Akshapada Gautama c. 200 BC – c. 150 BC
Akshapada Gautama is the traditional name of the author of the Nyaya Sutras, the foundational text of the Nyaya school of Indian philosophy and one of the six orthodox darshanas. Although the historical figure is obscure, the work assembled under his name developed a rigorous account of valid means of knowledge, the structure of inference, the conditions of debate, and the path from accurate cognition to liberation from suffering. Together with the closely related Vaisheshika school, Nyaya provided the dominant Indian framework for logic and epistemology for the next two thousand years.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Indian
- Era
- Ancient
- Movements
- Indian Philosophy
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Akshapada Gautama:
“The means of valid knowledge are perception, inference, comparison, and verbal testimony.”
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Attributed to Akshapada Gautama:
“Liberation is the absolute freedom from suffering.”
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Attributed to Akshapada Gautama:
“Right knowledge of the categories of reality is the cause of liberation.”
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Attributed to Akshapada Gautama:
“The world is real and is known by the senses and the reason.”
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Attributed to Akshapada Gautama:
“Inference is knowledge that follows perception, by way of an established connection.”