Anyathakhyati means "discrimination against anything else".
A theory of error that attempts to explain why individuals make mistakes in judgment, such as mistaken the flash of a seashell for a piece of silver in the classic example.
- The Naiyayika philosophical school is the originator of this specific mistake theory.
- The Naiyayikas, like the Purva Mimamsa philosopher Prabhakara, think that simple judgements such as "that item is silvery" and "silver is silvery" are both true and irrefutable.
- While Prabhakara describes the mistake as an omission, in which one fails to detect the non-relationship between these judgements, the Naiyayikas interpret it as a commission, in which one projects something that isn't really there.
A dependent connection called as inherence (samavaya) links all things and their characteristics in Naiyayikan metaphysics, which in this instance relates a silvery hue with two distinct items: elemental silver and a shell.
- They think the perceiver is projecting the seen item with an incorrect inherence connection (silver) (shell).
- Because they acknowledge the reality of nonexistent objects, the Naiyayikas may argue that this projection is genuine (e.g., the nonexistence of a crocodile in my bathtub).
All such projections, according to the Naiyayikas, are based in karmic dispositions originating from avidya, or primordial ignorance, especially the desire for silver that drives individuals to seek out such valuable things.
See Bijayananda Kar, The Theories of Error in Indian Philosophy, 1978, and Karl H. Potter (ed. ), Presuppositions of India's Philosophies, 1972, for further details.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.
