then Nyāyabindu ch. 1.
The primer is short; the entry gives context.
Quotations
Key ideas
Two means of knowledge
Perception and inference. Testimony counts only when it can be checked as inference.
Particular and universal
Perception meets bare particulars; concepts are built by exclusion of what a thing is not.
Valid reasons
A reason must be tied to its conclusion by nature or by cause.
Major works
Pramāṇavārttika (7th century)
Commentary on Dignāga.
Nyāyabindu (7th century)
Short logic primer.
Influences
- The Buddha
- Dignāga
Influenced
- Tibetan logic (Sakya Paṇḍita)
Common misreadings
- Rejecting testimony as separate is not rejecting all testimony.
- He is not a sceptic; his project is to show what can be known.
Famous lines Dharmakīrti never said
None of the lines this library files for Dharmakīrti is marked Questionable or Misattributed. That is only a fact about these cards. It is not a certificate that every popular sentence is theirs.
FAQ
What is the best book to start with?
SEP 'Dharmakīrti', then Nyāyabindu ch. 1. The primer is short; the entry gives context.
What is the most famous quote?
This library does not measure fame, and it does not rank lines by how often they are shared. The first line it files for Dharmakīrti that is not marked Questionable or Misattributed is “There are only two means of valid knowledge, perception and inference, because there are only two kinds of object, the particular and the general.” (Pramāṇavārttika and Nyāyabindu, summary, Summary).
What is the most misquoted line?
None of the lines this library files for Dharmakīrti is marked Misattributed or Questionable. That is a fact about these cards, not a certificate that every popular sentence is theirs.
What is one key idea, in a sentence?
Two means of knowledge: Perception and inference. Testimony counts only when it can be checked as inference.