We can’t directly see it but we know it exists by extending our vision with special tools. We can reason about when it’s present based on associations. We can share facts about it with each other. And we can learn its name by comparing it to other similar kinds of things. I’m talking about the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, and in this episode we’ll focus on how early Nyāya philosophers might explain our knowledge about this disease, and how they think all human beings have the ability to know using a special set of natural abilities.

Music:

Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille

Sound:

Zapsplat.com

dersuperanton at https://freesound.org/s/435876/

Sources:

Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips, The Nyaya-sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries, Hackett Publishing, 2017. https://www.hackettpublishing.com/new-forthcoming/the-nyaya-sutra

Complete translation of the Nyaya-sutras: Ganganatha Jha, The Nyaya-sutras of Gautama, Volume 1, 2, 3, and 4, Motilal Banarsidass Publishing, 1984.