Vaisheshika is one of the six orthodox (astika) schools of Hindu philosophy, traditionally founded by the sage Kanada in the Vaisheshika Sutra, which develops a systematic ontology (padartha) classifying everything that exists into categories including substance, quality, action, universality, particularity and inherence. The school is best known for its atomism, holding that the physical world is composed of indivisible, eternal atoms (paramanu) of earth, water, fire and air that combine in fixed ways under an unseen moral force (adrishta) to produce the observable world, a naturalistic physics developed independently of comparable Greek atomist theories. Vaisheshika originally treated logic and epistemology only briefly, but from around the medieval period it merged closely with the logically focused Nyaya school to form the combined Nyaya-Vaisheshika tradition, sharing Nyaya's framework of valid means of knowledge while contributing its own categorial ontology. Vaisheshika's category scheme and atomist physics remained influential touchstones for later Indian philosophical debate over causation, substance and the structure of the physical world.
Facts
Disputed
Start YearSourced to the subject's own accountKanada's dates are not independently attested; the Vaisheshika Sutra is generally placed sometime between the sixth and second centuries BCE. Founded DateSourced to the subject's own accountThe DATE column cannot hold the -200 BCE start-year already on record for Kanada's Vaisheshika Sutra. This instead dates Prasastapada's Padarthadharmasamgraha, the next major systematic work Wikipedia names after the founding sutra; 350 approximates 'c. 4th century'. Classification
TraditionSourced to the subject's own account Connections
Founded By
Kanada is the traditional founder of the Vaisheshika school, credited with its Vaisheshika Sutra and its category scheme, matching the same-shape live rows Nyaya -> Akshapada Gautama and Samkhya -> Kapila.
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
In Branch
Vaisheshika is an atomist metaphysics: its category scheme (padartha) of substance, quality, action, universal, particular and inherence is its defining contribution.
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Sources
1. Vaisheshika (Wikipedia)
WikipediaWikipedia, 'Vaisheshika,' Foundational text section
Praśastapāda's Padārthadharmasaṁgraha (c. 4th century) is the next important work of this school.
Vaisheshika, founder era
darshana was founded by Kanada Kashyapa around the 6th to 2nd century BC.
View the Source 2. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and Informationentry: VaisesikaQuote, entry: Vaisesika
The Vaisesika school is best known for its naturalism and for its theory that the physical world is composed of indivisible atoms.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Vaisheshika related to Nyaya?
Vaisheshika and Nyaya merged into a combined Nyaya-Vaisheshika tradition, pairing Vaisheshika's ontology and atomism with Nyaya's logic.
Vaisheshika and Nyaya are the two schools of Hindu philosophy most closely tied to logic and the natural world, and from around the medieval period they merged closely into a single combined tradition, Nyaya-Vaisheshika. Vaisheshika contributed the ontology: a systematic classification of everything that exists, padartha, built on its atomism, the theory that the physical world is composed of indivisible, eternal atoms, paramanu, of earth, water, fire and air, combining under an unseen moral force, adrishta, to produce the observable world. Nyaya, by contrast, supplied the more developed framework of logic and epistemology, the valid means of knowledge. Vaisheshika originally treated logic only briefly, so the merger let the combined tradition share Nyaya's epistemological framework while keeping Vaisheshika's own categorial ontology and atomist physics as its account of the physical world.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.