Parenthetical Citations
In about 2 double-spaced pages, answer one of the following questions. For this kind of brief response, full citations are not necessary. Parenthetical citations with the authors or translators last name and page number or verse number (for example, Patanjali 45) are fine. Your response paper is due Nov. 6 by 5pm. Since you have very limited space, it is best to skip a conventional introduction. Focus on answering the question(s). Remember you need to do three of the four response paper assignments. To submit your essay, click the assignment link. Attach your essay as a Word or RTF document (ODT, PDF, Pages, and Google Docs formats are not acceptable). Then click the “Submit” button. Do not paste it in the “Comments” box as text. You must click “Submit,” not “Save as Draft.” If you click “Save as Draft,” I will not be able to access your paper. You cannot make any changes once you have submitted your paper, so make sure you have read it over before doing so. Title your file (not your paper) with your last name. 1. According to Nyaya thought, perception, inference, comparison, and verbal testimony are valid ways of attaining knowledge (pramanas). Explain what knowledge means in Nyaya philosophy and how one of the pramanas works to produce knowledge. How does Nyaya deal with the problem of error? What is one argument or reason a Naiyayaka (a follower of Nyaya philosophy) could give in favor of their definition of knowledge? 2. Carvaka philosophy denies that inference is a possible source of knowledge. Why do they claim that inference is not a source of knowledge? Are there some doctrines in Carvaka that appeal to inference, even when they claim that it is not knowledge? 3. What is the Yoga conception of personhood and how do they use this view to explain the causes of suffering in the Yoga Sutra (particularly part two)? What is wrong with the way most people live their lives, such that it results in suffering? How should people live instead?
